The Major Arcana and Minor Arcana are the two groups in a standard 78-card tarot deck. Labyrinthos describes 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana across four suits. Its guides frame the Major cards around an archetypal journey and the Minor cards around everyday experiences. These are symbolic reading conventions, not evidence that one group predicts more important events.
Recognize the two groups in your deck
Labyrinthos’s Major Arcana overview describes a sequence from the Fool to the World. These cards have individual names rather than belonging to one of the four Minor suits. Its Suit of Pentacles guide introduces the Minor Arcana as 56 cards in four suits.
You can begin by sorting a deck into those two groups. This is an identification exercise; it does not require interpreting anyone’s future or deciding that a Major card should overrule everything else in a spread.
Check the names used by your particular deck
Labyrinthos’s comparison of deck traditions lists Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles in Rider–Waite–Smith decks. It also shows differences such as Coins or Disks in other traditions, and changes to some court-card names.
Use your deck’s guide when a label differs from a resource you are reading. A different name does not automatically mean a card is missing. Check the tradition before assuming every deck follows the same numbering or artwork.
Combine a broad question with an ordinary detail
Here is an original practice approach: give a Major card the prompt “What larger question am I considering?” and a Minor card the prompt “What everyday detail deserves attention?” These positions are an exercise, not a required system.
Draw one card from each group, then give each card its own note before composing a sentence. Use the meanings in your deck’s guide rather than assigning the same meaning to every Major or Minor card. For individual examples, read our Fool and Two of Cups guides.
Keep the hierarchy from becoming a prediction
A spread containing several Major cards does not prove that an unavoidable event is coming. A spread containing only Minor cards does not make your question unimportant.
Record the question, the positions and the meanings you chose to work with. Reading the two groups together is a way to organize symbolism. Decisions about a real relationship still depend on what the people involved want, say and do.
Explore your question in a personal reading
For a symbolic perspective on your connection with this person, you can ask a custom question in a Signature Video Reading: “How can I connect the larger question about this person with the everyday choices in front of me?” Koko personally records the reading, starting at $99 for 15+ minutes. Standard delivery is 7–10 days; optional 24-hour Express adds $49.
Read our guide to choosing a love reading. Readings are for entertainment and reflection. They do not establish another person’s thoughts or promise an outcome.