Tarot Decks: Non-Standard

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00 Eternity trump card from the William Blake Tarot of the Creative Imagination
00 Eternity trump card from the William Blake Tarot of the Creative Imagination

Contents

A modern-day tarot deck typically has 78 cards consisting of 22 Trumps and 56 suited cards divided into four suits, with each suit having 10 pip cards and four court cards. Sometimes, tarot decks depart from this structure by having a different number of Trumps, court cards or suits or by other restructuring.

There is no consensus among tarotists as to the precise point at which a deck ceases to be a tarot deck and becomes a tarot-like/tarot-inspired deck.

[edit] Decks with more than 22 trumps

[edit] Tarot decks that include the Happy Squirrel card

Happy Squirrel card from the International Icon Tarot
Happy Squirrel card from the International Icon Tarot

The Happy Squirrel card originated in an episode of the U.S. television series The Simpsons (Episode 2F15, "Lisa’s Wedding"). The card appears as an optional card in a number of decks strictly for the fun of it. The choice of if or when to incorporate the card in a reading is up to the reader. Click here for the script excerpt.

[edit] Decks with more than four court cards per suit

  • Babylonian Tarot - 5 Court Cards: Kerub, King, Queen, Prince, Princess; and 23 Trumps (Genesis)
  • Cary-Yale Visconti Tarot – 6 Court Cards in each suit: King, Queen, Male Knight, Female Knight, Male Valet, Female Valet
  • Parrott Tarot [14] – one extra court card (called the Mentor) in each suit
  • Rocambole Tarot - 6 Court Cards in each suit. There are male and female Masters (King and Queen), male and female Riders (Knight), and male and female Servants (Page).

[edit] Decks with less than four court cards per suit

[edit] Decks with more than four suits

(More than four suits in addition to Trumps)

[edit] Decks with no distinct suits

[edit] 'Rearranged', tarot-inspired decks

King of Fives card from the Misarcana of the Uncarrot Tarot deck
King of Fives card from the Misarcana of the Uncarrot Tarot deck
  • the Decktet [28] 36 cards in 6 suits.
  • Infinite Tarot [29] - No trumps. Has 76 cards divided into four elemental suits. Each suit consists of 5 Upper "Trump" Cards, 10 "Lesser" Cards (numerals), and 4 Family Cards.
  • Morgan's Tarot [30] Defining Suits for Morgan's Tarot
  • Mystic Pug Tarot [31]
  • Uncarrot Tarot [32] - Consists of a total of 93 cards. Has 56 suited cards divided into 4 suits of 14 cards (Pencils, Floppy Disks, Hammers, and Silly Hats). Has two sets of what are effectively trumps, namely: 19 cards in the 'suit' of Major Arcana and 7 cards in the 'suit' of Meta Arcana. Has 11 cards in the 'suit' of Misarcana [33] which is a deliberately mismatched suit of suit cards.
  • Vee-Deck [34] by Valerie Walker - Has a total of 56 cards, which the creator terms as 'major arcana'. The first 22 cards are named after the 22 trumps of the Tarot. The creator calls the deck a "non-tarot divination deck".
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