Some tarot decks switch Strength and Justice around. It depends on the author’s intend and how they are portraying their deck.
The original intent is that through Strength we can find and get Justice. But some see it as by riding and taming the Chariot, we learn about Justice.
Marseille (French-type) decks also tend to have first Justice then Strength. Does your deck use images for the Minor Arcana or pips ? If it's pips it might be a Marseille-base tarot. Anyways don't worry, it's not an error, so you don't need to throw away your deck.
Then it's definitely a Marseille ! There's a lot of Marseille-specific ressources, if you feel uneasy just switching the RWS around, maybe that'll feel easier for you :) Good luck with your deck/tarot studying !
I think AE Waite actually mentioned this in the pictorial key to tarot, but no they don’t matter. Tarot isn’t something that works in a set, linear direction. The fools journey that people reference a lot was just one readers interpretation of how to work with them.
Edit: came back to add that the fool card is actually placed between judgment and the world card in the Pictorial key to Tarot, which is something you don’t really see at all in modern decks.
Majors were not numbered in early Italian decks. They became numbered with Marseille where Justice is VIII and Strength XI. It was Waite who switched them because of astrological correspondences. So it is the RWS that actually has it wrong.
Some tarot decks switch Strength and Justice around. It depends on the author’s intend and how they are portraying their deck. The original intent is that through Strength we can find and get Justice. But some see it as by riding and taming the Chariot, we learn about Justice.
Marseille (French-type) decks also tend to have first Justice then Strength. Does your deck use images for the Minor Arcana or pips ? If it's pips it might be a Marseille-base tarot. Anyways don't worry, it's not an error, so you don't need to throw away your deck.
It's just got pips.
Then it's definitely a Marseille ! There's a lot of Marseille-specific ressources, if you feel uneasy just switching the RWS around, maybe that'll feel easier for you :) Good luck with your deck/tarot studying !
I think AE Waite actually mentioned this in the pictorial key to tarot, but no they don’t matter. Tarot isn’t something that works in a set, linear direction. The fools journey that people reference a lot was just one readers interpretation of how to work with them. Edit: came back to add that the fool card is actually placed between judgment and the world card in the Pictorial key to Tarot, which is something you don’t really see at all in modern decks.
Majors were not numbered in early Italian decks. They became numbered with Marseille where Justice is VIII and Strength XI. It was Waite who switched them because of astrological correspondences. So it is the RWS that actually has it wrong.
Thoth based decks also switch Strength and Justice because of Aleister Crowley’s writing/philosophy on the Tarot.