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Sabio Tarot · Decks and systems

By Sabio Tarot

How to tell whether your deck follows Marseille or Rider–Waite–Smith

A box may say “classic tarot” without explaining its visual system. You need not inspect all 78 cards at once to find out. Take out one numbered card, Justice, Strength and the Fool. In a few minutes you will have observable clues for choosing a compatible book and recognising hybrid decks.

These clues come from families of editions, not an authenticity police. The BnF brings together several decks called Tarot de Marseille; the V&A describes Rider–Waite–Smith's illustrated structure. A modern edition can draw on both.

First card: the Five of Cups

Look at what fills the centre. If you mainly see five cups and decorative motifs, the card resembles an unillustrated numbered card common in Marseille. If you see a figure within a situation—with objects, space and a possible action—the approach is closer to Rider–Waite–Smith. This test is more useful than the box colour because it affects how a manual will ask you to read the Minor Arcana.

Try a Two of Swords or Ten of Wands as well. Some modern decks illustrate some cards but not others, or keep decorative pips with small backgrounds. Do not label an entire system from a single exception. Note the dominant pattern and the cards that break it.

Second and third cards: Justice and Strength

Look for the number printed on each card. The common Marseille convention puts Justice at VIII and Strength at XI. In Rider–Waite–Smith, Strength is VIII and Justice is XI. If your deck follows one set of numbers, it may use that convention even if other images mix styles.

This check avoids a common mistake: opening a book to “Arcanum VIII” and reading about the wrong card. On the first page of your notes, write “Justice = VIII” or “Justice = XI”, whichever fits your deck. Then this issue is settled before any spread.

Numbering alone cannot classify the whole deck. A contemporary artist may use Rider numbering while drawing the Minor Arcana like Marseille. That does not invalidate the deck; it tells you to study it as its own edition.

Fourth card: the Fool

Look at its name—Le Mat, El Loco or The Fool—and whether it bears a visible number, often zero in the Rider convention. Look at the scene too. A translated title alone cannot establish a deck family: “The Fool” may appear on an English version of a Marseille-related design. Together with numbering and the Minor Arcana, it gives you a stronger clue.

The British Museum catalogues a reproduction of a Nicolas Conver design from 1760. Its record shows why you should identify both model and copy: the preserved deck is a later reproduction, and even its box comes from another set. Sales descriptions help, but the cards and edition record are stronger evidence.

A quick identification sheet

Card What to record Why it matters
Five of Cups Decorative pips or a scene with people? Shows how Minor Arcana cards are explained
Justice Number and title Prevents a mix-up between chapters VIII/XI
Strength Number and title Confirms the swap
Fool Number, title and visible details Shows the edition's convention

Add the publisher, year, artist's name and any restoration note. If these are not on the box, check the leaflet or publisher's record. Do not infer a manufacturing date from the year of a reproduced design.

What to do with a hybrid deck

Choose a book by specific compatibility, not a promise of “universal meanings”. You can use a Rider–Waite–Smith guide for practising scene observation and a Marseille guide for suit and number, as long as you mark which idea comes from which. If a modern card changes a scene or title substantially, include its own booklet in the comparison.

An honest test is to read three cards without the book, then check whether its explanations refer to details actually printed on them. If two of the three descriptions discuss figures you do not have, that manual is not a suitable visual guide to your edition.

Continue with Marseille versus Rider–Waite–Smith and what to check when a book describes a different deck. The guide to tarot deck types provides a general introduction.

A test using cards you did not select

The initial four cards support a first classification, but a deck can imitate those clues and differ elsewhere. After that first look, draw three random Minor Arcana and one court card. Check whether they follow the pattern you thought you saw. If the Five of Cups has a scene but the other numbered cards show only symbols, you may have a hybrid deck. If Justice and Strength use one numbering convention while the Fool and suits follow another, record that rather than forcing a label.

This second step is a small independent check. It does not establish an editorial lineage; it helps you decide which book will be useful. A modern artist might combine illustrated Minor Arcana with French titles or adopt Waite's numbering on Marseille-inspired images. Calling the deck hybrid describes an observable mixture, not a criticism.

Read the edition's information

The box and leaflet may explain who drew the cards, which model was reproduced, whether it was restored and which names were changed. If they say “based on Nicolas Conver”, check whether “based on” means facsimile, redrawing or a new palette. The British Museum's record of a Conver reproduction shows that even a surviving box may not belong to the deck. Compare the publisher's description with the actual cards.

A model's date is not the age of your deck. A deck released this year may reproduce an old design; a second-hand box may contain a later printing. For learning to read, the crucial thing is identifying the images you describe. For a historical review, you also need the copy's date and the model behind it.

What if there is no publisher information?

Do not invent an origin. Describe the deck as “illustrated numbered cards, Justice XI” or “pip cards, Justice VIII”, according to what you saw. That helps a reader choose a book without asserting an unverified lineage. If you later find documentation for the edition, add it with its source.

An honest identification also helps with your tarot journal. You might write “deck A, edition unstated; guide B used only for structure” and keep personal associations separate. When you change decks, you will then know whether an interpretation came from the actual card, a book or your own habit.

Make this check before a spread that matters to you, not after a card confuses you. The deck's organisation is a study decision to make calmly; the spread question should be set without adjusting the interpretation to fit what appears.

Sources consulted