Extra Tarot Cards: What to Keep in a 79- or 80-Card Deck

Extra tarot cards do not automatically mean your deck is defective or that you must shuffle every card in the box. A conventional tarot deck has 78 reading cards, but a package may contain reference cards, alternative artwork, or creator-defined additions. Check your edition's guidebook, identify each extra's role, and choose your reading set before drawing.

For a straightforward starting point, keep reference and advertising cards beside the deck rather than in it. With alternate illustrations, choose the version you want to use unless the guidebook describes another approach. For a genuinely new symbolic card, learn its deck-specific meaning before deciding whether to use it. A blank card has no single meaning that applies across every deck.

Why 79 or 80 cards can be intentional

The familiar 78-card structure consists of 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. U.S. Games' publishing guidelines describe that standard and note that additional reference or spread-layout cards may accompany it. The contents of the package and the cards intended for drawing are therefore not always the same set.

There are also products deliberately sold with a different count. The official Fountain Tarot listing specifies 79 cards and an accompanying guidebook. That tells you the count is intentional for that product; the listing alone is not a substitute for its reading instructions.

A number above 78 does not, by itself, identify the extra card's purpose. Nor does it establish that your particular pack is complete. Compare the card names and artwork with the inventory for your edition. If you discover an absent named card instead, our guide to a missing tarot card addresses that separate problem.

Card count alone also cannot tell you the printing arrangement used by a publisher. Avoid turning an explanation about one production run into a rule for every deck.

Identify the extra by its job, not just its appearance

An unfamiliar card can fall into several categories. These are practical distinctions for sorting your own pack, not a universal naming system.

• Reference material helps you use the deck. It may show a spread diagram, a list of meanings, or information about the artist or publisher.
• An alternate illustration represents an existing card with a different image. Its title or number may match another card.
• An added symbolic card expands the deck's vocabulary. The creator gives it its own role rather than treating it as packaging.
• A blank card leaves its role unresolved until you consult the instructions or deliberately assign one.

Artwork is not enough to decide between them. An attractive promotional card can resemble a reading card, while a deliberately minimalist symbolic card can look almost empty. Look for a guidebook entry, a contents list, and any note about choosing between versions.

When the instructions are unclear, keep the unfamiliar card aside temporarily. That is a reversible choice. You can learn what it is without inventing a meaning under pressure.

Added meanings and alternate pictures are different

A new symbolic card is not the same thing as another picture of an existing card. That distinction helps you understand what changes when you adjust the pack.

For example, U.S. Games describes Matt Hughes' Ethereal Visions Tarot: Luna Edition as an 80-card deck with two additional Major Arcana cards, the Artist and the Well. Those are named additions to that edition, not automatic meanings for every deck that happens to have 80 cards. Consult its companion guide for their interpretation rather than borrowing a generic blank-card explanation.

By contrast, the official Star Spinner Tarot description identifies four interchangeable versions of the Lovers, designed to offer a wider range of representation. Multiple illustrations of one card do not automatically create multiple new archetypes.

If you choose one alternate version and keep the others aside, you are choosing the image for that role. If you shuffle all versions together, more than one card representing that role can be drawn. The composition has changed, even if the illustrations remain interchangeable. Follow your edition's guidance and be clear about the choice you make.

Decide what to shuffle before the first draw

A useful preparation has three questions: What belongs to this edition? What does each unfamiliar card do? Which set am I choosing for this exercise?

Once you know the answers, arrange the cards accordingly. A spread diagram is usually more useful where you can consult it than as an unexpected draw. An alternate image can be selected deliberately. A creator-defined addition can remain in the pack if you understand and want to use the expanded vocabulary.

For a beginner following a lesson built around the conventional 78 cards, that set can make comparison easier, provided the deck contains those cards. Learning an expanded edition is also an option; it simply requires attention to its own instructions. Neither choice makes you a more legitimate reader.

Avoid changing the set halfway through because the first draw disappointed you. You may change your practice later, but a rule chosen in advance is easier to understand than one adjusted to obtain a preferred image.

Our guide to using a tarot guidebook can help with an unfamiliar entry. A lookup is an opportunity to learn the deck, not a failure of intuition.

A blank card does not have one universal message

A blank face needs context. It may be a spare, a creative surface, or an intentional part of a particular deck. Do not infer its purpose solely from the fact that it is blank.

The distinction is especially clear in U.S. Games' Blank Tarot Cards product, a set of 80 customizable cards intended for creating tarot, oracle, flash-card, or game decks. Blankness there is material for a creative project, not a preassigned universal message.

If your illustrated deck supplies a blank with instructions, read those instructions. If it does not, leaving it out is a simple option. You do not have to invent an interpretation merely because the card was packaged with the others.

You can choose a personal convention for reflection, but name it as your convention. For example, you might use a blank drawn card as a reminder to list what you do not know. That is a suggested exercise, not a traditional meaning shared by all decks. It does not mean that fate is withholding information or that an answer is forbidden.

What changes when extra cards enter the set?

The ordinary consequence is that the available drawing material changes. An extra card can appear only if it is present. An additional version of the same card creates another route to encountering that role.

This is about the selection process, not spiritual authority. A larger set is not evidence of a more accurate reading, and a smaller conventional set is not evidence of a purer one. The meanings you can explore differ with the cards and conventions you use.

Consider an illustrative practice choice: you retain one Lovers illustration for everyday draws, then lay all its alternate images out face up for a separate art-reflection exercise. The first activity uses one selected image in the pack. The second compares images intentionally. They answer different questions and need not compete.

If you reflect with another person, mention unusual additions or multiple versions beforehand. They can then understand the activity and decide whether to participate. Our explanation of responsible spiritual tools keeps personal reflection separate from evidence about another person's feelings or future.

If an unfamiliar card appears unexpectedly

Pause and inspect the card before interpreting it. Check whether it is reference material, an alternate, or a named addition. A surprise in the pack is not a demand for an immediate answer.

If it is a reference card accidentally mixed in, set it aside. You can stop the exercise or, if you continue, decide clearly how to handle the interrupted draw. There is no universal requirement to repeat an entire spread.

If it is an addition you have not studied, consult the guidebook. You can leave that part of the reflection open rather than forcing an explanation. If no instructions establish its role, acknowledge that uncertainty.

A short journal note can record the deck, the unfamiliar card, and what you decided to use next time. Our tarot journaling guide offers a way to keep observations without treating later coincidences as validation. A useful note describes your practice; it does not need to prove that the unexpected card was meant to appear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a 79- or 80-card tarot deck defective?

Not necessarily. Some products deliberately contain additional symbolic cards, alternate images, or reference material. Check the official description and your edition's inventory. The total count alone cannot establish whether every intended card is present.

Should I remove all extra tarot cards?

Identify their purpose first. Keep reference material accessible outside the shuffled set. With alternate images or named additions, consult the guidebook and choose a setup before drawing. Removing an extra temporarily is reversible, so uncertainty need not become a rushed decision.

Does a blank tarot card mean the answer is unknown?

Only if that is the stated convention for your deck or one you consciously choose for an exercise. It is not a universal blank-card meaning. A blank cannot establish that information is hidden or that you should avoid a real-world conversation.

Can I use more than one alternate Lovers card?

You can choose to, but multiple versions in the shuffled set change what can be selected. Follow any guidance supplied with the deck and note your setup. Alternatively, compare the images face up without treating that comparison as a random draw.

Before your next shuffle, sort the unfamiliar cards into their actual roles and choose one setup you can describe. Keep the extras safely with the deck so you can revisit them. The goal is an understandable reflection practice, not a verdict about which version is spiritually correct.