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Card meanings

All 78 tarot cards, one page each

The 22 Major Arcana and the 56 Minor Arcana, upright and reversed. Every card links to a full page: what it means, what it means reversed, where it sits in its suit, and how often a card of its kind actually turns up.

A tarot deck holds 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana, read as the large themes of a stretch of life, and 56 Minor Arcana in 4 suits of 14Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles — covering the day-to-day. The Majors are 28.2% of the deck, which is why 63.6% of three-card spreads contain at least one of them: a "big card" turning up is the ordinary case rather than a sign.

There are 76,076 different sets of three cards you can draw from it, and 4,56,456 if the three positions mean different things. Nothing on these pages is calculated from your birth details or your name — the meanings are the traditional attributions, written plainly, and the only part that is arithmetic is the part that says how often.

The Major Arcana

All 22, The Fool at zero through The World at twenty-one.

0The Fool

New beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, free spirit

Recklessness, risk-taking, foolishness

IThe Magician

Manifestation, resourcefulness, power, inspired action

Manipulation, untapped talents, poor planning

IIThe High Priestess

Intuition, sacred knowledge, subconscious mind

Secrets, withdrawal, silence

IIIThe Empress

Femininity, beauty, nature, nurturing, abundance

Creative block, dependence, emptiness

IVThe Emperor

Authority, structure, control, fatherhood

Domination, rigidity, lack of discipline

VThe Hierophant

Spiritual wisdom, tradition, conformity, education

Personal beliefs, freedom, challenging status quo

VIThe Lovers

Love, harmony, relationships, alignment of values

Imbalance, misalignment, disharmony

VIIThe Chariot

Control, willpower, success, determination

Lack of direction, aggression, no control

VIIIStrength

Inner strength, bravery, compassion, focus

Self-doubt, weakness, insecurity

IXThe Hermit

Soul-searching, introspection, inner guidance

Isolation, loneliness, withdrawal

XWheel of Fortune

Good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny

Bad luck, resistance to change, breaking cycles

XIJustice

Fairness, truth, cause and effect, law

Unfairness, dishonesty, lack of accountability

XIIThe Hanged Man

Pause, surrender, new perspective, letting go

Delays, resistance, stalling

XIIIDeath

Endings, change, transformation, transition

Resistance to change, fear of endings

XIVTemperance

Balance, moderation, patience, purpose

Imbalance, excess, lack of purpose

XVThe Devil

Bondage, attachment, habit, the shadow side

Breaking free, reclaiming power, naming the hold

XVIThe Tower

Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation

Avoidance, fear of change, delayed disaster

XVIIThe Star

Hope, faith, purpose, renewal, spirituality

Lack of faith, despair, disconnection

XVIIIThe Moon

Illusion, fear, anxiety, subconscious, intuition

Release of fear, repressed emotion, clarity

XIXThe Sun

Positivity, fun, warmth, success, vitality

Inner child, sadness, overly optimistic

XXJudgement

Rebirth, inner calling, absolution, reflection

Self-doubt, refusal of self-examination

XXIThe World

Completion, achievement, travel, fulfilment

Incompletion, shortcuts, delays

Wands

The Fire suit — action, work, drive and creative push. 14 cards, Ace to Ten and then the four court cards.

Ace of Wands

Inspiration, a new venture, raw potential

A false start, hesitation, an idea talked about instead of begun

Two of Wands

Planning, first decisions, looking further out

Fear of the unknown, staying local, a plan that never leaves the paper

Three of Wands

Expansion, foresight, early success

Delays, a narrowed horizon, growth that stalled at the first stage

Four of Wands

Celebration, homecoming, a milestone marked

An unstable footing, a celebration postponed, belonging that feels conditional

Five of Wands

Competition, scrappy conflict, crossed purposes

Conflict avoided at a cost, or the friction turned inward

Six of Wands

Public recognition, progress, earned confidence

A private win, credit deflected or claimed too loudly, confidence propped up

Seven of Wands

Standing your ground, defence, overextension

Ground given up, too many fronts, exhaustion from holding a position too long

Eight of Wands

Speed, movement, news, travel

Delays, scattered energy, momentum lost to a late decision

Nine of Wands

Resilience, guardedness, one last push

Suspicion of everyone, help refused, running on empty

Ten of Wands

Burden, overload, responsibility carried alone

Putting it down, delegating, releasing what was never yours

Page of Wands

Eagerness, a beginner, discovery

Impatience, all announcement and no start, enthusiasm without direction

Knight of Wands

Bold action, impulse, adventure, charm

Recklessness, haste, a trail of half-finished plans

Queen of Wands

Warm confidence, charisma, self-possession

Insecurity behind the warmth, jealousy, a performance of confidence

King of Wands

Vision, leadership, ownership of the direction

Domineering, ruling on impulse, a direction promised and not backed

Cups

The Water suit — feeling, relationships and what you are attached to. 14 cards, Ace to Ten and then the four court cards.

