Are the minor arcana not used?

This service uses the twenty-two major arcana only. A smaller deck gives each card a denser meaning and makes it easier for a newcomer to read.

Can the same card come up twice?

Not within one reading. The twenty-two are shuffled and then dealt in order into ten positions, so no card can appear twice on the table.

Can you read with the major arcana alone?

You can. The major arcana are taken to deal with the larger currents of a life, and reading with them on their own is widely practised.

The twenty-two major arcana — the run from nought to twenty-one

2026.09.10 updated · 5 min read

SoraBalancedLogical, but never loses sight of how you feel

SoraSora here. With twenty-two major arcana, people assume there is a great deal to memorise. Grasping the run of the sequence gets you reading far faster than learning them one by one.

Tarot divides into twenty-two major arcana and fifty-six minor. The major arcana are numbered from nought, the Fool, to twenty-one, the World, and that order is itself taken to carry meaning. They are not twenty-two loose cards but a single continuous story.

A reading on this service uses only these twenty-two. The minor arcana are left out because a smaller deck gives each card a denser meaning and makes it easier for a newcomer to read.

Nought, the Fool, is the state of holding nothing yet

The story of the major arcana begins with the unnumbered nought, the Fool: knowing nothing, carrying nothing, about to set out. It is taken to show not ignorance but a state in which the possibilities have not yet been narrowed.

Placing that nought where it is says a great deal about the character of the major arcana. Because the beginning is nought rather than one, the twenty-two read as a road that accumulates.

The first half is inward, the second is the world

Broadly, the first half deals with personal qualities and the people close by, and the second with society and larger currents. The further the numbers go, the wider the range they cover.

Number	Cards	What it covers
0	The Fool	The beginning. Nothing settled yet
1–5	The Magician, The High Priestess and others	Your own qualities, and the guides close at hand
6–10	The Lovers, The Chariot and others	Choice, and the force that takes you outward
11–15	Justice, The Hanged Man and others	Coming to a halt, and turns that cannot be avoided
16–21	The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun and others	Collapse and renewal, and completion

At sixteen, the Tower, something comes down; then light returns through the Star, the Moon and the Sun, and at twenty-one the World completes it. That run through the second half is described the same way in most commentaries.

Tracing the sequence once helps you recall individual cards. Even if the meaning of the Tower will not come, knowing it sits just before the Star tells you it stands on the edge between collapse and renewal.

The same card means different things in different positions

This service uses the Celtic Cross, giving each of ten positions a role. That the same card reads differently depending where it lands is what characterises the spread.

Twenty-two cards dealt into ten positions means twelve never reach the table. There is no need to look for meaning in the cards that did not come. Reading only the ten that did is the manner of this spread.

How to learn them

Trying to memorise the meanings one at a time makes twenty-two feel like a great many. Tracing the numbered sequence once, as a story, lets you recall a card's meaning through its neighbours.

Drawing them is the fastest way. A card you have laid against your own situation stays with you far better than one you only read about.

SoraWhen you draw a card, look at the picture properly before you check the meaning. Who is doing what. Once you can put that into your own words, the written meaning settles afterwards.

Common questions

Are the minor arcana not used?: This service uses the twenty-two major arcana only. A smaller deck gives each card a denser meaning and makes it easier for a newcomer to read.
Can the same card come up twice?: Not within one reading. The twenty-two are shuffled and then dealt in order into ten positions, so no card can appear twice on the table.
Can you read with the major arcana alone?: You can. The major arcana are taken to deal with the larger currents of a life, and reading with them on their own is widely practised.