The Major Arcana is a set of 22 cards in the tarot deck that forms its backbone, representing key spiritual lessons and life stages. These cards tell a story called "The Fool's Journey," where the main character, The Fool, embarks on a path from innocence and curiosity to self-awareness and fulfillment. Each card represents a different stage in life, reflecting personal growth, challenges, and enlightenment. Major Arcana cards are often seen as the most powerful in a reading, sometimes used alone to explore deeper, more significant life questions.
The journey of The Fool mirrors our own experiences, showing us familiar themes and lessons at various points in our lives. These cards encourage reflection and help us understand our inner struggles and achievements. They are more than just symbols; they act as guides that illuminate the spiritual evolution we all go through, from beginning new chapters to achieving personal enlightenment.
The Fool
The Fool tarot card represents new beginnings, adventure, and unlimited potential. Symbolized by a carefree figure on the brink of a journey, it encourages taking risks and exploring the unknown with an open heart. While it embodies innocence and spontaneity, it also serves as a reminder to consider the consequences of one's choices along the way.
Upright: beginnings, freedom, innocence, originality, adventure, idealism, spontaneity
Reversed: reckless, careless, distracted, naive, foolish, gullible, stale, dull
The Magician
The Magician tarot card symbolizes personal power, creativity, and the act of manifestation. Illustrated with a figure in action, it signifies harnessing one's skills and resources to achieve goals, encouraging proactive behavior and confidence in one's abilities.
Upright: willpower, desire, being resourceful, skill, ability, concentration, manifestation
Reversed: manipulation, cunning, trickery, wasted talent, illusion, deception
The High Priestess
The High Priestess is the second card in the tarot deck, symbolizing intuition, inner wisdom, and spiritual insight. Depicted as a mysterious woman sitting between two pillars, she embodies the balance of dualities and serves as a guide to accessing one's higher self. This card invites individuals to trust their instincts and seek deeper understanding in their personal journey.
Upright: unconscious, intuition, mystery, spirituality, higher power, inner voice
Reversed: repressed intuition, hidden motives, superficiality, confusion, cognitive dissonance
The Empress
The Empress is a powerful tarot card symbolizing feminine energy, nurturing, creativity, and abundance. Often depicted surrounded by lush nature, this card embodies care and the act of creation, urging individuals to focus on self-love, personal projects, and nurturing relationships.
Upright: divine feminine, sensuality, fertility, nurturing, creativity, beauty, abundance, nature
Reversed: insecurity, overbearing, negligence, smothering, lack of growth, lack of progress
The Emperor
The Emperor Tarot card symbolizes authority, structure, and control. Often associated with the characteristics of a leader or mentor, it embodies a decisive and disciplined approach to life, emphasizing the importance of responsibility and tradition. The card reflects both the drive to achieve goals and the potential for rigidity if taken to an extreme.
Upright: stability, structure, protection, authority, control, practicality, focus, discipline
Reversed: tyrant, domineering, rigid, stubborn, lack of discipline, recklessness
The Hierophant
The Hierophant Tarot card, numbered V, symbolizes tradition, conformity, and institutional knowledge. Depicted as a clerical figure on a throne, it represents authority derived from external sources, focusing on teaching and guidance in spiritual and educational contexts. The card emphasizes the importance of following established structures and societal norms, urging individuals to seek wisdom and support through recognized institutions or mentors.
Upright: tradition, social groups, conventionality, conformity, education, knowledge, beliefs
Reversed: rebellion, unconventionality, non-conformity, new methods, ignorance
The Lovers
The Lovers Tarot card symbolizes love, harmony, and choices in relationships. Often depicted with a couple before an angel, it highlights the importance of balance and connection, indicating pivotal decisions in love and partnerships. This card encourages reflection on personal values and connection, guiding individuals towards deeper understanding and commitment.
Upright: love, unions, partnerships, relationships, choices, romance, balance, unity
Reversed: disharmony, imbalance, conflict, detachment, bad choices, indecision
The Chariot
The Chariot tarot card symbolizes victory, willpower, and determination. Depicting a figure driving a chariot pulled by two sphinxes, it represents the balance of opposites and the need for control in moving forward. This card encourages the use of intentional action to overcome obstacles and take charge of one's destiny.
Upright: success, ambition, determination, willpower, control, self-discipline, focus
Reversed: forceful, no direction, no control, powerless, aggression, obstacles
Strength
The Strength tarot card symbolizes inner strength, courage, and the power of compassion. It encourages individuals to trust in their abilities and overcome obstacles through patience and self-control, rather than brute force. This card serves as a reminder that true strength comes from understanding and managing one's emotions gracefully.
Upright: courage, bravery, confidence, compassion, self-confidence, inner power
Reversed: self-doubt, weakness, low confidence, inadequacy, cowardice, forcefulness
The Hermit
The Hermit Tarot card symbolizes introspection, solitude, and the pursuit of inner knowledge. Depicting an old man with a lantern and staff, it conveys wisdom and the importance of looking inward for answers. Associated with the Virgo zodiac sign, this card emphasizes the need for personal reflection and connecting with nature.
Upright: self-reflection, introspection, contemplation, withdrawal, solitude, search for self
Reversed: loneliness, isolation, recluse, being anti-social, rejection, returning to society
Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune is the 10th card in the tarot deck and symbolizes the cycles of life, representing good luck, karma, and the ever-changing nature of fate. It serves as a reminder that life can bring both highs and lows, encouraging acceptance of change while highlighting the importance of seizing opportunities as they arise.
