Pip Cards
The numbered Ace-to-Ten cards of the Minor Arcana — historically shown as bare suit-symbol arrangements before the RWS deck illustrated them with scenes.
Pip cards are the numbered cards of the Minor Arcana — Ace through Ten of each suit, forty cards in all — as distinct from the sixteen court cards. The name comes from “pips,” the suit symbols themselves: on historical decks (and on modern Marseille-style decks) a Five of Swords is literally five swords arranged in a pattern, like a playing card.
The Rider–Waite–Smith deck changed the pips forever by giving each one a full illustrated scene — mourning figures, celebrating dancers, burdened travellers — making the cards' meanings readable by looking. Decks descended from RWS (most modern decks) keep scenic pips; Marseille-tradition decks keep symbolic ones and lean on number-and-suit logic instead.
For learners the distinction is practical: scenic-pip decks teach through imagery, symbolic-pip decks through system. Our card meanings describe the RWS scenes, but the suit × number grammar taught in our course works for both styles.
Frequently asked questions
- What are pip cards in tarot?
- The numbered Ace-to-Ten cards of the four suits — forty cards. Historically shown as bare suit-symbol arrangements; illustrated with full scenes since the Rider–Waite–Smith deck.
- What's the difference between scenic and non-scenic pips?
- Scenic pips (RWS tradition) show illustrated scenes you can read visually; non-scenic pips (Marseille tradition) show symbol arrangements read through number-and-suit logic.
Written and reviewed by The ArcanaPath Editorial Team
Last updated July 16, 2026
ArcanaPath is an educational resource. Card meanings are offered for learning and self-reflection — not fortune-telling, and not medical, legal, or financial advice.