Major Arcana Meanings: All 22 Tarot Cards Explained
Twenty-two cards, one story. Once you have followed the Fool's journey from start to finish, you no longer need to memorise a single meaning.
Of the 78 cards in a tarot deck, 22 are unlike the rest. They belong to no suit. Instead of cups or swords they carry a name and a Roman numeral: The Magician, The High Priestess, The Tower. These are the Major Arcana, and when one of them turns up in your spread, the matter is rarely a small one.
I did not learn these cards from a book. My grandmother in Izmir read coffee cups, tarot came to me later, and at first I made the mistake nearly everyone makes: I tried to cram 22 lists of keywords. Nothing stuck. The cards only stayed with me once I read them as a single story.
Below you will find the meaning of every Major Arcana card, upright and reversed, in order from 0 to XXI. I describe the pictures of the Rider Waite Smith deck, because almost every modern deck is built on it.
What the Major Arcana are
Arcana comes from the Latin word for secret. The Major Arcana are the 22 trump cards, the Minor Arcana the 56 cards in four suits. The difference is simple. The Minor Arcana talk about daily life: an argument, a bill, a conversation on a Tuesday. The Major Arcana talk about the chapters of a life.
A word on reversals before we begin. A card that lands upside down is not the opposite of itself, and it is not bad news. It shows the same theme, only blocked, delayed, overdone or turned inward. The Sun reversed is still a sun, just behind a cloud.
One more thing. Tarot is a language of pictures with a long tradition, not a science. The cards make no decision for you. They hand you an image in which you can see your situation more clearly.
The Fool’s journey
The Fool carries the number zero. He stands before the sequence and outside it, because he is the one who walks through all the other cards. That walk is called the Fool’s journey, and it is the thread along which you can find every meaning again.
I split the journey into three stretches of seven cards. In cards I to VII the Fool gets to know the world: parents, teachers, love, a first success of his own. In cards VIII to XIV he turns inward and learns patience, solitude, loss and measure. In cards XV to XXI he meets what is larger than he is, first the dark, then the light, and at the end he arrives.
So when a Major Arcana card appears in your reading, ask first: where on the journey am I standing here? At the beginning, where everything is still being learned? In the middle, where things go quiet? Or close to the end, where something is being completed?
The Fool knows nothing and sets off anyway. That is why he arrives.
Cards 0 to VII: setting out
These eight cards are about what shaped you and what you take with you into the world. When several of them show up together, the reading is about roles, role models and the courage to begin.
0 The Fool
A young traveller at the edge of a cliff, a small bundle on his shoulder, a white dog at his heels. Upright: a beginning with no guarantee. You say yes before you know everything, and that is exactly right. Reversed: recklessness, or the fear that holds the step back. Check where the cliff really is before you jump or stay put.
I The Magician
On his table lie a wand, a cup, a sword and a pentacle. One hand points up, one down. Upright: you have everything you need. What counts now is that you start. Reversed: a talent lying unused, or someone who talks better than they act. See whether there is anything behind the fine words.
II The High Priestess
She sits between a black pillar and a white one, a scroll half hidden under her cloak. Upright: you know more than you admit to yourself. Do not act yet. Wait and listen. Reversed: you are drowning out your own sense of things because others are louder. Sometimes a secret that wants to come out.
III The Empress
A woman on cushions in a field of ripe wheat. Upright: growth, care, plenty. Something ripens if you feed it: a project, a relationship, sometimes a family. Reversed: you look after everyone and forget yourself, or your care is becoming too tight for the other person.
IV The Emperor
A man on a stone throne, armour under his robe. Upright: order, responsibility, a clear rule. Often a father figure or a boss, often you yourself when you set a boundary. Reversed: rigidity and control, or the reverse of that, a backbone that is missing right now.
V The Hierophant
A priest with two pupils at his feet and two crossed keys. Upright: tradition, teaching, a tried and tested path. A training, a ritual, a wedding done properly. Reversed: you question a rule that no longer fits you. That can be freedom, or it can be plain defiance.
VI The Lovers
Two people beneath an angel, two trees behind them. Upright: a decision made from the heart and a bond that fits your values. Not always a love story, always a choice. Reversed: you two do not want the same thing, or you are dodging a choice that has been due for a while.
VII The Chariot
A charioteer with no reins, a black sphinx and a white one in front of him. Upright: will and direction. You move ahead because you hold two opposing forces together. Often a journey or a move as well. Reversed: the sphinxes pull in different directions. Plenty of drive, no destination. Stop and decide where you are going.
Cards VIII to XIV: the way inward
After the first victory things go quieter. These seven cards show what the Fool can only learn alone. Two of them, The Hanged Man and Death, are among the tarot cards people fear, and both mean something other than their names suggest.
VIII Strength
A woman gently closes a lion’s jaws. Upright: quiet courage. You tame something with patience instead of force: an anger, a fear, a difficult person. Reversed: self-doubt, or the lion breaks loose and you say something you regret.
IX The Hermit
An old man with a lantern on a snowy peak. Upright: withdrawal in order to find your own answer. Sometimes a person who lights the way for you. Reversed: the retreat has gone on too long and become loneliness, or you are avoiding the silence you need.
X Wheel of Fortune
A wheel on which figures rise and fall. Upright: a turn. What was down comes up, often through a coincidence you did not plan. Reversed: you are bracing against a change, or an old pattern takes one more lap. That lap passes too.
