We should probably talk.
First, the short answer: there’s no single, universally agreed “tarot card 42.” In a standard 78-card deck, the answer depends on how you arrange and number the cards. In Glorian’s Eternal Tarot, Arcanum 42 has its own name: Preeminence.
And decks containing exactly 42 cards? Those exist too.
Our name is another story. It involves a supercomputer, a very long wait and an answer delivered with complete confidence that left everyone thoroughly confused.
But let’s start with the cards.
So which tarot card is the 42nd?
If you have a full tarot deck in front of you, you can certainly pick it up and count to 42.
The trouble is, we don’t all put the cards in the same order.
A standard tarot deck contains 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. The Minors have four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles, with 14 cards in each.
Change the order of the suits, and “card 42” can change with it.
| How you arrange and count | Which card you get |
|---|---|
| Start with the 22 Majors, then Wands, then Cups. Put each suit in Ace-to-King order and count the first card as 1. | The 42nd card is the Six of Cups. |
| Start with the 22 Majors, then Cups, then Pentacles. Use the same counting method. | The 42nd card is the Six of Pentacles. |
| Use the first arrangement, but number the entire deck consecutively from 0. | Number 42 is the Seven of Cups, the 43rd card in the deck. |
That last row is especially good at causing confusion.
The Fool has a 0 on it, but a card’s printed number, its number in a full-deck sequence and its position in the stack are three different things. Put the Fool first, and it’s still the first card you pick up.
So if you’re trying to identify a particular card, its name, picture and deck are more useful than the number 42 alone.
The candidates themselves are worth meeting, though.
The Six of Cups often brings up memories, childhood and old connections. Think of someone you haven’t spoken to in years suddenly liking your post, and you looking at that notification for a little longer than expected.
The Six of Pentacles is about giving and receiving: knowing when to offer help, and when to let yourself accept it.
The Seven of Cups deals with options, imagination and temptation. If you’ve ever opened twelve shopping tabs and bought absolutely nothing, you may recognize the feeling.
Each can be “42” in a particular arrangement. None has permanent rights to the number.
What about Preeminence?
If you found Glorian’s Tarot Arcanum 42: Preeminence, you haven’t taken a wrong turn.
In that book’s system, there really is a card numbered 42 called Preeminence. The word suggests distinction or a leading position. The page connects it with power, hierarchy and voluntary obedience, alongside Venus, the letter M and the number 6.
One thought is worth keeping: greater status and power should come with the character to deserve them.
In everyday terms, being put in charge, trusted with more or given a say in other people’s choices means taking your responsibilities more seriously too.
This Arcanum 42 belongs to that book’s numbering and interpretation system. It isn’t simply another name for the Six of Cups, Six of Pentacles or Seven of Cups.
Tarot42’s card meanings are based on Rider–Waite–Smith imagery. When you encounter another system, checking the deck and approach first is more useful than trying to make every card line up.
They can each be interesting without sharing one answer.
So why is this site called Tarot42?
Blame Douglas Adams.
In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a supercomputer named Deep Thought spends 7.5 million years calculating the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything.
Its answer is:
42.
Then everyone realizes they haven’t worked out what the actual question is. The answer may be certain, but nobody knows what to do with it. The publisher explains the story here.
We like that idea.
Because we do something similar quite often: we want an answer before we’ve had a chance to say what we’re really asking.
“Should I change jobs?”
You might be asking about pay or room to grow. Or perhaps you’ve been exhausted for a long time and still don’t feel you’re allowed to stop.
“Should I contact that person?”
Maybe you want to start again. Maybe you want to know whether you’ve finally moved on.
The same question can hold very different needs.
That’s part of what interests us about tarot. A card can offer an angle that helps you pause, notice why something matters and consider what you’re hoping to hear.
Tarot42 takes its name from that interest in questions and answers.
If 42 is the answer to the universe, what is yours?
Why 78 cards if you’re called Tarot42?
Because we wanted to keep the whole deck.
Tarot42 uses the standard 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana.
The Majors often bring up significant changes, choices and life themes. The Minors bring us back to everyday matters: work, relationships, money, plans and assorted Tuesday problems.
Life has its big moments.
But much of the time, we’re worrying about a message we don’t know how to answer, something we’ve been putting off, or a day when nothing particular has happened and we still can’t find our energy.
Those things deserve attention too.
So we kept all 78. 42 explains the name. 78 counts the cards.
They have different jobs. They get along quite well.
But 42-card tarot decks really do exist
If your deck contains only 42 cards, don’t assume you’ve lost half of it.
Some decks are designed with:
- 22 Major Arcana;
- 16 court cards;
- 4 Aces.
That makes exactly 42. Compared with the standard 78, they leave out the numbered cards from 2 to 10 in each suit: 36 cards altogether.
In a 2010 Aeclectic forum discussion, one reader described two Brazilian decks they owned, Tarot dos Anjos and Tarô Místico, with this structure. Some readers liked the idea of a smaller deck; others missed the everyday detail of the omitted cards. Read the original discussion.
Here’s a more unexpected example: the 1967 Linweave Tarot was made to advertise paper.
According to the Johns Hopkins University archive, Brown Company produced this 42-card deck to showcase papers in different colors, textures and weights. The backs combined divinatory meanings with paper specifications, artist credits and advertisements. See the archive record.
A little insight into your future. A little insight into paper.
At least the paper came with specifications.
So the 42-card deck has real examples behind it. Their existence doesn’t mean every tarot deck should contain 42 cards, though.
We chose 78 because we like the range of detail a full deck keeps. Other readers can have their own reasons for choosing differently.
For the wider history of these card counts, read History of Tarot Cards: Origins, Myths and Modern Decks, including 22-, 42-, 78- and 97-card packs and the traditions around them.
Enough about 42. What’s your question?
You don’t have to start with life, the universe and everything. One everyday decision will do.
Have a specific decision on your mind? Try Yes/No Tarot. Choose a card, read its meaning and notice what you’re hoping to hear.
Want a moment to check in with yourself? Try Daily Tarot: three cards for Energy, Focus and Release, to consider how you feel, what deserves your attention and what you can let go of.
Want to ask a quick question? Try Pick a Card.
Just curious about the deck? Explore all 78 tarot cards.
You bring the question.
We’ll bring the cards. All 78 of them.