The major arcana depicts these concepts using a system of meaningful images. These symbolic pictures, developed centuries before, would have been familiar to those that first used these cards, but seem opaque and strange to the modern viewer, such as Prudence with her mirror and her snake, and Charity holding the flame in her hand. Other symbols, such as the scales and sword of justice have persisted through the centuries and remain familiar to the modern mind, giving tantalising hints of the fullness of experience accessible to those that first used these cards.
The 41 majors include cards that can be compared to most, if not all, of the typical tarot majors, although the Papess is missing, and the Empress, Emperor and Pope have been transformed into the politically neutral figures: the Grand Duke and the Emperors of the West and East. The numbering of the cards is not analogous to the numbering of the conventional tarot due to the presence of the extra cards inserted into the body of the deck. These additional cards are typical of the Minchiate tradition. These include ideas and concepts familiar to the time in which they were created, such as the astrological sighs, the Christian virtues and the four elements, which between them encompass the entirety of the world and the heavens.
It includes 97 cards, the usual 56 that comprise the minor arcana of the tarot, and an extended major arcana whose 41 cards follow the tradition of Minchiate decks.
The deck is a photo reproduction of a Florentine Minchiate deck from 1725, which has 56 minors and 41 major arcana, with cards for the signs, planets and virtues.
The Minchiate Tarot is a reprint of the historical Ancient Minchiate Etruria Tarot.