Upright: change, cycles, fate, decisive moments, luck, fortune, unexpected events
Reversed: bad luck, lack of control, clinging to control, unwelcome changes, delays
Justice
The Justice tarot card symbolizes fairness, truth, and balance. Depicted as a woman holding scales and a sword, it encourages individuals to reflect on their moral choices and the consequences of their actions. This card serves as a reminder to seek justice and maintain integrity in both decision-making and interpersonal relationships.
Upright: justice, karma, consequence, accountability, law, truth, honesty, integrity, cause and effect
Reversed: injustice, retribution, dishonesty, corruption, unfairness, avoiding accountability
The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man tarot card, depicted as a man suspended upside down, symbolizes surrender and the need for a change in perspective. It encourages letting go of control and embracing a pause, offering insights through sacrifice and reflection. In readings, it represents spiritual transitions, self-sacrifice for a greater good, and the importance of observing situations from different angles.
Upright: sacrifice, waiting, uncertainty, lack of direction, perspective, contemplation
Reversed: stalling, disinterest, stagnation, avoiding sacrifice, standstill, apathy
Death
The Death tarot card, often depicted as a skeletal figure on a pale horse, symbolizes transformation, endings, and new beginnings. It does not indicate physical death but rather signifies major transitions in life, urging individuals to let go of stagnant energy and embrace change. The card emphasizes that endings are a natural part of life's cycle, leading to personal growth and renewal.
Upright: transformation, endings, change, transition, letting go, release
Reversed: fear of change, repeating negative patterns, resisting change, stagnancy, decay
Temperance
The Temperance tarot card symbolizes balance, moderation, and harmony. Often depicted as an angel pouring water from one cup to another, it encourages finding a middle ground and restoring equilibrium in our lives. This card serves as a reminder to practice patience and self-control, especially during chaotic times.
Upright: balance, peace, patience, moderation, calm, tranquillity, harmony, serenity
Reversed: imbalance, excess, extremes, discord, recklessness, hastiness
The Devil
The Devil tarot card symbolizes the shadow self, temptation, and the struggle against addiction and self-destructive behaviors. It serves as a reminder that we are often trapped by our own fears and unhealthy habits, but it also encourages self-reflection and the possibility of breaking free from these chains.
Upright: oppression, addiction, obsession, dependency, excess, powerlessness, limitations
Reversed: independence, freedom, revelation, release, reclaiming power, reclaiming control
The Tower
The Tower tarot card symbolizes sudden upheaval and unexpected change, often indicating a significant event that shakes the foundations of your life. While it can represent trauma or loss, it also serves as a reminder that sometimes destruction is necessary to make way for new opportunities and personal growth.
Upright: disaster, destruction, upheaval, trauma, sudden change, chaos
Reversed: averting disaster, delaying the inevitable, resisting change
The Star
The Star tarot card, numbered 17 in the Major Arcana, symbolizes hope, inspiration, and renewal. It encourages positivity and healing while reminding us that even in difficult times, solace and guidance are available. This card signifies a light at the end of the tunnel, urging us to embrace our potential and trust in the bright future ahead.
Upright: hope, inspiration, positivity, faith, renewal, healing, rejuvenation
Reversed: hopelessness, despair, negativity, lack of faith, despondent
The Moon
The Moon tarot card represents the journey through the subconscious, highlighting themes of intuition, dreams, and emotional uncertainty. It symbolizes the presence of illusions and the need for clarity amidst confusion, urging individuals to trust their inner voice while confronting hidden fears and emotions. The card emphasizes the importance of cyclical nature in life, reflecting both light and dark aspects of the self.
Upright: illusion, intuition, uncertainty, confusion, complexity, secrets, unconscious
Reversed: fear, deception, anxiety, misunderstanding, misinterpretation, clarity, understanding
The Sun
The Sun tarot card, numbered 19 in the Major Arcana, symbolizes joy, success, and vitality. It represents the fulfillment of goals and the warmth of happiness, often reflecting a positive culmination of efforts. With associations to the fire element and the zodiac sign Leo, this card conveys a sense of optimism, creativity, and abundance, encouraging individuals to embrace their inner child and enjoy life's moments.
Upright: happiness, success, optimism, vitality, joy, confidence, truth
Reversed: blocked happiness, excessive enthusiasm, pessimism, unrealistic expectations, conceitedness
Judgement
The Judgement tarot card symbolizes rebirth, inner calling, and transformation. Depicted with an angel blowing a trumpet to awaken the dead, this card encourages self-reflection and embraces the lessons from the past. It serves as a reminder to evaluate one's life decisions and be accountable for past actions.
Upright: self-evaluation, awakening, renewal, purpose, reflection, reckoning
Reversed: self-doubt, lack of self-awareness, failure to learn lessons, self-loathing
The World
The World tarot card symbolizes completion, fulfillment, and the cyclical nature of life. It represents the end of one journey and the beginning of another, encouraging reflection on achievements and the opportunities that lie ahead. This card highlights connection and the importance of embracing new beginnings after reaching significant milestones.
Upright: completion, achievement, fulfilment, sense of belonging, wholeness, harmony
Reversed: lack of closure, lack of achievement, feeling incomplete, emptiness