Major Arcana numbers quiz: tarot Roman numerals
What number is The Tower, and which card is XIV? Ten questions on the numbers of all 22 Major Arcana from 0 to XXI, in Rider-Waite order, with a note on each.
- 10 questions
- ≈ 3 min
- +10 bronze keys for a flawless run
What does the Major Arcana numbers quiz test?
This quiz checks how well you know the numbers of the 22 Major Arcana, from the Fool at zero to The World at XXI. Questions run both ways: sometimes you name a card's number, sometimes you identify the card from its Roman numeral. Each run picks ten of twenty-four questions, and a short note follows every answer.
The numbering matches what Tayna uses on its own deck and on every card page, so what you learn here carries straight into your readings on the site.
Why is Strength VIII and Justice XI?
This is the classic trap. Older Marseille decks put Justice at VIII and Strength at XI. When the Rider-Waite deck appeared in the early twentieth century, its creators swapped the two, and most modern decks, Tayna's included, follow that order.
If an old book or another deck numbers them the other way, it isn't a mistake, just a different tradition. For readings on this site, go with Strength at VIII and Justice at XI.
How do you read Roman numerals on tarot cards?
Three symbols cover almost everything: I is one, V is five, X is ten. A smaller symbol on the right adds, on the left it subtracts, so VI is six, IV is four and XIX is nineteen. Read long numbers in chunks from left to right and XVIII will never pass for XIII.
It also helps to keep a few landmarks in mind. X is the Wheel of Fortune, right in the middle of the row, while XX and XXI are the last two arcana. From those markers the neighbouring numbers come back in a second.
The Fool is the special case. Roman numerals have no zero, so the card simply shows 0. That zero puts the Fool outside the count, free to stand before the first card or after the last.
All questions and answers
Open after you play: the full question set with right answers and explanations.
1. Which Major Arcana card is number XIV?
Right answer: Temperance
Temperance is XIV, standing between Death (XIII) and The Devil (XV), like balance between two extremes.
2. What number is The Chariot?
Right answer: VII (7)
The Chariot is VII: drive and resolve follow right after the choice of The Lovers (VI).
3. Which card is number VIII in the Tayna deck?
Right answer: Strength
In the Tayna deck Strength is VIII and Justice is XI. Some older decks swap the two, so it's a classic trap.
4. What number is The Moon?
Right answer: XVIII (18)
The Moon is XVIII: after The Star's hope (XVII) the road passes through night, and then The Sun (XIX) rises.
5. The Fool is the only Major Arcana card numbered 0.
Right answer: True
The Fool is 0, and the other twenty-one cards run in order from The Magician (I) to The World (XXI).
6. Which Major Arcana card is number XII?
Right answer: The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man is XII: a pause and a new view, right after Justice (XI) and just before Death (XIII).
7. What number is The Magician?
Right answer: I (1)
The Magician is I, the first step after the Fool's zero. Will and skill open the count.
8. Which Major Arcana card is number X?
Right answer: Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune is X: the turn of fate comes right after The Hermit's solitude (IX).
9. What number is Death?
Right answer: XIII (13)
Death is XIII: one chapter closing for the next, and healing Temperance (XIV) follows right after.
10. Which Major Arcana card is number II?
Right answer: The High Priestess
The High Priestess is II: silence and the inner voice follow right after The Magician's will (I).
11. What number is The World?
Right answer: XXI (21)
The World is XXI, the last card. There is no XXII: the Fool is 0, which makes 22 cards in total.
12. There are exactly twenty-one Major Arcana cards.
Right answer: Myth
There are 22: the numbers run from 0 to XXI, and the Fool with his zero counts too.
13. Which Major Arcana card is number XVII?
Right answer: The Star
The Star is XVII: hope arrives right after The Tower (XVI), once the old structure has fallen.
14. What number is The Hermit?
Right answer: IX (9)
The Hermit is IX: solitude and searching within come right after Strength (VIII).
15. Which Major Arcana card is number V?
Right answer: The Hierophant
The Hierophant is V: the teacher and tradition come right after The Emperor (IV) and before The Lovers (VI).
16. What number is Justice in the Tayna deck?
Right answer: XI (11)
In Tayna, Justice is XI and VIII belongs to Strength. Balance comes right after Wheel of Fortune (X).
17. Which Major Arcana card is number XX?
Right answer: Judgement
Judgement is XX: awakening and reckoning sit between The Sun (XIX) and The World (XXI).
18. The Hanged Man and Death have neighbouring numbers.
Right answer: True
The Hanged Man is XII and Death is XIII: pausing and letting go lead straight to a chapter's end.
19. What number is The Devil?
Right answer: XV (15)
The Devil is XV: temptation sits between Temperance (XIV) and The Tower (XVI), which breaks what binds.
20. Which of these cards has the highest number?
Right answer: The Star
The Star is XVII, The Tower XVI, The Devil XV and Temperance XIV: four cards in a row.
21. What number is The Emperor?
Right answer: IV (4)
The Emperor is IV: structure and boundaries come right after The Empress (III), with The Hierophant (V) next.
22. Which of these cards has the lowest number?
Right answer: Strength
Strength is VIII, The Hermit IX, Wheel of Fortune X and Justice XI: four cards in a row.
23. What number is The Sun?
Right answer: XIX (19)
The Sun is XIX: after the anxious night of The Moon (XVIII) comes morning, and everything becomes visible.
24. Which Major Arcana card is number VI?
Right answer: The Lovers
The Lovers are VI: choosing with the heart sits between The Hierophant (V) and The Chariot (VII).