Basic Information

A classic Tarot deck consists of 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana - ‘0- The Fool‘ card is classed as the 22nd, and 56 Minor Arcana cards that are divided into 4 suits, (the element associated with each suit is in brackets, this can vary):

• Pentacles (Earth)
  
• Swords (Air)
  
• Wands (Fire)
  
• Cups (Water)
  

The Minor Arcana - The number 1 or Ace and numbers 2 through 10 are referred to as ‘pip’ cards, why? I think it’s because until the Rider Waite deck came along, most Minor Arcana cards only had a picture of 2 Swords, or whatever, on them to represent the suit and number, rather than the more interesting and emotive scenes that came along later, such as the blindfolded woman standing at the edge of a cliff trying to balance two swords against the back drop of a stormy sea and sky.

The King, Queen, Knight and Page cards are referred to as ‘court cards’, which is easy to understand, as they are royalty after all.

Other decks may have alternative names for the suits or court cards such as Staffs rather than Wands or Princess or Prince instead Page or Knight. The Victoria Regina Tarot has Coins instead of Pentacles, which fits nicely with the theme of the deck. Don’t let it worry you, you’ll start to get the hang of it soon enough.

How do you choose a Tarot deck? It’s as simple as finding one that appeals to you. I searched Dooyoo for opinions on Tarot and from there found Aeclectic Tarot. This site is great as it reviews hundreds of decks and shows examples of the artwork.

I looked through a lot of cards before I found the Robin Wood Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot, the artwork really jumped out at me and the reviews said it was a good deck for beginners.

Then I searched Amazon for the deck and found one available in the zShops section.

While I was browsing the Aeclectic Tarot forum I noticed that some people were talking about their personality/shadow/soul/year cards and I was curious so I searched the posts and found how to work them out - or at least I think I did!

The links below are the threads that include the sums to work out your personal cards. I’ll also go through the sums and between us we should be able to get it right. However, I don’t think their speculation about how to work out your the Shadow card is quiet right, at least not based on the associations I use.

How to work out your Soul & Personality Card

The calculations are based on your Birthday. For example

Personality Card
This represents the lessons you need or will learn in life.


MONTH + DAY + YEAR

10 + 26 + 1971 = 2007

2 + 0 + 0 + 7= 2 + 7 = 9-The Hermit


Keep on breaking the numbers down until you get a digit under 23, to match a Major Arcana card.

If your first number [Personality] is 19 [19*10*1 - 10 would be your Shadow/Hidden Teacher card], Mary K Greer says on page 30 of Tarot for Yourself, “This is an especially creative path in which all three cards operate as both Personality and Soul Cards. People with this sequence must learn to communicate their individual creative expressions. Their personal identity and sense of self will be inextricably combined with their life and soul purpose. Their ability to relate to others will depend on a harmony of vision and purpose with them.”

Soul Card

This represents the qualities and purpose that’ll help your Personality card


The Soul card is the sum of the two digits of your personality card. If your Personality card is already a single digit, 2 + 7 = 9, then both cards are the same, but your Soul card must be between 1 and 9 [remember 22 is classed as 0-The Fool].

Year Card


MONTH + DAY + PRESENT YEAR

10 + 26 + 2001 = 2037

2 + 0 + 3 + 7= 2 + 3 + 7 = 12-The Hanged Man


Keep on breaking the numbers down until you get a digit under 23, to match a Major Arcana card.

Shadow Card
This represents your dark side, or slightly shady side depending on how you feel. If you’re 30 or over according to Mark K. Greer it’s your Teacher Card.


My associations are based on the table in Mark K. Greer’s book, Tarot For Yourself. I don’t know how you acutally work them out ~ Sorry.



The Moon is my Shadow Card.


You can have more than one Shadow card, but If your birth date adds up to 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 then you will have no Hidden Factor/Shadow card. “However, these numbers are what can be called the Night-time Cards. The sun goes down on Temperance (14) and after the Moon (18) it rises as the Sun. The shadow aspects are therefore an integral part of the personality of those whose birthday adds up to a Nighttime Card, but with an added element of naturalness, trust, or fascination regarding the shadow in their lives.” ~ Tarot for Yourself by Mark K. Greer.