What Do The Cards In A Tarot Deck Mean? Here's A Quick Peek

A favorite of fortune-tellers and casual mystics alike, tarot cards have been used since the Middle Ages as a tool for divination, self-discovery, and introspection. A classic Rider-Waite inspired deck has 78 cards and comes with a booklet explaining the deeper meaning of each one.

The more you work with your deck, the more familiar you'll become with its symbolism, but here's a brief introduction to what each card represents.

There are two main types of cards in a classic deck: The Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. Major Arcana cards are also known as Trump cards. Beginning with "The Fool" at zero, and ending on "The World" at 21, the Major Arcana represent the Fool's Journey as he learns lessons along his path. When pulled during a tarot reading, they represent an overarching theme and nudge us to think about the bigger picture, explains astrologist and tarotist Bess Matassa. Here's a brief rundown of each:

The Fool, 0:

The first card of the Major Arcana, the fool represents the beginning of a journey, childlike wonder, risk, and potential.

The Magician, I:

Represents manifesting, healing, spirituality, and a connection to the divine.

The High Priestess, II:

Represents the divine feminine, human wisdom, studying nature and spiritual mystery, and one's inner world.

The Empress, III:

Represents nature, the Great Mother, fertility, and regarded as a channel for the High Priestess on Earth.

The Emperor, IV:

Represents leadership, influence, stability, and potential for mastery.

The Hierophant, V:

Represents practical lessons related to natural law, study, and mastering one's chosen area of expertise in this life.

The Lovers, VI:

The Lovers, VI represents difficult decisions or changes to come with regard to relationship, compromise, and growth in a relationship.

The Chariot, VII:

Represents empowerment, achievement, overcoming obstacles, and triumph.

Strength, VIII:

Represents ego versus intuition, and a need for discipline and refinement of self-interest to achieve harmony with the inner self.

The Hermit, IX:

Represents introspection, contemplation, inner reflection, and the benefit of time spent alone.

Wheel of Fortune, X:

Represents imminent and often positive change, and the inevitable seasons and cycles of life.

Justice, XI:

Represents fairness, moral sensitivity, karma, and attention to detail.

The Hanged Man, XII:

Represents consequence, surrender, stagnation, and a situation that must be waited out.

Death, XIII:

The Death tarot card represents endings, harvesting, freeing oneself, and moving forward. (Not to be seen as a death prophecy.)

Temperance, XIV:

Represents moderation and balance, self-evolution, and avoiding extremes.

The Devil, XV:

Represents the shadow self, material and worldly pleasure, unhealthy relationships, and entrapment.

The Tower, XVI:

Represents imminent or present danger, upheaval, and unexpected change.

The Star, XVII:

Represents spiritually and purpose, connecting to the divine, transcendence, and inspiration.

The Moon, XVIII:

Represents illusion and impressionability, deception, confusion, and strife.

The Sun, XIX:

Represents vitality, joy, good fortune, confidence, and authenticity. It is one of two (along with The World) with no reverse or negative meanings.

Judgement, XX:

Represents resurrection, awakening, freedom from inner conflict, and decisions to be made.

The World, XXI:

Represents an end to a cycle, major change, and self-actualization. It has no reverse or negative meanings.

There are 56 Minor Arcana cards and they're split into four suits: wands, cups, swords, and pentacles. Within these four, there are court cards (King, Queen, Knight, and Page), which can be interpreted as people and personalities, but they can also represent "parts of ourselves that we're being asked to reclaim," says Matassa.

While the Major Arcana represents broader themes, the Minor Arcana deal with more of your day-to-day circumstances. That's not to say they're less important! If the Major Arcana is the season, the Minor Arcana is the weather. Here's what each suit speaks to:

Wands

The suit of wands is connected to the element of fire, dealing with our passion and energy. Wand cards are related to creativity, purpose, and how we yield our individual force, explains Matassa, as well as "infusing higher meaning into a mundane experience."

Cups

The suit of cups is connected to water, which is associated with emotions, feelings, and intuition. "For me, it's about those internal waters," Matassa says, " the internal, emotional experience."

Swords

The suit of swords is connected to air and the mental realm, whether that's intellect and thoughts or how those thoughts manifest. With this suit, Matassa often considers what the cards reveal about "getting entangled with thought patterns and stories we tell ourselves."

Pentacles

Pentacles are connected to earth, and as such they deal with the material world. They're often associated with money but can also symbolize our values, worth, and feelings of safety.

As tarot has evolved over the years, many of the standards have come undone, giving way to a more intuitive style of reading. As such, many tarot readers—including Matassa—won't read reversals (meaning they won't necessarily interpret a card differently if it's reversed, as is standard).

"A reversed card doesn't necessarily reverse the meaning," she says. "It texturizes and adjusts the experience. It may be that you're being called to work actively with that card to turn it right side up, and can signal resistance to the energies of the card."

In the end, reading tarot is always a personal process, and each card is up for your own unique interpretation. Once you have an understanding of the basics, you can let your intuition kick in. So now, you're ready to go forth and find a deck that speaks to you, ask it big questions, and find guidance on whatever it is you're seeking.