Tarot Card Meanings: The Major Arcana
The Major Arcana are the 22 anchor points of the Tarot: archetypes, portals, and invitations to transformation. From the wide-eyed leap of The Fool to the celebratory closure of The World, each card marks a stage in our personal and collective unfolding. These cards don’t just tell stories: they shape them.
I always say to people I read for that the Major Arcana are so intuitive that pretty much anyone, from anywhere in the world, could have a decent bash at interpreting what they mean, even if they know absolutely nothing about Tarot. They’re so deeply drawn from our art, our lore, the stories we tell about our lives. The Minors can be a little trickier (though when the Five of Cups came up in my first ever Tarot reading aged 16 I was like: Yep. Know exactly what that is 😂). But the Majors? They’re archetypal images rooted so thoroughly in our collective imagination that they feel accessible to everyone. Each one is like: yes, that’s how we write about that experience. That’s how we paint it, mythologise it, sing about it.
That’s what I love about Tarot. It’s so human.
From a personal perspective, I have no expectation of anything after this one wild and precious life, so a spiritual system which focuses almost entirely on being good to each other – and to ourselves – in the here and now, really resonates with me.
Below you’ll find my personal deep dives into each of these archetypes, as they appear across decks, history, art, mythology & folklore, religion, and lived experience. Some are brief beginnings; most are long, winding love letters. I like my love letters to be multi-media, haha, so each card has a ‘theme’ song, and I’ve linked to other music, poetry, and art that reminds me of the card’s message.
More will be added over time – I’m in no rush. The Major Arcana asks us to take our time.
💫 Want to browse all the Major Arcana deep dives?
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🌸 The Fool (0) – New Beginnings, Wild Trust
‘Fools rush in, where wise men never go’
🌟The Magician (I) – Power, Focus, Manifestation
‘One shaft of light that shows the way…’
🔮 The High Priestess (II) – Intuition, Mystery, Inner Knowing
‘She is like a cat in the dark, and then she is the darkness’
🌾 The Empress (III) – Creation, Nurture, Abundance
‘I can sense your needs like rain onto the seeds’
📜 The Emperor (IV) – Structure, Power, Responsibility
‘I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway, and more, much, much more, I did it my way’
✨ The Hierophant (V) – Tradition, Wisdom, Sacred Teaching
‘I’ve got the key, I’ve got the secret’
💖 The Lovers (VI) – Choice, Connection, Commitment
‘But the key is mine, I keep a spare one every time’
🏎️ The Chariot (VII) – Willpower, Direction, Determination
‘I dream it, I work hard, I grind ’til I own it’
🦁 Strength (VIII) – Inner Fire, Compassion, Wild Gentleness
‘And a lion roars would you not listen? If a child cries would you not forgive them?’
🧙🏻 The Hermit (IX) – Solitude, Truth-Seeking, Inner Light
‘The fool on the hill sees the sun going down, and the eyes in his head see the world spinning round’
⏳ The Wheel of Fortune (X) – [Coming soon]
‘Every time I find myself flat on my face I pick myself up and get back in the race’
⚖️ Justice (XI) – [Coming soon]
‘It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall’
🪶 The Hanged Man (XII) – [Coming soon]
‘In this white wave, in this silence, I believe’
☠️ Death (XIII) – [Coming soon]
‘All our times have come, here but now they’re gone’
🌈 Temperance (XIV) – [Coming soon]
‘Try to realise it’s all within yourself, no one else can make you change’
🐐 The Devil (XV) – Shadow, Addiction, Liberation
‘Oh well, the devil makes us sin, but we like it when we’re spinning in his grin’
💥 The Tower (XVI) – Upheaval, Revelation, Radical Change
‘It’s falling down on all that I’ve ever known’
🌠 The Star (XVII) – Healing, Hope, Renewal
‘There walks a lady we all know, who shines white light and wants to show how everything still turns to gold’
🌒 The Moon (XVIII) – Illusion, Intuition, Adventure
‘She’s the wave, she turns the tide’
☀️ The Sun (XIX) – Joy, Clarity, Embodiment
‘Little darlin’, the smile’s returning to their faces’
⏹️ Judgement (XX) – [Coming soon]
‘I won’t live a life on my knees’
🌍 The World (XXI) – [Coming soon]
‘Everything is everything, what is meant to be will be’
More cards will be added as I write them – I’m going at my own pace, through motherhood, academic life, and all the rest. Each one is a meditation in its own time. Begin wherever you feel drawn.
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💫 Want to browse all the Major Arcana deep dives?
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