Tarot Card Meanings - General Explanation

Tarot card meanings are both straightforward and complex depending on how the cards withina tarot deck fall. A Tarot Card Deck comprises 78 cards made up of the Major and Minor Arcanas.

The major arcana consists of 22 cards, each assigned a specific name i.e. Star, Temperance, Chariot, Tower, and each dealing with a specific influence on our lives.

The minor arcana bears more resemblence to a normal pack of cards in that it has 4 suits, Swords, Wands (sometimes called Staffs), Cups and Pentacles. Each suit is aligned to one of the four elements (air, earth, water and fire) and has 14 cards, one extra than a traditional pack.

A Tarot Card reading looks at the meaning of tarot cards within a spead and how they interact with each other with the aim of guiding the querant (the person being read for) to the answer to their question.

When the cards of the Major Arcana appear in a reading they hold a lot of weight. Some have counterparts in the Minor Arcana but whereas minor arcana cards deal with everyday issues the Major Arcana cards do not signify the trivial or temporary, they deal with major issues affecting us. For example both the 6 Wands (Minor Arcana) and The Chariot (Major Arcana) represent victory and triumph, but whereas the victory in the 6 Wands is could be recognition for a job well done, victory for The Chariot means beating everyone else in the process ~ it's a much more powerful, exaggerated victory.

The 22 Tarot Cards in the Major Arcana are sometimes laid out as a story where The Fool, card 0, sets out on a journey on personal development which culminates in card 21, The World and the realisation of his hearts desires.

The 22 cards of the Major Arcana are:

The Fool The Magician The High Priestess

The Emperor The Empress The Hierophant

The Lovers The Chariot Strength

The Hermit The Wheel of Fortune Justice

The Hanged Man Death Temperance

The Devil The Tower The Star

The Moon The Sun Judgement

The World

In a reading the 56 cards of the Minor Arcana deal with the more day to day aspects of life, as opposed to the 'big' things of the Major Arcana.

The four suits are split as follows:

Swords~ align with the element Air. The Swords suit concerns all things to do with thought, reason, justice and truth and within a reading the Swords cards can point to how clearly (or otherwise) we are thinking about a situation.

Wands ~ align with the element Fire. Wands are all about creativity and action ~ the living flame. Wands denote passion, enthusiasm and adventure and the cards thrown up in a reading cover all aspects of this from the bold spirit of the 2 of Wands with the world at their feet, to the over-burdened 10 of Wands who has taken on too much.

Cups ~ align to the element Water. Cups are about our emotions, how we feel and how our inner state affects our situation. They take us from the coming together of ideas or people in the 2 of Cups, through the apathy of the 4 of Cups to the ultimate joy 10 of Cups.

Pentacles ~ align to the element Earth. Pentacles are about about security, wealth (of all kinds) material goods and the practicalities of day to day living. As a suit it covers the journey from the 2 of Pentacles which deals with juggling everything that is thrown at you, to the security of the 10 of Pentacles and the success it represents.

Each of the 4 suits has a Ace ~ the meaning of which is a bit like taking the best elements of the suit and shining a high powered torch on them. The Aces are all about opportunity and possibility and perhaps most importantly being ready for that opportunity when it comes knocking.

Ace of Wands~ opportunities and possibilities within the areas of creativity, action, adventure and enthusiasm. This card tells you to seize the moment, to be original, to trust in yourself and your own creativity. This card shows you have the power to think outside of the box and come up with new solutions to old situations.

Ace of Swords~ opportunities and possibilities within the areas of thought, reason, truth and justice. This card challenges you to be honest and ethical in your situation, to seek out unjust situations and set them right.

Ace of Cups ~ opportunities and possibilities in the areas of feelings and love, though not necessarily romantic love. This card can be about trusting your feelings and doing what is right, or about attaining a deeper spirituality.

Ace of Pentacles ~ opportunities and possibilities in the areas of wealth, security and practical matters. This card is about turning dreams into tangible results. It shows you have the ability but to achieve it you must centre yourself in reality. Stop the day dreams, figure out what to do, get to it and you will achieve the prosperity you want.

A more in depth look at the meaning of the Aces within the Tarot Deck can be found here.

 The Court Cards within each suit (King, Queen, Knight and Page) demonstrate the personality aspects of the suit.

Each has similar approaches in their behaviour:

Kings represent the masculine aspects of the suits such as structure organisation,

Queens are more feminine and represent the nurturing aspects, the feelings side of the suit.

Knightsare the extremes, the best and the worst of each suit all rolled into one and ask the querent to consider which end of the scale they fall on and whether balance is needed.

Pages are messengers bringing opportunities but also stand for children or the young at heart, and can be a reminder to capture that child like spirit and enjoy what life has to offer.