Combinations · 78 cards

Tarot card combinations

In a reading, cards are read together rather than one by one: a neighboring card can strengthen, soften or completely change the meaning. Here you will find the meanings of 1,463 pairs: every combination of the Major Arcana with each other and with each of the 56 cards of the minor suits, plus the rules tarot readers use to read card pairs.

1,463 pairs
78 combination pages
Combinations with suits
Elemental dignities
Meaning in love

Check a two-card combination

Major Arcana combinations

For each of the 22 Major Arcana: the meaning of its pair with every other card, the love interpretation and combinations with the suits.

How to read tarot card combinations

Start with each card on its own. Recall the card’s meaning and its position in the spread, then look for what links neighboring cards.
A Major Arcanum sets the theme; a Minor one adds the details. Death next to the Two of Cups means the end of a stage specifically in a relationship; next to the Five of Pentacles, in finances.
Matching suits strengthen the theme. Several Cups put feelings first, several Swords point to conflict or anxiety, several Pentacles to money and work, several Wands to action and ambition.
A bright card softens a heavy one. The Star next to the Tower speaks of hope after a crisis; the Sun next to the Moon, of worries that will clear.
Order matters. The card on the left more often describes the cause or the past; the card on the right, the consequence or how things develop.

Elemental dignities: how cards affect each other

In the Golden Dawn tradition, every card has an element: for the Minor Arcana it follows the suit (Wands are Fire, Cups are Water, Swords are Air, Pentacles are Earth), and for the Major Arcana it follows the astrological correspondence. Neighboring cards affect each other by element:

Same element — the cards strongly reinforce each other.
Fire and Air, Water and Earth — friendly elements: the cards support each other.
Fire and Earth, Water and Air — neutral: each card keeps its own meaning.
Fire and Water, Air and Earth — opposing elements: the cards weaken each other, and the situation holds an inner contradiction.

The combination checker above applies this rule automatically.

Minor Arcana

Combinations of each Minor Arcana card with all the Major Arcana and with cards of the other suits.

Wands

Cups

Swords

Pentacles

Frequently asked questions about card combinations

How do you read a combination of tarot cards?

First read the meaning of each card on its own, then look for the common theme. A Major Arcana card sets the main idea, and a Minor Arcana card shows the area of life where it plays out. Cards of the same element strengthen each other; cards of opposing elements weaken each other.

Which tarot card combination is the most favorable?

The brightest combinations are considered to be those of The Sun, The Star and The World, especially with each other: The Sun and The World mean complete success and happiness, The Star and The Sun a dream come true. Among the Minor Arcana, the Aces, the Ten of Cups and the Nine of Cups join them.

What do two cards of the same suit next to each other mean?

Two cards of the same suit amplify that suit’s theme: two Cups put emotions and relationships first, two Swords point to conflict or tense deliberation, two Pentacles to practical and money matters, two Wands to activity and ambition.

What are elemental dignities?

It is a rule from the Golden Dawn tradition: cards of the same element strengthen each other, Fire is friendly with Air and Water with Earth, while Fire and Water, and Air and Earth, weaken each other. It helps you see how cards affect their neighbors in a spread.

Should reversed cards be taken into account in combinations?

Yes, if you read with reversals. A reversed card weakens or distorts the meaning of the pair: for example, The Sun next to a reversed Lovers speaks of joy, but with doubts about a choice.