Tarot Major Arcana: All 22 Card Meanings — Tarot Dictionary

Among the 78 cards in a tarot deck, the 22 Major Arcana cards deal with the great themes of life. The sequence that begins with The Fool at number 0 and reaches completion with The World at number 21 is called The Fool’s Journey: a map of growth from an innocent beginning (0), through learning and trials, to integration (21).

Click any card in the table below to move to a detailed guide covering its symbolism, upright meaning, reversed meaning, and card combinations.

Major Arcana 22 Cards at a Glance

Number	Card	Core Keywords	Upright	Reversed
0	The Fool	New beginnings, adventure	A fearless start	Recklessness, lack of preparation
1	The Magician	Willpower, action	Using your abilities	Wasted talent, deception
2	The High Priestess	Intuition, the unconscious	Trusting your instincts	Ignoring intuition
3	The Empress	Abundance, creation	Fertile growth	Overprotection, stagnation
4	The Emperor	Authority, order	Leadership, stability	Dogmatism, rigidity
5	The Hierophant	Tradition, teaching	Advice from a mentor	Formalism
6	The Lovers	Love, choice	Deep connection	Discord, conflict
7	The Chariot	Victory, drive	Breaking through a goal	Loss of direction
8	Strength	Inner strength, patience	Overcoming fear	Loss of confidence
9	The Hermit	Reflection, solitude	Deep insight	Isolation, disconnection
10	Wheel of Fortune	Turning point, cycles	A flow of good fortune	A downward phase
11	Justice	Fairness, cause and effect	A fair outcome	Injustice, bias
12	The Hanged Man	Shift in perspective, pause	A new way of seeing	Meaningless sacrifice
13	Death	Endings and beginnings, transformation	A new chapter	Resistance to change
14	Temperance	Harmony, moderation	Restored balance	Imbalance, excess
15	The Devil	Bondage, obsession	Awareness of what binds you	Release from bondage
16	The Tower	Collapse, sudden change	The dismantling of a structure	Inner upheaval
17	The Star	Hope, healing	Renewed hope	Self-doubt
18	The Moon	Anxiety, illusion	Uncertainty	The fog lifting
19	The Sun	Success, joy	Clear success	Delayed success
20	Judgement	Rebirth, reassessment	Awakening, a second chance	Clinging to the past
21	The World	Completion, integration	Goal achieved	Incompletion

The Fool’s Journey — Three Acts

Act 1 (0-7) · Into the World: The Fool receives the tools of The Magician and the intuition of The High Priestess, meets the parents (The Empress and The Emperor) and society (The Hierophant), chooses love (The Lovers), and wins a first victory (The Chariot). This is the stage of outward growth.

Act 2 (8-14) · Into the Inner Self: The Fool masters the self through Strength, turns inward through The Hermit, passes through Wheel of Fortune and Justice, and reaches the pause of The Hanged Man, the transition of Death, and the integration of Temperance. This is the stage of inner maturity.

Act 3 (15-21) · Into Transcendence: After the trials of The Devil’s bondage and The Tower’s collapse, The Fool moves through the hope of The Star, the darkness of The Moon, and the joy of The Sun, answers the call of Judgement, and arrives at the completion of The World. This is the stage of integration.

Learn More

• Tarot Minor Arcana: All 56 Card Meanings — Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles
• If you want to draw actual cards: Tarot Reading (oiyo.net)
• If you want to learn tarot from the basics: Complete Tarot Beginner’s Guide (blog.oiyo.net)

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Tarot is not a prophecy that fixes the future. It is a mirror that reflects the present. Use it as a tool for enjoyment and self-reflection.