Tarot: The Twenty-Two Major Arcana

I have been a Tarot reader, professionally, for eight years. In that time, I have done thousands and thousands of readings. I do them every day, in the wee hours of the morning, for people who sometimes call me multiple times in one day; some have been calling me, off and on, for years. I like to think that, after all that experience, I know a thing or two about Tarot. At least, I know a thing or two about the interpretation of cards.

I usually lay out the "Celtic Cross" spread, but I lay cards at each empty portion of the cross, going clockwise, after I have laid the final card. These represent the "four elements"; i.e. Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Or, the mundane world of the Earth, where you are presently incarnate; the spiritual dimension of the Air, also the intellectual dimension; the passionate sphere of Fire, where your gut instinct and the prevailing emotions of your life are headed; and, finally, the Element of Water, which is the future, love, romance, rebirth, cleansing, baptism, but primarily the future as it is the crystalline pool into which the Reader looks to see the future.

After that, starting in the center, I lay down additional cards (nine) over the first reading, finally laying down the last card in the upper right-hand corner of the cross. All of this tells me a story, beginning with the first "Wheel" of the cross: laid down with a center card, then a crossing card, a card below, on the "Pathway" of the Querent; one to the left, "Behind" the Querent; one above, at the top or "Head" of the cross (representing the forces of power shining down upon the general lifepath); and one going "Before Him/Her" as the pathway toward the future. (There is one horizontal, or "Crossing" card, a bridge between that which is Behind the Querent, and the Is To Be, in the entire Tarot reading.)

The "Ladder" going up the side of the Cross spread consists of the Future, Domestic House as the Future Makes Manifest, Hopes, Fears, and Present State, and, finally, OUTCOME. (The Elements and additional cards are added after the Outcome.) Taken as a whole, given Querent's inquiry, the skilled or positively energized Reader should feel the story of a possible future unfold. (Keeping in mind that the Tarot is simply a sort of weather forecast, that things aren't set in stone, always, but that Fate and the world of Spirit will give you a warning, or rather, give the Querent fair warning of the impending consequences of their actions should they proceed in the same manner as they currently are. Many times, the narrative spelled out by the cards is so clear it is as if it is slapping you right in the face; at other times, it can feel "muddled," or, as if there are several strange "threads" weaving through the situation, the relevance of which will not be apparent immediately. Several layouts during one session can often yield a startling series of "revelations" or inerrant themes that keep; returning; a Querent may very well get the same cards, in slightly altered positions, over and over.

The psychically attuned Reader will often get images, clairaudient words, partial names (or whole names), and past-life images of the Querent, depending on how deeply he or she can go into a mild trance-like state (but this is not always mild!). The air will begin to feel "charged," the Reader may begin to "trance out," and the words will just leap to their lips. This has happened to me numerous times.

In my time reading Tarot, I have had incredible revelations. I have turned skeptics into believers. The cards DO NOT LIE.

It is a little like the World's Oldest AI, one whose messages are comprised of ancient, universal images from the Collective Unconscious of mankind. Utilized by the vast, dreaming intelligence that is behind the curtain of physical existence (the dream world we all perceive to be "real"), these images can relate the possible futures unfolding before the Querent, who, stepping his or her feet out along the path, must needs be appraised of the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," the pitfalls, pratfalls, brambles, and thorns that beset the rocky way of their solitary journey. At the end of the journey, they may face the pit of dissension, or they may ride, boldly, into the Sun, on a white stallion, as Cupid, glorying and reveling in the dawning of a New Day.

"Zem", 2/24/24

The Twenty-Two Major Arcana, in Brief

Note: Below is a brief thumbnail sketch of the Major Arcana, which numbers twenty-two, but is counted as twenty-one only, The Fool card being numbered as zero, having "no beginning, no end"; i.e. a card analogous to Divinity, the Divine Child, striking out again on a new pathway, starting over, rebirth, etc. The final card, The World, is numbered twenty-one and represents the culmination of a situation, the "final chapter" as it were.

The rest of the cards are a journey, the "Stations of the Cross," so to speak, of the Querent's progress to the conclusion of the present issue being scrutinized. It can be read as a sort of cyclical process, a "Golden Circle" having no beginning and no end; it circles 'round again until it comes 'round to the zero-numbered card, The Fool, the Divine Child, analogous to the card of The Sun, or number nineteen. (Reduced down to ten, which reduces even further to one, also the number of The Magician. Fools and Magicians, Power and Rebirth--a New Cycle.)

Here then, is the Major Arcana, in both their properly dignified and reversed meanings.

