Mystical Angels

In Tarot, is the major arcana cards are better than the minor arcana cards or the other way around?

Public Comments

1. The major arcana are symbolically easier to understand. If you are using both, you get a more detailed reading, but it is more difficult to interpret accurately.
2. It is sometimes hard to know how to answer these questions but as you've posted this under Card Games, that's how I shall answer your question. Tarot games (with the exception of the tournament games played in Hungary) are what we call point-trick games (or sometimes complex-trick games). This means that like whist, bridge, and spades, players win cards in tricks. However, unlike those games, tarot games assign point values to the cards, so that it is not the number of tricks you take that wins you the game but the number of card points contained within them. Contrary to what you might expect, most of the trump cards (or major arcana) carry a point value of only 1 or even 0, hence they are among the cards commonly described as being 'empty'. The three exceptions are the Fool (not always a trump card, as some games retain it in its original role as an excuse or wild card), the 1 and the 21 of trumps - these three cards are sometimes called The Honours. In italian games, it is the 20 (the Angel) rather than the 21. The usual card values then are: Honours = 5 points Kings = 5 points Queens = 4 points Cavaliers = 3 points Valets = 2 points All others = 1 point In one sense then, it is the court cards that are most important, because they carry most of the card points needed to win. On the other hand, the trump cards, while of little value by themselves, are vital for winning those court cards. The trumps can have an additional importance for winning the bonuses available in some games. For example, most games allow for the Pagat Ultimo bonus, won by taking the last trick with the lowest trump - which is much harder than you might think.