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Encyclopedia > Major arcana

The Major Arcana (Trumps Major, Major Trumps) of the Tarot deck consists of 22 cards. The name Major Arcana is used only in esoteric practice; Tarot decks for playing call them Trumps and usually only show a Roman numeral on each card, plus some decoration that is identical on all of them. In esoteric sets, each Major Arcanum depicts a scene, mostly featuring a person or several people, with many symbolic elements. In many decks, each has a number (usually in Roman numerals) and a name, though not all decks have both, and some have only a picture. The earliest decks bore unnamed and unnumbered pictures on the Majors (probably because a great many of the people using them at the time were illiterate), and the order of cards is not standardised. However, one of the most common set of names and numbers is as follows: This article is about the structure, card imagery, and history of tarot decks, which today are often used for spiritual, esoteric, psychological, occult and/or divinatory purposes. ... Roman numerals are a numeral system originating in ancient Rome, adapted from Etruscan numerals. ...

The images on the Major Arcana in esoteric decks are often very heavy with symbolism; in occult decks, there is far more to the illustration than a mere depiction of the card title. The Major Arcana are usually regarded by card readers as relating to matters of higher purpose or deep significance, as opposed to the Minor Arcana which relate to the everyday world and matters of immediate significance. The Minor Arcana of the Tarot deck consist of 56 cards, which are closely related to the deck of 52 playing cards used in most modern card games. ...


External links

  • Iconography of Tarot cards / many examples
  • Information on the Tarot, its history and use from ancient divination

  Results from FactBites:
 
Major Arcana - definition of Major Arcana in Encyclopedia (309 words)
The Name Major Arcana is used only in esoteric practice; Tarot decks for playing call them Trumps and usually only show a roman numeral on each card, plus some decoration that is identical on all of them.
The images on the Major Arcana in esoteric decks are often very heavy with symbolism; in more occult decks, there is far more to the illustration than a mere depiction of the card title.
The Major Arcana are usually regarded as relating to matters of higher purpose or deep significance, as opposed to the Minor Arcana which relate to the everyday world and matters of immediate significance.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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