0. The Fool

Rebirth, a new cycle, begging again. Sometimes, blundering along without care, but not a card that denotes, in the typical sense, literal tomfoolery. Inexperience. Reversed: Foolishness, recklessness.

1. The Magician

A two-headed snake. Will made manifest. The Querent's personal power. The ability to start over. In a mundane or "material world" sense, a trickster that the Querent must be on guard of. Reversed: Deception, fraud; evil circumstances.

2. The High Priestess

Female connection to God. "The Holy Spirit". Mother Mary, the Blessed Virgin, Hecate, Diana, Queen of the Night. A woman's connection to her higher power or purpose. Legal documents. Numbered two, it can be read as "eleven"; i.e. a very powerful number. Reversed: Lack of spiritual foresight; emotional darkness.

3. The Empress

Felicity and "hope springs eternal." The Woman (typically) in charge of her domain (if the Querent is identifiably female). The coming of Spring, Rite of Spring; things flowering, in bloom. A woman comes into her own. Reversed: Unhappy circumstances, a woman still seeking a solution. A domestic situation turned around. (Numbered three, it could be taken to represent the Trinity.)

4. The Emporer

Law and the courtroom. The Judge. The government. A stern, unyielding, often older man. Petty tyrant. Lack of compromise. "Putting my foot down!" Reversed: The more evil side of all of these. Numbered four, it could be thought to represent, as the Minor Arcana fours do, domesticity, economic resources, rest, and the "memorializing" of a past affair or circumstance, and even dissatisfaction. (Every house has four walls.)

5. The Hierophant

Tradition, religion (obviously), social credit. Holy matrimony. Legal wranglings and moral scrutiny. The "Pope Card." Reversed: No possibility of marriage or union at this time. Also, social stigma.

6. The Lovers

A self-explanatory image. Everyone instinctively knows what it means. Marriage, union; romance. Perfection and supernal bliss. Reversed: Analogous to The Devil card (numbered as 15, or one plus five, equalling six), or the card of "toxic, addictive, or destructive," relationships.

7. The Chariot

Strife, conflict, battle. Also, a "getaway car." Escape. Worth noting that Lord Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, is a charioteer, and instructs Arjuna from the driver's seat. Numbered as seven, a high, mystical number denoting Divine Will or Force. Reversed. An even more embattled state than what is denoted by the upright position. Adversity, strife.

8. Strength

Self-explanatory. Wrestling the lion, the woman feels confident enough to put her whole arm in his mouth. Resolve and calm in the face of adversity; triumph over overwhelming odds. Courage, determination. Reversed: Cowardice, pettiness, waffling; instability. Numbered eight, another significant number as it denotes "infinity"; here, perhaps, reminding the Querent that it is to God, who is Infinite, that he or she must look to for strength. The Lion is often through to represent God (or more properly Christ) symbolically.

9. The Hermit

Inverse to the six, The Hermit has no partner, but is a solitary sojourner, seeking out the Inner Truth, and shunning conventional society. In a reading, a deep and melancholy image for the Querent. In a less abstract sense, a lurking danger or disguised character, hiding their true motivations behind a hooded cloak. Mendicant, seeker. Reversed: dangerous enemy, deception through and through.

10. Wheel of Fortune

The Roulette Wheel of existence. The twists and turns of "outrageous fortune." Spinning on a dime, and "where she stops, nobody knows"! Your fortunes are turning. Things are turning out in your favor. The inscrutable Divine Will. No beginning, no end. Numbered ten, it can be reduced to one, The Magician, but, also, one and zero include both The Magician and The Fool, a power combination not to be ignored. (Ones and zeros also make up the binary language of computers.) Reversed: A run of bad luck, bad karma. A sudden shift in circumstances or the situation.

11. Justice

The justice system, and courtrooms. Legal affairs. Punishment and recriminations. Consequences. Punishment. Reversed. Justice, "turned on its head," or, obviously, injustice. Numbered eleven, this is a power number, and the card could also be taken to be analogous to The High Priestess. However, this, as all matters in a reading, are matters left largely to the interpretation of the Reader.

12. The Hanged Man

Committment. "Hanging oneself up" to achieve a desired outcome. Dedication. Discipleship. Apprenticeship. Alternately, an inability to move forward or backward in a situation. Stuck in place. Reversed denotes a lack of commitment, lack of resolve, or direction. Rudderless. Also, can be read as three since it is numbered twelve. The Trinity, taken as a tripartite deity, is one The Hanged Man, representing the cruciform God (also The Sun), must pay obeisance or discipleship to, when beginning the New Path.