Ace of Cups

New feeling, love beginning, creative flow

Feeling withheld, a blocked heart, tenderness that could not be said

Two of Cups

Mutual attraction, partnership, equal regard

Imbalance, one side carrying it, a rift between two who still care

Three of Cups

Friendship, celebration, community

Gossip, a third party, a crowded room that is somehow lonely

Four of Cups

Discontent, apathy, an offer overlooked

The withdrawal ending, noticing what was being held out all along

Five of Cups

Grief, loss, regret, attention on what spilled

Acceptance, turning round, forgiveness beginning

Six of Cups

Nostalgia, childhood, old ties returning

Living in the past, an outgrown comfort, homesickness for a version that has moved on

Seven of Cups

Choices, illusion, wishful thinking

Clarity, the fantasies discarded, one option actually chosen

Eight of Cups

Walking away, seeking something truer

Fear of leaving, drifting back, staying for want of a reason to go

Nine of Cups

Contentment, a wish granted, satisfaction

Smugness, a wish that arrived and did not satisfy, pleasure held at arm's length

Ten of Cups

Emotional fulfilment, family, belonging

A picture that does not match the feeling inside it, disconnection at home

Page of Cups

A tender invitation, sensitivity, news that moves you

Moodiness, a feeling that stayed unsaid, sensitivity turned into sulking

Knight of Cups

Romance, sincerity, following the heart

Idealism, a promise outrunning reality, mood standing in for devotion

Queen of Cups

Empathy, intuition, emotional attunement

Over-involvement, absorbing everyone's mood, care that leaves nothing over

King of Cups

Emotional command, calm, wise counsel

Suppression dressed as calm, coldness, feeling used as leverage

Swords

The Air suit — thought, conflict, truth and the things said out loud. 14 cards, Ace to Ten and then the four court cards.

Ace of Swords

Clarity, breakthrough, a truth named

Confusion, clarity refused, a true thing used as a weapon

Two of Swords

Stalemate, avoidance, a decision deferred

The blindfold off, information arriving, the choice finally made

Three of Swords

Heartbreak, a painful truth, grief

Recovery beginning, the hurt releasing, forgiveness that took time

Four of Swords

Rest, recovery, deliberate retreat

Restlessness, burnout, rest refused until the body insists

Five of Swords

A costly win, hollow victory, discord

Making amends, walking away from the point, a truce nobody announced

Six of Swords

Transition, moving on, leaving rough water

A departure not finished, carrying the trouble along, going back over the same crossing

Seven of Swords

Stealth, a shortcut, something not quite straight

Coming clean, being caught, the shortcut abandoned

Eight of Swords

Feeling trapped, restricted thinking

The bindings coming loose, one edge tested, a way out that was always there

Nine of Swords

Anxiety, night fear, worry out of proportion

The fear named out loud, worry losing its grip, help asked for

Ten of Swords

Rock bottom, an ending that cannot worsen

The worst behind, slow recovery, refusing to let it be the end

Page of Swords

Curiosity, blunt questions, mental restlessness

Tactlessness, scattered attention, talk that goes nowhere

Knight of Swords

Rushing in, a good point badly timed

Aggression for its own sake, burnout, an argument nobody can win

Queen of Swords

Honest clarity, boundaries, precise kindness

Coldness, cutting words, bitterness that has stopped noticing itself

King of Swords

Judgement, principle, the authority of intellect

Rigid rule, logic used to avoid people, authority overreaching

Pentacles

The Earth suit — money, the body, craft and material security. 14 cards, Ace to Ten and then the four court cards.

Ace of Pentacles

A tangible opportunity, a seed, an offer

A missed opening, a plan with no ground under it, an offer let go

Two of Pentacles

Juggling, balance, two demands managed

Overcommitment, something dropped, a schedule that stopped adding up

Three of Pentacles

Skilled collaboration, craft recognised

Poor teamwork, work unrecognised, good enough accepted as finished

Four of Pentacles

Holding on, security, conservation

The grip loosening — generosity, or a hold lost altogether

Five of Pentacles

Hardship, exclusion, help not asked for

Recovery, help accepted, coming in from the cold

Six of Pentacles

Generosity, fair exchange, giving and receiving

Strings attached, charity that humiliates, a debt standing in for a gift

Seven of Pentacles

Patience, tending, waiting on growth

Impatience, a plan pulled up early, effort spent on the wrong row

Eight of Pentacles

Diligence, practice, unglamorous skill-building

Repetition without progress, perfectionism, work that has become only work

Nine of Pentacles

Self-sufficiency, earned comfort, independence

Comfort with nobody in it, dependence, security turned into display

Ten of Pentacles

Legacy, lasting security, what outlives you

Family friction over money, a legacy that binds more than it provides

Page of Pentacles

Study, apprenticeship, a practical beginning

Procrastination, a course left unfinished, ambition without a first step

Knight of Pentacles

Steady progress, method, reliability

Stagnation, tedium, method kept long after it stopped moving anything

Queen of Pentacles

Practical nurture, resourcefulness, providing

Overwork, self-neglect, care that has become supervision

King of Pentacles

Material mastery, provision, settled authority

Greed, status mistaken for security, wealth with no warmth in it

A card is a meaning. A reading is a question.

These 78 pages are a reference. Put three of them together against something you actually want to know and you have a spread — which is the part our readers do.