Touch of Magick Shop · Beginner Foundations
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A tarot deck can look like a whole library of pictures waiting to speak. Begin with curiosity: notice the images, learn how the deck is arranged, and give yourself permission to use its guidebook. You do not have to memorize every card before making a thoughtful start.
What is tarot?
Tarot is a family of card decks used for games and, in later traditions, divination. A familiar modern format contains 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. The latter comprise four suits, each with ten numbered cards and four court cards. Names, imagery, numbering and even deck size can vary, so the booklet accompanying your deck matters.[1][2]
A history with different chapters
Curator Tim Husband traces early tarot references to fifteenth-century northern Italy. These cards belonged to a trick-taking game; their later occult reputation should not be projected back onto those early decks. Surviving luxury cards also show that tarot has a rich history as visual art.[1]
A. E. Waite’s The Pictorial Key to the Tarot is a primary source for his own occult interpretation and deck structure. It is useful for understanding one influential system, rather than a timeless dictionary for every deck. We can appreciate spiritual interpretations while recognizing that the cards do not establish facts about the future or another person’s private thoughts.[2]
Find your way around the deck
The structural descriptions below follow the familiar format described by Waite. The observation questions are Touch of Magick Shop suggestions, not historical correspondences.
| Part of the deck | What to look for | Our beginner question |
|---|---|---|
| Major Arcana | 22 distinct titled images, including the Fool | What scene or central idea catches my attention? |
| Numbered Minor Arcana | Ace through Ten in each suit | What changes as the number changes? |
| Court cards | In Waite’s system: Page, Knight, Queen and King | What way of acting does this figure suggest to me? |
| Four suits | Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles in Waite’s terminology | How does my deck portray each object? |
Keep three things separate in your notes: what is visibly pictured, what the author says, and your personal response. “A figure holds a cup” is an observation; “this reminds me of hospitality” is your association. Neither needs to become a claim about someone else. Court figures can inspire questions about behavior without assigning fixed gender, age or personality labels.
Original shop practice: meet four cards
You need a deck you already have, its guidebook, a notebook and a clean, dry surface. This is an introductory study exercise, not a predictive spread.
- Find one numbered card from each suit. Choose them openly rather than shuffling for an answer.
- Place them side by side. Write the names exactly as your deck gives them.
- For each card, record one visible detail before consulting the booklet. A color, posture or object is enough.
- Read the matching guidebook entry. Put the author’s idea in a separate column and name the deck or author.
- Choose one image that suggests a manageable action: asking a clear question, organizing a shelf or making time for creative work.
- Close by writing what you chose and why. Return the cards to their box; no cleansing materials or special purchase is required.
Keep cards away from liquids and heat. If studying with someone, ask permission before discussing their life and let them decline. Use ordinary evidence and qualified advice for consequential decisions; a card is not a diagnosis or a verdict. If an image feels unsettling, set it aside and choose another.
Journal prompt
Which part of my response came from the picture, which came from the guidebook, and which came from my own experience?
Sources & further reading
- Tim Husband, “Before Fortune-Telling: The History and Structure of Tarot Cards” (The Met, 2016) — Curatorial history of early decks and their structure.
- A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, “The Four Suits” — Primary source for Waite’s terminology and deck organization; its occult claims belong to his system.
Continue your Book of Shadows
One Card, One Page · Writing an Intention · Beginner Foundations library