Tarot card meanings for all 78 cards

About tarot cards

What are tarot cards?

A tarot deck is a set of 78 illustrated cards. They were first made for card games in 15th-century Italy and were later used for reading meaning. Each card pictures a stage of life or a kind of experience, from love and loss to work and change, which is what makes them useful for reflection.

How many cards are in a tarot deck?

A tarot deck has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana cards, from The Fool to The World, and 56 Minor Arcana cards in four suits of 14 (Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles). Each suit runs from Ace to Ten, then Page, Knight, Queen, and King.

What's the difference between the Major and Minor Arcana?

The 22 Major Arcana cards stand for big life themes and turning points, like The Tower's sudden change or The Star's hope. The 56 Minor Arcana cards deal with everyday matters: Wands for drive, Cups for feelings, Swords for thoughts and conflict, and Pentacles for work and money. A reading full of Major Arcana cards usually points to something significant.

What do reversed tarot cards mean?

A card that comes up upside down is reversed. Reversed doesn't simply mean the opposite: it usually means the card's energy is blocked, delayed, turned inward, or overdone. Every card meaning here covers both upright and reversed.

How do you read tarot cards?

Start with a clear question and a simple spread, like three cards for past, present, and future. Read each card's meaning in its position and notice whether it's upright or reversed. Then look for the story the cards tell together: a repeated suit or several Major Arcana cards say something too. Your first reaction to a card's picture counts as well.

How do I learn tarot card meanings?

Learn the structure first: the Major Arcana as a journey from The Fool to The World, and the theme of each suit. Then draw one card a day and read its meaning, which is what Daily Tarot is for. Small, regular practice sticks better than memorizing all 78 at once.

How do you shuffle tarot cards?

Any way that mixes the deck works: an overhand shuffle like playing cards, a riffle, or spreading the cards face down and swirling them on a table. Many readers turn some cards around as they shuffle so reversed cards can come up. Shuffle while you think about your question, until the deck feels mixed. In an online reading, the deck is shuffled for you.

Are tarot cards evil?

No. Tarot cards are printed pictures that began as a card game, and they have no power of their own. Cards like Death and The Devil are symbols, of change and of unhealthy attachments, not of literal death or evil. Whether to use tarot is a personal choice, and for some people a religious one, but the cards themselves are a tool for reflection.