Tarot Card Meanings

The tarot is divided into two categories: the Major and the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana represent powerful forces that shape the lives of humans, such as Justice or Judgement. Put together, these 22 cards represent the archetypical life’s journey, from the innocence of The Fool all the way to the well-rounded wisdom of The World.

Major Arcana Tarot

Minor Arcana Tarot

The Tarot Cards

Wisdom can be found everywhere. Some look for it in dusty books, others sit at the feet of knowledgeable scholars and wait for crumbs of wisdom to drop down into their waiting mouths. For centuries, many have sought wisdom in the cards of the tarot.

The origins of the tarot are somewhat obscure, although historians have traced them to a set of cards favored by Italian aristocrats in the 1500s called “tarocchi.” Many of the images we see on the modern tarot, such as the court cards, derive from this deck. Throughout their evolution, versions of tarot cards were used for education and even game play in addition to their divinatory meanings. As the centuries passed, more and more diviners began matching the ideas of the Tarot to ideas from mystical traditions such as the lost tradition of Egyptian magic contained in The Book of Thoth, the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah, and various European mythologies. The history of tarot encompasses a multitude of decks, some of the most famous being the Rider-Waite and the Marseille deck, that may have slight variations in meaning and imagery.

The tarot can act as a gateway to these other traditions of mysticism and its history is truly fascinating. However, if you decide that it is all too confusing or not useful to you right now, you can disregard the history entirely and focus on the cards as they exist in your present. You can choose to work with one of the traditional decks, or one of the myriad modern ones centered on various themes, from world mythology to animals. You can draw on the tarot’s traditions as much as you wish, but it does not define your path with the cards.

At the beginning it was said that wisdom can be found anywhere, even in a pack of cards. This is true, and there are great insights to be found in the 78 images that make up the tarot. However, the greatest strength of the tarot is its ability to point you towards the greatest source of wisdom of all—your own inner self.

Major Arcana Tarot Card Meanings

The Suit Of Wands Meanings

Minor Arcana Tarot Card Meanings

The Suit Of Cups Meanings

Minor Arcana Tarot Card Meanings

The Suit Of Swords Meanings

Minor Arcana Tarot Card Meanings

The Suit Of Pentacles Meanings

Minor Arcana Tarot Card Meanings