13. Death

An image of a fearsome aspect, Death, in point of fact, typically NEVER represents actual human mortality. Instead, it represents sudden, and even catastrophic change. One situation goes riding out, but a whole new set of circumstances comes riding in. Reversed: Somnambulism, sleep-walking through a situation. (Numbered thirteen, which, of course, is considered a very ill-omened number, traditionally, most likely because, along with Christ, the original Twelve Apostles numbered thirteen if counting the Betrayer, Judas, as number thirteen of the group.)

14. Temperance

Traditionally it means simply abstaining from alcohol. The interpretation for the Reader though, may be quite different. Petty quarrels; not seeing "eye to eye." A couple experiencing relational difficulties. Mixed-race relationship. Holding back, more rarely. Reversed: The more negative aspects of the foregoing. It is also worth noting that the card, numbered fourteen, can be read as "five" (one plus four), thus analogous to The Empress and Emporer, male and female aspects of the whole, but also The High Priestess, the female aspect of Divinity. If there are relationship problems here, they are, undoubtedly, the fault of a stern, uncompromising petty tyrant of a man.

15. The Devil

A terrifying card, an all-consuming fire. A black stain (as much as the Tower, the Ten of Swords, and the Nine of Swords, all very dark, in the literal sense, cards), it will rear its head, like a Jack-in-the-Box, in a situation wherever someone or something is "bedeviled" by an unkind force or circumstance. A card of "toxic, addictive, or destructive" relationships, the card portrays a couple, the "anti-Adam and Eve," chained mutually to the pedestal upon which The Devil squats. The one and five can be read as six, of course, making it the mirror of The Lovers. One is also the number of The Magician, as previously noted, as well as five is the number of The Hierophant, holy matrimony, and connection to Divinity. The Biblical Antichrist is said to be represented by the number "six-sixty-six", usually rendered "666." The Magician (Man), and The Hierophant (the Vicar of God on earth), come together in the Promethean sense; the unity of The Lovers (Two of Cups, Yin and Yang, the Alchemical Wedding, Sacred Union) bespeaking the convergence of opposites, or the Positive and Negative polarities of the one Divine Force.

16. The Tower

Turbulence, pure and simple. The "Divine Lightning Bolt" cast from the finger of God to rattle the cage of the Querent, to rock the foundations of his or her very existence. Six and one can be reduced to seven, the high mystical number (Seven days and seven nights, Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, seven days a week, originally, there were thought to be seven planets in the solar system, including the Sun and Moon). reversed, it means the same: prepare for a thunderstorm, a flash flood; a sudden gust of wind will knock over your house of cards. Or, as Mae West once said, "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!" Unsurprisingly, the seventh Major Arcana card is The Chariot, as previously noted; the "war wagon."

17. The Star

Female melancholy, female sadness. Antithetical to this mundane interpretation, it can be seen as the star of "illumination," final victory. The transformation of self; Virgo, the Virgin. The one and seven read as eight denotes Infinity; the Tarot Trump represented is Strength. Individually, one and seven in the Tarot are The Magician, and The Chariot, Will tempered by conflict; the provenance of the virgin about to lose her virginity. Reversed, it can mean the same, or the same to a lessened degree, or even the opposite, depending on which interpretation the Reader feels relevant. The Star is also the Pentacle, the Union of Matter and Spirit,

18. The Moon

The Moon card is often seen as a compatriot or companion to The Devil, and rightly so: it is the card marking out a doomed relationship. Depicting a dog and a wolf, baying out under the moon, it conveys two of the same species who are, nonetheless, two very different animals, ones who cannot abide each other, finally. It is, alternately, taken, in an esoteric sense, to represent a journey into the unconscious or subconscious mind.

19. The Sun

The Sun card, as much as The Magician with which it can be closely associated begins a new chapter for the Querent. Also, a new romance. Cupid rides the white steed of Truth into the New Dawn. A new love, a new turn of events; a resolution of the situation, and a new beginning. All things will be well.

20. Judgement.

Here is Gabriel, floating above the cemetery of the world, calling the dead from their graves. This is the Rebirth of the situation, but also, in a less esoteric sense, the final summation and outcome of the situation. The Judgment Trump awakens the Dead, who rise from their graves to be either welcomed to the bosom of God or cast into the flames of perdition, damned souls. Outcome; resolution. Associated with The High Priestess, the Holy Spirit, the Feminine Divine.

21. The World

The final card of the Major Arcana. The Last Chapter. The Final Act. The Culmination of all Threads. End of the Journey, but, not for that reason, the end of all affairs or discord. The admiration of the crowds. Peace.

"Hope Springs Eternal"

These are some of my personal interpretations of the Major Arcana. The next section will cover the Court Cards. Finally, the Pip Cards, or Numbered Cards.