XI Justice
A figure with scales and an upright sword. Upright: cause and effect. A decision falls fairly, a truth is spoken, you reap what you sowed. Reversed: something is unfair, or you are sidestepping your own responsibility. Sometimes a verdict on yourself that is far too harsh.
XII The Hanged Man
He hangs by one foot, his face calm, a glow around his head. Upright: a pause that has a point. You see the matter from another angle once you stop pulling. Reversed: you are waiting where you could have acted long ago, or making a sacrifice nobody asked for.
XIII Death
A rider with a black banner and a white rose, and behind him the sun rising between two towers. Upright: something is over, and the ending makes room. A phase, a role, a habit. This card never predicts the death of a person. Reversed: you are holding on to something that is finished, and the change drags.
XIV Temperance
An angel pours water from one cup into another, one foot in the water, one on land. Upright: the right measure. Two things are mixed patiently until they fit. Reversed: too much of something, work, quarrelling, pleasure, or haste where patience is needed.
Cards XV to XXI: trial and light
The last stretch begins in the dark and ends in brightness. Always read these cards as a sequence: The Star follows The Tower, The Sun follows The Moon. None of the heavy cards is the last word.
XV The Devil
Two people with chains around their necks, hanging so loose they could slip them off. Upright: a tie that keeps you small. A habit, a dependency, a relationship ruled by fear. Reversed: you see the chain and begin to undo it. One of the best reversals in the deck.
XVI The Tower
Lightning strikes a tower and the crown falls. Upright: something built on a false foundation no longer holds. It happens suddenly and it hurts, but it uncovers the truth. Reversed: the collapse happens quietly, inside you, or you are putting it off although you can already see the cracks.
XVII The Star
A kneeling woman pours water onto the earth and into a pool, eight stars above her. Upright: hope after the storm. Calm returns, you trust again, something heals at its own pace. Reversed: discouragement. You do not believe in yourself just now, but the star is still up there.
XVIII The Moon
A dog and a wolf howl at the moon, a crayfish crawls out of the water, a path leads between two towers into the unknown. Upright: uncertainty, dreams, fear of what you cannot see. Make no big decision now. Reversed: the fog lifts, a deception is exposed, the fear shrinks.
XIX The Sun
A child on a white horse with sunflowers behind. Upright: joy, clarity, things working out. The simplest and warmest card in the deck. Reversed: the joy is there but muted or delayed. Or you expect more than the situation can give.
XX Judgement
An angel blows a trumpet and people rise with open arms. Upright: a call. You take stock, forgive yourself or someone else, and get a second chance. Reversed: you do not hear the call, or you judge yourself so severely that you cannot move on.
XXI The World
A dancer inside a laurel wreath, four figures in the corners. Upright: arrival. A circle closes, a thing is whole, often a long journey too. Reversed: nearly done. One last piece is missing, a loose end you should tie off before you begin again.
And after The World? The Fool comes round again. The journey is a circle, not a ladder.
Many Major Arcana in one spread
22 of the 78 cards are Major Arcana, a little over a quarter. In a three card spread one major card is therefore normal, and in a Celtic Cross of ten cards you would expect two or three. Only when there are clearly more does the number itself say something.
Many major cards: you are in a life chapter, not a daily question. The matter is bigger than your question sounded, and some of it is not in your hands in the short term. That is no reason to worry. It means you need patience and do not have to steer every detail.
No major card at all: this is about everyday life, and nearly all of it is up to you. A conversation, a decision, an appointment can change the picture.
Position counts. The Tower in the place of the past is a collapse you already have behind you. The same Tower in the place of the future is a nudge to look at the foundation. So never read the card alone. Read the card in its place.
Neighbours on the journey. When cards with consecutive numbers lie side by side, say The Devil, The Tower and The Star, you are looking at a path in motion: the tie, the break, the calm afterwards. Runs like that are among the clearest things a spread can show.
The same card again and again. If you draw a daily tarot card and get The Hermit three times in one week, that is your subject for the time being. Write it down.
With a question where all you want is a yes or a no, major cards make the answer weightier but not simpler. How I read single cards for that is in the article on yes or no tarot. You will find more spreads in the tarot overview.
Frequently asked questions
How many Major Arcana cards are there?
There are 22, numbered from 0, The Fool, to XXI, The World. Together with the 56 Minor Arcana they make up the 78 cards of a full tarot deck.
What is the most powerful Major Arcana card?
There is no ranking. The Sun and The World are seen as the brightest cards, The Tower and Death as the ones that cut deepest. Which card weighs most in your reading depends on where it lies and on what you asked.
Is Strength card VIII or XI?
It depends on the deck. In the Rider Waite Smith deck Strength is VIII and Justice is XI. In the older Tarot de Marseille it is the other way round. The number does not change what either card means.
Are reversed Major Arcana cards bad?
No. A reversed card shows that its theme is stalling, delayed, or playing out inside you instead of outside. With The Devil or The Moon the reversed position is actually the lighter one, because something is loosening there.
What does it mean if I only draw Major Arcana?
Then your question touches something fundamental: a stretch of your life that is ending or beginning. Take your time with the reading, read the cards in their order on the Fool’s journey, and do not make a quick decision because of one spread alone.
Can you read with only the Major Arcana?
Yes, it is an old practice and a good way in for beginners, because 22 cards are manageable. The answers become broader and less day to day. In the FalciDilara app I read with all 78 cards, upright and reversed.