The tarot is a deck of 78 cards, each one a symbol with layers of meaning. On this page you will find every card in the deck, organized the way readers learn them: the 22 cards of the Major Arcana, followed by the four suits of the Minor Arcana.
Each card guide covers the upright and reversed meaning, what the card says about love and feelings, and how it answers a yes-or-no question. Take your time; the best way to learn the tarot is one card at a time.
[PLACEHOLDER: Individual card guides will be linked from the lists below as they are published, e.g. /tarot-card-meanings/the-fool/.]
The Major Arcana
The 22 Major Arcana cards trace a journey from The Fool’s first step to the completion of The World. When they appear in a reading they point to big themes, turning points and life lessons rather than everyday events.
- 0 · The Fool — new beginnings, spontaneity, a leap of faith
- I · The Magician — willpower, skill, manifesting what you want
- II · The High Priestess — intuition, secrets, inner knowing
- III · The Empress — abundance, nurturing, creativity
- IV · The Emperor — structure, authority, stability
- V · The Hierophant — tradition, teachers, shared beliefs
- VI · The Lovers — love, union, choices of the heart
- VII · The Chariot — determination, momentum, victory
- VIII · Strength — courage, patience, gentle power
- IX · The Hermit — solitude, reflection, inner guidance
- X · Wheel of Fortune — cycles, luck, turning points
- XI · Justice — truth, fairness, cause and effect
- XII · The Hanged Man — surrender, pause, a new perspective
- XIII · Death — endings, transformation, release
- XIV · Temperance — balance, moderation, healing
- XV · The Devil — attachment, temptation, shadow self
- XVI · The Tower — sudden change, revelation, upheaval
- XVII · The Star — hope, renewal, quiet faith
- XVIII · The Moon — illusion, dreams, the subconscious
- XIX · The Sun — joy, success, vitality
- XX · Judgement — awakening, reckoning, a calling
- XXI · The World — completion, wholeness, fulfillment
The Minor Arcana: four suits
The 56 Minor Arcana cards describe the day-to-day: conversations, decisions, moods and small victories. Each suit has ten numbered cards (Ace to Ten) and four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen and King).
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Suit of Wands
Element: Fire. Passion, ambition, creativity and the spark that gets things started.
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Suit of Cups
Element: Water. Emotions, relationships, intuition and matters of the heart.
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Suit of Swords
Element: Air. Thoughts, communication, conflict and the search for truth.
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Suit of Pentacles
Element: Earth. Money, work, health and the things you build to last.
How to read a card meaning
- Start with the image. Notice what you feel before you read any keywords.
- Consider the position. Upright cards express their energy openly; reversed cards often suggest that energy is blocked, delayed or turned inward.
- Connect it to your question. The same card can describe a feeling, a person or an outcome depending on what you asked.
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