Detailed description of Tarot cards and their meanings

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Tarot reading is a popular way to find out your future and get answers to many questions. But the most difficult thing in this process is the interpretation of meanings. The Tarot deck contains 78 arcana. When fortune-telling, one should take into account not only specific cards and their meanings, but also their combinations. In order to learn this, you need to put a little effort and patience. In this article, we will consider a detailed description of Tarot cards and learn how to interpret them correctly.

Major Arcana

The most key figures of the entire deck of Tarot cards are precisely the Major Arcana. They not only describe the situation, but also show the root of its problem. In predictions for the future, the Major Arcana show the full development of the matter with all the consequences. In some layouts, only these cards are used. So, the deck contains 22 Major Arcana. Each of them has its own order. This image shows all the Major Arcana in the correct order.

Interpretation of the Major Arcana

So, let's look at the description of the Tarot cards in order.

The first card is considered to be a card with a value of 0. It is called the Jester and means frivolity, carelessness, inspiration, creativity. So, for example, if this lasso falls out in the question of what preceded the situation, then, most likely, the fortuneteller behaved too frivolously. But if, for example, it indicates future events or a solution to an issue, then this will mean that the situation can be solved only if you approach it creatively.

I. The magician symbolizes a young man, strong and self-confident. In classic fortune-telling in the upright position, the lasso denotes will, diplomacy, energy and readiness for decisive action. On the contrary, it is precisely these qualities that a person lacks.

II The High Priestess - wisdom, psychic abilities, mysteries and secrets. In addition, it can personify a girl or a woman surrounded by a fortuneteller. If the card falls on a personality characteristic, then the person has a hidden talent, which will soon manifest itself.

III Empress - harmony, growth, prosperity. In any scenario, the card symbolizes stability and a favorable outcome of events.

IV Emperor - power, protection, authority. This card indicates that a person has a reliable protector or he must find it. As a personality characteristic, the lasso means that a person is a protector. He is always ready to help.

V Hierophant (in some decks - Priest). This card hasenough values. First of all, this is the opposite of the High Priestess. Denotes enslavement, the process of learning, the need to gain knowledge. May also indicate their deficiency.

VI Lovers - close relationship, friendship, possibly love. In some divination, it can mean self-love. The description of the Tarot card VI Lovers is quite capacious. Arkan also means pleasure, temptation, beauty, stability, success, union. So, for example, if a card falls on the future, then it may mean that a person is in harmony with himself and everything will work out for him.

VII Wagon - anxiety, defeat. This is one of the few cards that indicate exactly the action, and not its result. If the lasso of the Wagon falls out in fortune-telling, it means that the time has come for deliberate actions. In an inverted position - definitely a failure.

VIII Strength - the name of the card largely determines its value. So, it means strength, power, power, action. The card indicates that the time of calm has already passed. Now you need to act very boldly.

IX Hermit - patience, the need to wait. Unlike the previous lasso, this one indicates a slowdown and decline in activity. In a straight position can also mean solitude, loneliness. Inverted - he alth problems.

X Fortune (Wheel of Fortune) is a lasso with many meanings. All of them depend on the cards that will stand next to each other in the layout. The basic description of the Fortune Tarot card is as follows:

• change;
• a gift from above;
• punishment;
• success;
• fate;
• a sharp turn of events.

XI Justice - thoughtful decisions, court cases. In general, the lasso indicates that it is necessary to find a balance.

XII The Hanged Man - the lasso denotes intuition, a hopeless future, hard work. The card symbolizes the framework in which a person will be placed, and he will have no other choice but to obey. The lasso also means refusal, testing, self-sacrifice.

XIII Death is one of the worst cards in the deck, which means loss, completion, separation. However, in some divination, the description of the Tarot card is as follows - the end of the black stripe.

XIV Moderation - denotes balance, the need to find a middle ground in a situation.

XV Devil - greed, greed, inability to stop.

XVI Tower - changes in life, and they can be both good and bad. Everything will depend on the adjacent cards.

XVII A star is a good sign, hopes and plans. This card signifies peace, good news, routine.

XVIII Moon - solitude, loneliness, loss of control. The card gives advice that it is time for a person to rethink his life.

XIX The sun symbolizes glory, success, universal recognition. In love scenarios, it can mean passion, lust.

XX Judgment is a card that is very similar in meaning to Arcana XI Justice. It can mean new unexpected events, rewards, punishment, vain anxiety. XX Court - the Tarot card, the description and meaning of which we are considering - canalso signify a strong sense of fear and anxiety.

