If you are new to Tarot or need a refresher, this guide is made for you! Read on to learn about the origins, uses, and card meanings.
What is Tarot?
Created in 1909, this deck combines the knowledge and mystical wisdom of A. E. Waite with the imaginative and richly symbolic art of Pamela Colman Smith. The cards have roots dating back to the 15th century.
The deck was originally designed to be played as a game. It later took on esoteric and divinatory meanings. In popular culture, people think of tarot as fortune telling and making prediction. However, they’re are so many ways to use them! Tarot decks are incredibly versatile, and you can get creative with the ways you use the cards….
Tarot Uses:
Guidance
Clarity
Exploring your shadow
Chakra and Aura reading
Self exploration
Intuitive & Psychic development
Spicy Psychology
Journal Prompts
Reflections
Meditations
Spells & Rituals
Past life work
Connecting with past loved ones
A source of inspiration
Support during a difficult period of time
78 Cards
Each Tarot deck traditionally contains 78 cards. These are broken into categories. First, two larger categories: the Major Arcana, with 22 cards, and the Minor Arcana, with 56 cards. The Minor Arcana are split into four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles.
So, what do the cards mean?
The Minor Arcana cover your every day life themes, which are more short term tasks or lessons. These energies are more temporary.
This is broken into four suits:
1. Wands represents action, movement, inspiration, creation, expansion, energy, potential, enthusiasm. It corresponds to the element fire
2. Cups represents emotions, feelings, fluid thought, perception, awareness, intuition, creativity, social connections, romantic relationships. It corresponds to the element water.
3. Swords represents mental energies, personal power, communication, truth, intellect, and the more difficult emotions of life such as trauma and depression. It corresponds to the element air.
4. Pentacles represents the physical realm and material items, finances, work, stability, security, family, home; as well as manifestation. It corresponds to the element earth. *Note that some decks may call pentacles coins or disks.
Each suit traditionally is organized as Ace, 2-10, Page, Knight, Queen, King. Each card follows a standard numerological meaning.
Tip: When first learning tarot, it can be easier to remember the suit and numerological meanings, instead of learning each card in detail. Start with basics, and deep dive in when it makes sense!
Ace represents new beginnings, potential, and opportunity.
2 represents duality, balance, and partnership.
3 represents growth, creativity, and groups.
4 represents stability, structure, and manifestation.
5 represents instability, change, and conflict.
6 represents harmony, communication, and cooperation.
7 represents knowledge, reflection, and assessment.
8 represents action, mastery, and accomplishment.
9 represents fruition, fulfillment, attainment.
10 represents the end of a cycle, completion, and renewal.
Pages represent the very beginning of a journey; the excitement as you approach new challenges and learn.
Knights represent movement and taking action. You’re ready to put what you’ve learned to use, continue to learn, and experience for yourself this energy.
Queens represent maturity and understanding of yourself and others. They represent nourishment, creativity, influence, and sustainability.
Kings represent experience, knowledge, and stability. They represent having control and a sense of responsibility toward others.
The Major Arcana covers bigger, more long term themes. This can deal with life long journeys; Soul Paths and Soul Purpose; and/or past lives, karma. Their insights often involve your spirituality.
I like to view the major arcana as a storyline of the Fool’s journey. This story is the progression of enlightenment and all that one experiences along the way.
Please note that these are very basic traditional interpretations. The cards are multidimensional, and can have different meanings depending on the other cards around them in a spread. Always use your intuition first when doing a reading.
0. The Fool represents the excitement of a new start. Like it’s name, this card can represent foolishness or naivety. But it can also indicate spontaneity or adventure and curiosity.
1. The Magician represents pure energy and will power. This card indicates having all that you need to make things happen.
2. The High Priestess represents hidden knowledge. This can be subconscious or dream aspects. She can represent the cosmic forces, esoteric, and the psychic.
3. The Empress represents the divine feminine qualities of compassion, empathy, sensitivity, and intuition. It represents being receptive and fertile. This card can be a sign that it’s time to nurture what means a lot to you.
4. The Emperor represents the divine masculine qualities of strength, logic, order, and protection. It represents providing for others and working hard. This card can be a sign that it’s time to take control of your circumstances.
5. The Hierophant represents tradition and values. This can be a religious card or one of commitment, such as marriage. The card can represent a leader or mentor.
6. The Lovers represents harmony. It represents our power to make choices from the heart. It can also literally represent the relationships in our lives.
