Getting started with tarot deck structure

Quick answer

A Waite-Smith deck is normally made up of 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana cards. The Majors deal with the large themes of a life; the Minors describe everyday situations through Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles.

Start from the structure

First learn to separate the Major Arcana from the four Minor suits, then read the imagery, number, element and your actual question together. That builds a steadier reading method than memorising keywords.

A learning order that works

Work through the four elements, then the numbers 1 to 10, then the court cards, then the Major Arcana. Each time, note how the same card reads differently across different questions.