The Evolution of the Tarot Deck into Playing Cards

The playing cards are just a modern day evolution of the Tarot deck. We still have the 4 suits of the Minor Arcana, Ace-10. The wands, cups, swords and pentacles just translate to the clubs, hearts, spades and diamonds. Then, we have the 4 suits of the Court cards. The members of the court are the King, Queen and Knight and Page. We still have the king and queen but instead of the knights, they are the Jacks. We don’t have any pages in the playing cards, which are the children in the Tarot.

The modern day playing cards don’t include any of the Major Arcana cards 1-21, which are the collective and universal archetypes of mortal existence. The fool card is the only exception. Technically the fool doesn’t have a number, as it is card zero, and it represents spirit that hasn’t yet formed into the material world. Therefore, as the number zero, it can be placed anywhere in the order, between the first and last cards: 1-21. The fool is the only trace of the Major Arcana found in the playing cards, and it is seen as the joker.