Understanding Major Arcana in Tarot Card Reading
Trump Cards Symbolize Life Changes, Basic Fears, Big Challenges
Aug 4, 2009
The standard tarot deck consists of 78 cards, 22 of which are, cards of the major arcana and the remaining 56 cards comprise the minor arcana. Arcana means, "profound secret" or "something hidden and sacred."
The 22 cards of the major arcana are considered the heart of the tarot deck. These cards deal with the big issues of one's life. Each of these cards symbolizes an aspect of human experience that's universal and consistent.
Why is the Major Arcana Special?
Drawing a major arcana card is given extra importance because, it implies that the issue on hand is not trivial or temporary. It deals with basic fears, motivations, concerns. Numerology, astrology and other esoteric sciences are used in the interpretation of the patterns of the major arcana.
Some interpreters of tarot also view the cards of the major arcana as different stages in the life of an individual. Some tarot readers refer to the major arcana as the workings of fate.
What are the Cards of the Major Arcana?
The 22 cards of the major arcana are:
- The Fool
- The Magician
- The High Priestess
- The Empress
- The Emperor
- The Hierophant
- The Lovers
- The Chariot
- Strength
- The Hermit
- The Wheel of Fortune
- Justice
- The Hanged Man
- Death
- Temperance
- The Devil
- The Tower
- The Star
- The Moon
- The Sun
- The Judgment
- The World
Why is the Fool Card Assigned the Number 0?
The Fool card symbolizes creation from nothingness. In tarot games, unlike the occult tarot deck, the fool card is independent of the trump cards and suit cards, as it does not belong in either category and hence was unnumbered.
The historic numeric value assigned to the fool card is retained in most of the modern tarot decks like the Rider Waite deck. In some tarot decks, the fool card is assigned the number 22 which is the position of the very last card.
Some tarot readers view the number 0 of the fool card to mean that the circle has no beginning or end. The fool card also represents the circle of life - of birth, death and reincarnation.
An archetype is an image or model that is present in humanity's collective consciousness. Each of the major arcana cards represents an archetype represented by an image and sometimes an associated number.
Its often said that the image of the major arcana card is worth more than the proverbial thousand words, as there are many ways of interpreting the cards, depending on the spread, the other cards in the reading and the card reader's intuition.
Suggested Reading
Readers may also enjoy reading, What Do Mountains Mean in a Tarot Card Reading?, along with, Understanding the Symbolism of Tarot Cards and Tarot Terminology for Beginners.
Sources
- Learning the Tarot, Joan Bunning
- Tarot - Plain and Simple, Anthony Louis
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