The same tarot structure can speak in different visual languages. Rider-Waite-Smith, Thoth and Marseille are three useful traditions to recognise when you compare decks. Their familiar forms share 78 cards, but the artwork, court ranks, titles and reading methods are not interchangeable.
Start with how you enjoy noticing meaning: a scene, a symbolic composition or a pattern. You can value tarot as a spiritual practice without needing to decide that one family is more powerful or more accurate than the others.
What stays the same?
A standard deck in these traditions has 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards. The Minor Arcana contain four suits, each with Ace through 10 and four courts. That makes 40 numbered cards, including the Aces, plus 16 courts. Contemporary decks may add cards, rename them or depart from this structure, so check the actual contents rather than relying only on the word “tarot.” Our guide to the tarot card count explains the breakdown.
Tarot’s early history belongs to fifteenth-century northern Italian card games, not to a single modern spiritual system. The Metropolitan Museum of Art traces that history and structure; Britannica offers a further overview. The three families below are a practical comparison, not an exhaustive classification of every deck.
Three deck families, side by side
Rider-Waite-Smith · RWS
Pictures that give you a scene to explore
- Origins
- Pamela Colman Smith illustrated the deck in collaboration with A. E. Waite; it was first published in London in 1909.
- Numbered cards
- The pip cards have illustrated settings, figures or symbolic images. Many offer a small story to notice; not every card is a literal event scene.
- Names and numbers
- Strength VIII; Justice XI; Temperance; Judgement; The World. The earth suit is Pentacles.
- Courts
- Page, Knight, Queen and King in each suit.
- Learning approach
- Describe the picture, then compare your observations with a guide written for that deck. A scene can offer an accessible starting point, but its meaning is not self-evident or fixed.
Thoth · Crowley-Harris
Colour, geometry and layered correspondences
- Origins
- Frieda Harris painted the deck with Aleister Crowley between 1938 and 1943. The companion Book of Thoth appeared in 1944; full-colour deck editions followed decades later.
- Numbered cards
- The 2–10 cards combine suit symbols with patterns, colour and descriptive titles. They are not simply plain pips, and the titles do not replace the rest of the system.
- Names and numbers
- Adjustment VIII; Lust XI; Art; The Aeon; The Universe. The earth suit is Disks.
- Courts
- Princess, Prince, Queen and Knight. A Thoth Knight is not simply the RWS Knight with unchanged meaning.
- Learning approach
- Use a Thoth-specific guide. You can begin by noticing the art, then learn its elemental, astrological and Qabalistic associations gradually if they interest you.
Tarot de Marseille
Suit patterns, arrangement and a historical visual language
- Origins
- A family of historical designs rather than one artist’s deck. Surviving examples include French decks from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with variations between makers.
- Numbered cards
- Many 2–10 cards use arrangements of suit emblems and ornament rather than RWS-style narrative scenes. “Plain pips” does not mean there is nothing visual to read.
- Names and numbers
- Justice VIII; La Force XI; Le Jugement; Le Monde. The earth suit is Deniers, or Coins. Labels and spelling vary by edition.
- Courts
- Valet, Cavalier, Reine and Roi: Page/Knave, Knight, Queen and King.
- Learning approach
- Explore number, suit, spacing, repetition and neighbouring cards with a Marseille-focused guide. Numerical symbolism is one method, not the only possible way to read the patterns.
The V&A’s tarot history discusses Smith’s influential illustrations. For Marseille, the Bibliothèque nationale de France records Jean Dodal’s 78-card deck, made in Lyon between 1701 and 1715: the name does not mean every example was produced in Marseille. For Thoth’s particular symbolism and titles, Crowley’s Book of Thoth is the original companion text.
These are more than three drawing styles. A renamed Major card can carry a different emphasis, and a court rank can belong to a different arrangement. If courts are the part that confuses you, our guide to reading the sixteen court cards explains why a familiar title is not enough to transfer a meaning automatically.
The Eight of Cups: one name, three starting points
This comparison shows why the same RWS keyword should not be pasted onto every deck. Look at your edition’s actual card, then use its guide and the question you are exploring.
RWS: notice the action
The familiar Eight of Cups shows a figure walking away from an arrangement of cups. A reflective question might be: “What feels worth continuing, and what am I reconsidering?” The image does not tell you to leave a relationship or job.
Thoth: notice the system
Crowley calls the Eight of Cups Indolence, with imagery and correspondences specific to that deck. Explore the guide’s themes without using the title to judge yourself or diagnose a lack of motivation.
Marseille: notice the pattern
Look at the eight cups, their spacing and surrounding decoration in your edition. Ask what repeats, what feels balanced and how your chosen method relates eight to the suit. Do not assume the RWS walking-away story is pictured here.
An image of someone walking away is a useful clue to an RWS influence, but an eight-cup pattern alone does not tell you whether a deck is Thoth, Marseille or a modern blend. You may also find an artist who keeps RWS meanings while replacing the familiar scenes entirely.
Identify a deck with a three-card check
Before buying, use the creator’s or publisher’s sample images and guidebook preview where available. If you already own the deck, lay out these examples to compare. You do not need to perform a reading.
- A numbered card. Compare the Eight of Cups or another 2–10 card. Is there a narrative scene, a dense symbolic arrangement or a repeating suit pattern? This is a clue, not a definitive identification test.
- A Major Arcana card. Look at Strength/Force and Justice/Adjustment, including their numbers. Then check Temperance/Art or Judgement/Aeon. Reinterpretations may mix traditions or change titles.
- A court card and its guide. Read the rank names and one complete guidebook entry. Can you follow the explanation, and does it discuss the artwork actually in front of you? The creator’s stated system is a better guide than guessing from one image.
Which is a good starting point for you?
Try RWS if scenes help you begin a reflection. A guide that explains both the image and its traditional meaning can support that process. “RWS-inspired” does not guarantee every symbol, number or interpretation is unchanged, so keep the deck’s own guide nearby.
Try Thoth if its art draws you into study. You do not have to memorise every correspondence before you look at a card. Begin with a manageable entry, and choose whether the wider esoteric framework is something you want to learn. Dense symbolism is not a measure of spiritual ability.
Try Marseille if you enjoy rhythm, number and visual relationships. It need not be a second deck reserved for advanced readers. Give yourself a guide that actually teaches that approach rather than expecting the pictures to reproduce an RWS story.
If you feel drawn to a deck, ask whether you can see its details, handle its size and understand a sample explanation. A beautiful image can invite attention; it is not evidence that a deck will predict events or reveal another person’s thoughts. Our beginner’s tarot guide can help you establish a small, repeatable practice.
Choose a visual language you want to return to
There is no need to buy all three families or to choose a permanent favourite. Learn one deck well enough to notice what its pictures and guide are doing, then explore another if curiosity remains.
For a fuller selection checklist, including practical details beyond the deck family, continue to How to Pick the Right Tarot Deck.