Major Arcana Tarot Cards Meanings

The Major Arcana is the first set of cards that are found in the Tarot set.  There is both a Minor and a Major Arcana set, and the difference is that the Major Arcana is not divided into different suits like the regular playing cards. Still, they are considered allegorical symbols, and they take on the meaning of the “Journey of the Fool,” which is a life journey that you can take and what you will do in your life.

When you have a symbolic journey, then you can learn to interpret it, and you can learn to interpret how your life is when you look at the journey of the Fool.

The Major Arcana Tarot cards show different pictures that show different people, and there are many cards that have symbolic descriptions that are shown.

The list of the Major Arcana cards includes:

• The Fool
• The Magician
• The High Priestess
• The Empress
• The Emperor
• The Hierophant
• The Lovers
• The Chariot
• VII or XI Justice
• The Hermit
• The Wheel of Fortune
• XI or VIII Strength
• The Hanged Man
• XIII Death
• XIV Temperance
• XV The Devil
• XVI The Tower
• XVII The Star
• XVIII The Moon
• XIX The Sun
• XX Judgement
• XXI The World

The Fool

The Fool is one of the most known cards and is the first card in the Major Arcana.  This card is a positive card in the deck and represents whoever is getting the reading.

The Magician

The Magician card is the second card in the Major Arcana deck and is a positive card.  This shows a picture of a new path in which the Magician serves as the foundation on the journey.

High Priestess

The third card in the Major Arcana, the High Priestess, shows knowledge and patience.  This card is not negative or positive and shows balance.

The Empress

The next card in the Major Arcana is the Empress card.  This is a female card and is associated with bonding and being in love. These are considered feminine traits but may appear in readings for both men and women.

The Emperor

This is a masculine card and represents stability and rule. Like the Empress card, this card may be drawn for men or women and is considered a strong card in the various positions.

The Hierophant

The Hierophant Card is the fifth card in the Major Arcana, and this represents someone in charge.  This card is a masculine card and shows important figures.

The Lovers

The sixth card, or the Lovers Card, is the sixth card in the Major Arcana.  This card is not centered around one figure but around two of them.  This card is a good card to draw if you are looking for love and want to bond with someone.  This is an overall positive card.

The Chariot

The seventh card in the Major Arcana set is the Chariot card. This card is a card that is positive.  This shows that you can be successful as long as you do not give up. Much like being in a race, be steady in your journey when this card appears.

Justice

The eighth card in the Major Arcana is the Justice Card.  The Justice card shows that you will have to deal with justice.  Something that has been wrong has to be done right, and this can be a representation of a decision that you will have to make. The Justice card can be about giving and receiving justice, so it is neither negative or positive.

The Hermit

The Hermit card is the ninth card in the Major Arcana.  This card represents being lonely and looking inside of yourself. Some people enjoy alone time, but this is not about caring for yourself, more about needing to find someone in your life that loves and cares for you.

The Wheel of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune is the tenth card in the Major Arcana deck.  This card does not have a central figure, and it is a hard card to read.  However, this card does have something to do with luck. Different readers will interpret this in different ways based on the reading, formation, position, and question.

Strength

The eleventh card in the Major Arcana is the Strength Card.  This card is about justice and temperance.  Again, this is considered a very good card to draw.

The Hanged Man

The twelfth card in the deck is the Hanged Man.  The Hanged Man represents going through a crossroads in life and having to make a decision. The Hanged Man does not represent death or even anything negative, but about making a decision between options.

Death

The Death card is the thirteenth card in the Major Arcana deck, and this card is one that is very well known.  This card does not mean literal death, but it can mean that you have death in something in your life.  Death is always happening because everything in life is temporary. This card usually represents change or death to a specific activity, hobby, or relationship.

Temperance

The fourteenth card in the Major Arcana is the Temperance card.  This card shows a figure wearing a halo, and it can mean someone that is abstaining from something like alcohol.  This card means abstinence and balance.  This card stands for duality.

The Devil

The Devil card is the fifteenth card in the Major Arcana.  This card has a scary image but is not as scary as the picture on it.  This card is a symbolic card and can mean overcoming something such as addiction or being addicted to material things.

The Tower

The Tower Card, or Major Arcana’s sixteenth card, is a negative card.  This is considered one of the worst cards to draw and represents chaos.  The picture shows people falling from a tower. If this card appears in your reading remember that nothing is set in stone, making changes can change the course things are taking in life.

The Star

The seventeenth card in the Major Arcana is the Star Card.  The Star Card is a card that is seen as positive.  This card shows confidence and should make you feel that you are inspired in life.

The Moon

The eighteenth card in the Major Arcana is the Moon card.  This card represents a feminine card and shows duality.

The Sun

The nineteenth card in the Major Arcana, the Sun, is known as a positive card, and it should bring relief to the person that gets this card.  The sun is a masculine card and partners with the moon.

Judgment

The twentieth card in the Major Arcana deck is the judgment card.  This card represents being judged and the things the dead will face. This does not mean death is coming soon, but that we must all answer for our lives once they end.

The World

The last card or the twenty-first card in the Major Arcana deck is the world card.  This represents the end of something and starting something new.

Getting to know the cards and the meaning of each in the Major Arcana deck can be helpful as you learn to read or receive readings. Study each to gain deeper insight for your own use or readings.