Direct answer
How many cards are in a tarot deck?
78 — 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana — for the three systems this site is built around, and for the large majority of decks sold today. That number isn't universal across tarot's five-century history, though, and knowing the real exceptions explains a lot about how the deck evolved.
The standard 78: where the split comes from
22 Major Arcana are the big, archetypal cards — The Fool through The World. 56 Minor Arcana split into four suits of 14 cards each: Ace through 10, plus four court cards. The suit names change by system (Wands/Cups/Swords/Pentacles in RWS, Bâtons/Coupes/Épées/Deniers in Marseille, Wands/Cups/Swords/Disks in Thoth) but the 4×14 structure holds across all three. See the full card library for how this site organizes all 78.
Minchiate: 97 cards, a genuinely different system
The Florentine Minchiate tradition isn't a variant of the standard 78 — it's a separate historical system that adds extra trump cards beyond the usual 22: the four cardinal virtues, the four classical elements, and the twelve zodiac signs, layered on top of the standard 56 Minor Arcana and the Fool. The extra cards change the deck's internal logic, not just its size.
Regional Italian decks with fewer cards
Several documented regional card-game traditions trim the deck for gameplay reasons, not by mistake. Tarocchino Bolognese, still manufactured today, runs 62 cards. Tarocco Siciliano uses 63 cards in its documented game variant, though retail sets commonly ship with 64 — an added extra ace. Neither is a damaged or incomplete tarot deck; both are functioning, historically documented card games built on a trimmed tarot structure.
What "78 cards" doesn't include
Published card counts refer to the cards actually read or played with — not everything that ships in the box. A title card, a branded insert, or a printed guidebook doesn't count toward the total, even from official publishers. When a source states a card count, it's describing the readable deck, not the retail package.
Why even the "same" 78 can differ card by card
A consistent total doesn't mean identical cards. RWS and Marseille swap the traditional positions of two Major Arcana — Strength sits at VIII and Justice at XI in RWS, while Marseille reverses them. Thoth renames several cards outright: Strength becomes Lust, Judgement becomes The Aeon, and the court runs Knight, Queen, Prince, Princess instead of RWS's Page, Knight, Queen, King. Three systems, three different decks, one shared number.
Frequently asked
Is 78 always the right answer?
It's the right answer for the three systems this site is built around — Rider-Waite-Smith, Marseille, and Thoth — and for most decks sold today. It isn't universal across tarot's full history; several documented regional and historical decks use different counts.
How many Major Arcana cards are there?
22, numbered 0 (The Fool) through 21 (The World), in every major system this site covers. This number is consistent across RWS, Marseille, and Thoth, even though several individual card names and a couple of positions differ between them.
How many Minor Arcana cards are there?
56 — four suits of 14 cards each: Ace through 10, plus four court cards. RWS calls the suits Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles; Marseille uses Bâtons, Coupes, Épées, and Deniers (the same four themes under French names); Thoth uses Wands, Cups, Swords, and Disks.
Why does Minchiate have 97 cards?
The Florentine Minchiate tradition adds extra trump cards beyond the usual 22 — including the four cardinal virtues, the four classical elements, and the twelve zodiac signs — on top of the standard 56 Minor Arcana and the Fool. It's a distinct historical system, not a Major Arcana variant of the same 78-card deck.
Why do some historical Italian decks have fewer than 78 cards?
Regional card games often trimmed the deck for gameplay reasons. Tarocchino Bolognese, still produced today, uses 62 cards; Tarocco Siciliano uses 63 in its documented game variant, though 64-card retail sets exist with an added extra ace. These are functioning card-game decks, not incomplete or "wrong" tarot decks.
Does the original Visconti-Sforza deck really have all 78 cards?
Museums infer an original 78-card structure, but what actually survives today is 74 known cards, split across three collections — the Morgan Library, Bergamo's Accademia Carrara, and a Milan collection. Four cards are missing from the historical record entirely.
Do extra cards in the box — like a title card or instruction booklet — count toward the total?
No. Published card counts refer to the cards you actually read or play with. A branded box insert, a title card, or a printed guidebook isn't part of that count, even when it ships inside the same package.
Are court cards counted separately from numbered cards?
They're part of the 14-per-suit total, not an addition to it. In RWS and Thoth, each suit runs Ace through 10 (10 cards) plus four court cards — Page, Knight, Queen, King in RWS; Knight, Queen, Prince, Princess in Thoth — for 14 cards per suit either way.
Sources
Morgan Library (Visconti-Sforza), Pagat.com — reference site for historical card games (Minchiate, Tarocchino Bolognese, Tarocco Siciliano), Modiano (current Tarocchino Bolognese publisher).