MERCURY’S CADUCEUS AS REPRESENTED BY THE MANTEGNA TAROCCHI

… it was worth examining all three sets of the tarocchi at the same time. Unlike the Mantegna E and S series which number 100 (50 times 2) images in total, the Sola Busca set contains 22 major trumps and 56 minor arcana, resulting in a total of 78 images. Traditionally, modern-day tarot decks also have 22 major arcana and 56 minor ones, but the 22 trumps of the Sola Busca do not resemble modern-day trumps in the least. I found that when the Sola Busca trumps were placed in a circle, they formed a sundial-structure where the 24 hours of the day were clearly implied as was a secondary ring representing the zodiac.