VoyanceTarot
The Tarot de Marseille is the reference deck of continental European cartomancy, and the one most Swiss readers use.
The structure
The 22 major arcana, numbered I to XXI, plus the Fool, the only card without a number. They carry the underlying movements.
The 56 minor arcana, in four suits — batons, cups, swords, coins — of fourteen cards each. They carry the concrete circumstances.
Common spreads
Three cards, the most used. The arrangement situation – obstacle – advice produces more usable readings than the classic past-present-future.
The cross, five cards: four positions and a central synthesis.
The Celtic cross, ten cards. This is the spread for hour-long consultations.
How a reader works
The whole before the detail: how many major arcana, which suit dominates, what general tone. Then card by card, then the combinations — two adjacent cards modify one another.
Chana’s tip: state your question aloud before the cards are drawn, and write it down. A question reworded afterwards always adjusts itself to the cards that came up. That is human, and it empties the exercise of its point.
Reversed cards
Does a card drawn upside down read differently? Schools disagree sharply: some see a contrary or weakened meaning, others always read upright. Ask which practice your reader follows.
See psychic reading, the directory and the partnership page if you practise in Switzerland.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards are in the Tarot de Marseille?
Seventy-eight: twenty-two major arcana and fifty-six minor, spread across four suits of fourteen cards.
Which spread should a beginner use?
The three-card spread, arranged as situation-obstacle-advice rather than past-present-future: it produces more usable readings.
Do reversed cards change the meaning?
Schools disagree: some read a contrary or weakened meaning, others always read upright and draw the sense from neighbouring cards.