XXI World is the last Major Arcana in the deck. The card means completion, a journey, perhaps an escape from oneself.

Minor Arcana

This part of the deck consists of 56 cards and is divided into 4 suits: Pentacles, Cups, Swords and Wands. Each of them belongs to one of the four elements. Depending on the suit of the lasso, the Tarot cards are interpreted. The description of the card as a whole also depends on the numerological meaning of each of them. So, there are 14 cards in each suit:

• numeric (from 2 to 10);
• Ace;
• Page;
• Knight;
• Queen;
• King.

Let's consider each of the suits in more detail.

Wands

This suit has a lot of names. So, in some interpretations, the following can be found: Scepters, Staves, Spears, Clubs, Sticks. But their essence does not change from this. The suit of the Wands personifies the element of Fire, the masculine principle. It symbolizes energy and vitality, ambition. If we consider the Staves from the astrological side, but they correspond with such signs of the zodiac: Leo, Sagittarius, Aries.

Wand Suit: Meanings

In the layouts, most often, the Wands indicate a business or a field of work, where the result depends only on the person himself. If more than 3 Staff cards fall out in the personality characteristic, this indicates that this person achieves everything in her life herself.

For each of the 14 cards of the suit of Wands, of course, there is a meaning. It depends on the adjacent cards and thealignment. Consider the full description of the Tarot cards of the suit of Wands.

Ace of Staves symbolizes good luck and success, career growth. What you put so much effort into will now bear fruit. In the layout for love, the meaning of the card depends on the gender of the fortuneteller. So, for a man, this is success in a relationship with his beloved. If a guy is single, it means that one girl really likes him. If this lasso falls to a woman, then it means that it is time for her to find a lover.

The following cards are easy to interpret. So, the two of Wands - plans, the three - the beginning of a new stage, the four - the first fruits, and so on. Nine Staffs will mean the completion of affairs. The ten of Wands has the most negative meaning. It signifies the failure of all plans. Curly cards (page, knight, queen, king) respectively mean business connections, professionalism, patronage, power.

Cups

This suit is also called Chalices. Element - Water. They symbolize peace, solitude, love experiences, relationships with people around them. Ace of Cups - ideal relationship.

Two - reciprocity.

Troika is a holiday.

Four - tension in the relationship.

Five - regret.

Six - sincerity.

Seven - temptations.

Eight - new relationship.

Nine - pleasure, prosperity.

Ten - happiness in the family.

Page is imagination.

Knight - strong feelings.

Queen and King - stability.

Pentacles

Another name for the suit is Coins, Denarii. Element - Earth. So, this suit is responsible for the financial sphere of human life. Each of the cards symbolizes either profit and prosperity, or loss. On the image of each of the lasso, you can clearly see the description of each Tarot card. So, if you look at the Ace, it becomes clear that it means profit, but the Five of Pentacles means loss.

Swords

This suit symbolizes the spiritual benefits of a person. This is the area that is hidden from prying eyes. This is the most dangerous suit of the deck, which symbolizes feelings and emotions: anger, passion, enmity. It is in it that the greatest number of negative values. Three, five, eight, nine and ten of Swords are interpreted as loss, impotence. These cards indicate emotional decline and emptiness. The Ace, Two, Four of Swords symbolize victory over your emotions. All other cards display power, union, patronage.

Basic interpretation of the major and minor arcana

First of all, looking at the alignment, you should determine which suits are the largest. So you can find out in which area a person has a lot of problems. The meanings of the Major Arcana should be interpreted first of all, because these are key cards. Of course, a complete description of the Tarot cards cannot be imagined without a combination of some arcana.

For example, the Wands together with the Major Arcana, which have a positive meaning, reinforce each other. The Empress and the Ace of Staves is one of the most successful combinations. It means happiness, success,fulfillment of all plans and hopes. The Jester card and the suit of Cups can mean a relationship without obligations. In general, in order to fully understand the essence of the alignment, one should not look at each individual card, but at all the arcana at the same time.

Interpretation for beginners

For those who are just learning to guess, it is recommended to write down the description of the layouts of Tarot cards in a separate notebook. So after a while you can create your own interpretation of each of the cards. It is for this reason that in various literature the detailed description of Tarot cards differs from each other.

The fortuneteller should become one with the deck. Only in this case, he will learn to understand the meaning of each of the cards. At first, of course, you should be guided by the data presented in this article, but soon you will see that in each particular fortune-telling they can differ significantly.