Major Arcana tarot cards

The Fool’s journey: how the Major Arcana connect

The Major Arcana are traditionally read as a story. The Fool is the unnumbered hero who sets out on the road. Along the way he meets teachers and forces: the will of The Magician, the intuition of The High Priestess, the care of The Empress and the order of The Emperor.

The second part of the journey is trials and growing up: the choice of The Lovers, the victory of The Chariot, the solitude of The Hermit, the turn of the Wheel of Fortune, the pause of The Hanged Man and the end of a stage in the Death card.

The third part is meeting the shadow and renewal: The Devil reveals dependencies, The Tower destroys what is false, and after that come the hope of The Star, the anxieties of The Moon, the clarity of The Sun, the awakening of Judgement and the wholeness of The World.

What the Major Arcana mean in a spread

• One Major Arcana card usually points to the main theme of the situation: what it is all really about.
• Several Major Arcana cards say this is an important period and less depends on you than you’d like: events are driving themselves.
• A reversed Major Arcana card shows that the card’s lesson hasn’t been learned yet or that the person is resisting change.
• No Major Arcana at all means the situation is an everyday one and can be resolved with concrete steps, without any fateful turns.

The elements and planets for each card follow the Golden Dawn system; they help you understand the character of the arcanum and connect tarot with astrology.

Your arcanum by date of birth

In tarot numerology, each person has their own Major Arcana, based on their day and full date of birth. Find your personality arcanum, destiny arcanum and year arcanum in the arcana by date of birth calculator.