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A Tarot Reference Library
This reference information allows you to investigate the full meaning of a single card in the tarot deck.
The 78 cards of tarot are displayed here for you to explore.
 One of
the first steps toward understanding the Tarot lies in appreciating the meaning
of its two Arcana – the Major and the Minor. But even before that, the novice
does well by committing to memory the meaning of “Arcana” – defined as
“mysterious knowledge, language, or information accessible only by the
initiate.”
By its very definition, the word “Arcana” exudes secrecy and a certain esoteric
eeriness – making it the perfect word for the two branches of the Tarot so
important to believers, including new “initiates.” To learn about Tarot is one
thing; to truly learn the meaning of the Tarot’s Arcana is quite another.
Because the Arcana are secret, and because their deeper meanings are closed to
many, learning them takes time, determination, and perhaps even a gift. This
gift belongs to those with a desire to learn the mysteries and knowledge of the
Ancients, the special few, the Chosen. The Arcana, though seemingly somewhat
simplistic at first glance, are in actuality the great secret to reading Tarot.
The first of the Arcana, termed the “Major Arcana,” symbolically relate to our
physical, as well as intellectual, emotional, and spiritual states of being.
These 22 powerful cards illuminate our strengths, weaknesses, fears, wishes, and
the light and dark portions of our souls. The Major Arcana in a commonly used
Tarot deck include the fool, the magician, the high priestess, the empress, the
emperor, the hierophant (wise man or teacher), the lovers, the chariot,
strength, the hermit, the wheel of fortune, justice, the hanged man, death,
temperance, the devil, the tower, the star, the sun, the moon, judgment, and the
world.
A number of the Major Arcana cards serve as archetypal representatives of real
people in our lives, either as a whole or in symbolic parts. Some archetypes,
for instance, would be authority figures, mysterious or mystical people, or
parental, sibling, or other familial figures.
The Major Arcana cards each represent, through their images, positive and
negative forces. The interpretation of the meanings of the cards, however,
relies on many factors. Some of these factors include how the cards are laid,
which cards surround others, the information sought, the reader, and the person
for whom the reading is being performed. So even though each individual Major
Arcana symbol or card holds its own unique meanings, it must be taken as only
one part of a whole with the above critical dynamics taken into account.
When dealing with the Major Arcana, one deals with some of the ancient,
mystical, and hidden secrets of the universe – and should do so with the caution
attributed to the wisest among us. But be cautious, not afraid! Some may say,
“Curiosity killed the cat!” But we also know: “Satisfaction brought it back!”
And even though cats do purportedly have nine lives, you’ll have to consult the
Major Arcana to even hazard a guess as to which life the cat in question is now
living – once you’ve learned the Major Arcana’s secrets, that is!
Did you know we have the Cartomancy Tarot Cards and their definitions on the site
now?
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