7. The Chariot represents forward drive through sheer willpower, motivation, or personal power. It encourages us to
8. Strength represents personal power and courage to overcome obstacles. It’s The resiliency to carry on after pain and trauma and find new ways to cope.
9. The Hermit represents acquiring a new level of wisdom through contemplation and time alone. It represents taking a higher perspective in order to get to the heart of the truth and what really matters.
10. The Wheel of Fortune represents the cycles of nature and the Universe itself. It’s a card of destiny and cosmic forces. In a reading, it represents that a shift is taking place.
11. Justice represents truth, balance, law and order. It can represent karma or consequences. It invites you to reflect on where your present choices may lead you, and offers the opportunity to switch paths if you do not like what you see.
12. The Hanged Man represents enlightenment through waiting, or observing. It can represent a pause, where nothing seems to be working out, when we’re best to go with the ebb and wait it out.
13. Death represents a big release or shedding of the past, a figurative ‘death’ that leads to transformation. Think of it like a garden bed; in order to get new growth to come in, we have to clear away the dead growth. This card can be a sign that it’s time to cut energy cords with a person, place, time of your life, habit, or belief.
14. Temperance represents peace, moderation, serenity. It can indicate that your Spirit Guides are reaching out.
15. The Devil represents vices and addictions that can be our detriment. Shopping, relationships, sex, alcohol, gambling can be enjoyed in moderation, but this card is the temptation to go all in with it. The Devil can represent a trigger, bringing your awareness to this so you may have more power over the choice (see the Lovers card— a mirror for the Devil. Notice the similarities).
16. The Tower represents things in your life coming to an end. Chapters coming to a close is often painful or chaotic, even at times unexpected. This card indicates that you are going to be able to start over with a stronger foundation and create something better once you get through the difficult period.
17. The Star represents the healing and hope that comes after a difficult time. Your point of view shifts and suddenly you see beauty and inspiration once more. The Star encourages us to speak to the Universe, to make a wish, and most importantly, to believe in magic. To find a way to trust again.
18. The Moon represents what is hidden coming to light. It can represent anxiety; you may feel unsure of what’s lurking in the dark. But as you travel on, the illusions you encounter allow you to test and strengthen your intuition. This card often asks us to discern between anxiety and gut feeling.
19. The Sun represents total happiness and fulfillment. The Sun is the life giving power of our home in the Milky Way. It represents the free spirited nature of a young child, the playfulness and unencumbered joy.
20. Judgment represents being spiritually uplifted. Vibrations are raised and a new level of higher consciousness is able to be reached.
21. The World represents the total fulfillment of a long-term cycle. Big lessons were learned, lots of love shared. Things slow down during this period of time, giving us the chance to absorb everything that has happened, tie up loose ends, and prepare for whatever is to come next.
Reading The Cards
While having an understanding of the card’s traditional meanings can enrich your readings, it’s not entirely necessary to know in order to interpret your messages. Much of reading tarot comes from your intuitive senses.
When looking at your cards, focus on how they feel to you. Do emotions come through? How about certain people or memories? Focus as well on the images and where your eye is drawn to. Maybe there is a specific detail on a card that has a particular meaning to you personally.
When pulling a spread, pay attention to how the cards flow, and how they complement or contradict one another. Are you noticing any patterns or correlations?
If you’re learning tarot, I recommend dedicating yourself to pulling one card a day in either the morning or evening for reflection, and journaling your thoughts and intuitive feelings. Later, return to these entries and compare what you wrote to what happened that day. In my experience, this is the most impactful way to learn tarot.
Basic Tarot Spreads
Often, when you’re looking for more detail, a 3 card spread is all you need. Too many cards can muddy the messages and it can become overwhelming.
One of the most common spreads to use is the past, present, future.
I start by tuning into my present energy, placing the card in the middle. I then focus on the past, asking what has led me to this present energy. Finally, I ask for a projected future outcome of the energy in this spread.
It’s important to remember that the future is ever changing, so if you see something in your reading that you do not like, know you have the power to change it.
Additionally, note that asking the same question multiple times can yield different answers because the cards are touching on different aspects. This can get confusing, so it’s best to wait a few days or a week before asking the same question again.
Try these other 3 card spreads!
Present energy, what’s hidden, advice
Mind, body, spirit
Your desire, the obstacle, a solution
You right now, your current path, your potential
Strengths, weaknesses, advice
