Named by the famous French occultist Papus in his book Tarot of Bohemians in the late part of 19th century it encompasses whole set of the Tarot decks that are closely related to one unique design. The true origin of the deck is probably in northern Italy in second part of 15th centrury. In 1499 Louis XII of France, invaded Lombardy and seized Milan. First versions of the Tarot de Marseille were probably introduced in the time of occupation to southern France (there are other theories claiming this deck maybe originated in Marseille long before 15th century etc.). Contemporary city of Marseille was a centre of playing cards production. From that time on, many variations of this original design surfaced in Marseille and other French cities. In 17th century game and decks were reintroduced from France into northern Italy and the Tarot de Marseille pattern became dominant. Today it remains to be probably the most influential deck inspiring countless modern decks. In the beginning the cards were printed from the woodcut and than painted. Two early versions of the Marseille tarot decks that are well-known today are Noblet's (circa 1650) and Dodal's (circa 1701). Belgian pattern (Flemish deck) is also very close to the old versions of the Tarot de Marseille. The main use of the deck originally was to play the game of tarot (tarrochi), only later it was used for the divination purposes as first noted in the 18th century in the writings of Giacomo Casanova.

  The structure of this deck is standard from today's perspective and that is not unusual knowing that this deck is the blueprint for the most of the modern decks.

Minor Arcana
Bâtons (Rods, Staves, Sceptres, or Wands)	Épées (Swords)	Coupes (Cups)	Deniers (Pentacles, Coins)
Cards from Ace to 10	Cards from Ace to 10	Cards from Ace to 10	Cards from Ace to 10
Valet (Knave or Page) Chevalier or Cavalier (Horse-rider or Knight) Dame (Queen) Roi (King)	Valet (Knave or Page) Chevalier or Cavalier (Horse-rider or Knight) Dame (Queen) Roi (King)	Valet (Knave or Page) Chevalier or Cavalier (Horse-rider or Knight) Dame (Queen) Roi (King)	Valet (Knave or Page) Chevalier or Cavalier (Horse-rider or Knight) Dame (Queen) Roi (King)

Major Arcana
I. Le Bateleur	The Mountebank, The Juggler, The Magician
II. La Papesse Le'Spagnol Capitano Eracasse(Flemish deck)	The Papess, or The Female Pope Spanish Captain (Flemish deck)
III. L'Impératrice	The Empress
IV. L'Empereur	The Emperor
V. Le Pape Bacchus(Flemish deck)	The Pope, or The Hierophant
VI. L'Amoureux	(The Lovers)
VII. Le Chariot	The Chariot
VIII. La Justice	Justice
IX. L'Hermite	The Hermit
X. La Roue de Fortune	The Wheel of Fortune
XI. La Force	Strength, or Fortitude
XII. Le Pendu	The Hanged Man
XII	L'Arcane sans nom (unnamed) La Mort (in Noblet deck) or Death
XIV. Tempérance	Temperance
XV. Le Diable	The Devil
XVI. La Maison Dieu	The House of God, or The Tower
XVII. L'Étoile	The Star
XVIII. La Lune	The Moon
XIX. Le Soleil	The Sun
XX. Le Jugement	Judgement
XXI. Le Monde	The World
Le Mat (without number)	The Fool

Tarot de Marseille (Jean Dodal, early 18th century)
Tarot de Marseille (Nicolas Conver, 1760)

Additional information:

• the second card in the Major Arcana is called La Papesse. It may represent the legendary Pope Joan. The story first appears in 13th centuries chronicles. Allegedly, a mythical female figure presenting herself as a man rose through church hierarchy all the way to the top. She was exposed while giving birth and she died or got killed soon after. Most modern scholars dismiss Pope Joan as a Medieval legend. In older times La Papesse was replaced by many variants such as Juno or Le'Spagnol Capitano Eracasse. More recent decks use The High Priestess, as suggested by Court de Gébelin. Le'Spagnol Capitano Eracasse (The Spanish Captain - a stock character from Commedia dell'arte) are used more in the northern variants of the Tarot de Marseille (Flemish decks) while Juno is used more to the east from the French centre (Swiss Tarot or Tarot of Besançon)


• the XIII card is usually unnamed in many variants of Tarot de Marseille. In the Noblet Tarot de Marseille , the card was named La Mort (Death) while in some Italian Tarot decks is named Il Tredici (Thirteen).
• In some influential modern Tarot decks Justice and Strength in the Major Arcana switch their places.
• The original Tarot de Marseille from Nicolas Conver has been found to containt the Golden ratio in its imagery, it implies deeper knowledge of  author about some esoteric and occult practices.
• There are certain arheological proof that some motives deemed Egyptian might not be Egyptian at all. The winged Sphynx for example is found to be known in the old European tradition and worshiped in some cults near the city of Marseille.