The Major Arcana: the story of 22 cards

The 22 Major Arcana cards of the tarot deck can be read like chapters of a single story. Running as a sequence from The Fool to The World, the Major Arcana describes the great thresholds in a person's life. While the Minor Arcana shows everyday events, the Major Arcana cards point to deeper and more lasting themes. Below, we divide the 22 cards into three parts and list them with their short meanings. You can also look up each card separately on the tarot cards page.

The Fool's story

The order of the Major Arcana is based on a narrative known in tarot as the Fool's journey. The Fool, numbered zero, is the one who sets out knowing nothing but with great openness. Every card he meets offers him a new lesson, a new test and a new mirror. You can read this narrative as a picture of life; every person faces different cards at different times. The order of the cards can vary slightly from deck to deck. In Rider-Waite decks, Strength is number 8 and Justice is number 11; in Marseille decks, the order of these two cards is reversed.

Part one: 0 to 7, building the self

The first seven cards describe how a person comes to know the world and finds their own place in it.

• The Fool (0): New beginnings, innocence, risk and openness. It also reminds you to look before you leap.
• The Magician (1): Will, skill and the power to use the tools at hand. It says, "You have everything you need, now begin."
• The High Priestess (2): Intuition, secrets, the subconscious. It reminds you that the answer lies within, not outside.
• The Empress (3): Fertility, abundance, creativity and nurturing. It speaks of connecting with nature.
• The Emperor (4): Structure, authority, order and boundaries. It points to taking responsibility and being disciplined.
• The Hierophant (5): Tradition, the teacher, belief systems. It raises the question of following the rules or questioning them.
• The Lovers (6): Love and choices of value. More often than not, it is less about a relationship and more about choosing the direction of your heart.
• The Chariot (7): Will, victory and steering opposing forces. It speaks of focusing on the goal.

Part two: 8 to 14, turning inward

The second part describes turning inward and maturing after outward success.

• Strength (8): Gentle strength, patience and taming the instincts. It says that strength lies in compassion, not in force.
• The Hermit (9): Solitude, inner guidance and the search for wisdom. It shows the value of withdrawing.
• Wheel of Fortune (10): Cycles, luck and change. It reminds you that life's ups and downs are temporary.
• Justice (11): Cause and effect, honesty and balance. It speaks of accepting the consequences of your actions.
• The Hanged Man (12): Surrender, waiting and a different perspective. Sometimes stopping is a way of moving forward.
• Death (13): Endings, transformation and letting go of the old. Most of the time it describes not an actual death but the close of a chapter.
• Temperance (14): Moderation, harmony and blending. It shows how to patiently bring opposing elements together.

Part three: 15 to 21, trial and integration

In the final part, the cards take on a more intense, more transformative tone.

• The Devil (15): Addiction, attachment and the shadow side. It is a call to see what is holding us back.
• The Tower (16): Sudden collapse, facing the truth. It shows that what falls was never solid to begin with.
• The Star (17): Hope, healing and renewal. It speaks of the calm that comes after the storm.
• The Moon (18): Uncertainty, dreams and fears. It makes you question the line between reality and illusion.
• The Sun (19): Joy, vitality and success. It carries a clear, bright and warm energy.
• Judgement (20): Awakening, a calling and reviewing the past. It speaks of preparing for rebirth.
• The World (21): Completion, wholeness and the close of a cycle. It also heralds the beginning of a new cycle.

Reading the cards in pairs

Reading Major Arcana cards side by side deepens their meanings. The Magician and The High Priestess bring together action and intuition; The Empress and The Emperor, abundance and structure; Strength and The Hermit, patient courage and introspection; and The Tower and The Star, collapse and the renewal that follows. When pairs like these appear in a spread, a richer story emerges than any single card could tell. Considering how the two cards answer each other adds a new layer to your reading.

The cards as archetypes

Many readers link the Major Arcana cards to Carl Jung's concept of archetypes. Because universal images such as the sage, the mother, authority, the shadow and transformation feel familiar in every culture, the cards connect our personal story to a shared language. Seen this way, tarot works less as a fortune-telling tool and more as a symbolic dictionary that helps you see which role is coming to the fore in your life right now.

What does it mean when Major Arcana cards appear?

If a spread contains many Major Arcana cards, they may be showing that the situation is no ordinary matter and touches on a deeper life theme. This does not necessarily mean something bad or good; it simply indicates that the situation is significant and worth looking at more carefully. Spreads dominated by the Minor Arcana, on the other hand, point to everyday events and near-term decisions.

Reversed Major Arcana cards

According to most readers, a reversed Major Arcana card shows that the card's energy is blocked, turned inward or taken to excess. Reversed Strength can describe a lack of self-confidence or a loss of control; the reversed Star, hopelessness or difficulty believing in your own light. Not every reader works with reversed cards; you can decide this according to your own style.

Are the difficult cards frightening?

Death, The Tower and The Devil are the cards that unsettle beginners the most. Yet these cards often carry the most transformative messages. Death describes not a real loss but the end of a chapter. The Tower, by showing a structure about to collapse, gives you the chance to see it coming and prepare. The Devil helps us notice where our attachments are constricting us. Seeing these cards as honest rather than frightening adds depth to your reading.

The Major Arcana and astrology

In many tarot traditions, the Major Arcana cards are paired with planets and signs. The Emperor is paired with Aries, The Lovers with Gemini, Strength with Leo and Death with Scorpio, while The Sun card is linked to the Sun itself. Although these pairings vary from system to system, they can be a good starting point if you want to read the cards alongside astrology. You can find more about the planets in the planets guide, and the meaning of the numbers on the cards on the numerology page.

How to work with the cards

To work with a Major Arcana card, it is enough to choose one card each day and observe its theme throughout the day. Ask yourself which chapter of your own life you are in and which card feels closest to you. Trying this with the card of the day is an easy way to start. For a more comprehensive reading, the three-card spread will also serve you well.

Frequently asked questions

• major arcana
• tarot cards
• the fool
• card meanings
• tarot

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