Welcome to the heart of the tarot deck. The Major Arcana cards (Tarot’s 22 core archetypes) represent life’s biggest themes, deep psychological stages, and spiritual turning points. They are not about predicting fixed events; they are a map of the high-level energy patterns influencing your path.
These cards show us where we are in our journey—from the moment of innocent new beginnings (The Fool) to the final achievement of wholeness (The World).
Here is your straightforward, grounded guide to the Major Arcana meanings, including how to interpret the cards when they appear in reverse.
🃏 Understanding the Major Arcana & Reversed Cards
The Major Arcana is the spiritual spine of the deck, numbered 0 through XXI (21), representing the Soul’s Journey, often called the Fool’s Journey.
When a card is reversed (upside down), it often signals one of three things:
- Blocked Energy: The energy of the card is present but being suppressed or ignored.
- Excessive Energy: The card’s energy is being expressed too much, leading to imbalance.
- A Waiting Phase: The lesson of the card needs internal reflection before it can be acted upon.
The 22 Major Arcana Meanings
| Card | Upright Meaning (Core) | Reversed Meaning (Blockage/Excess) |
| 0 — The Fool | New beginnings, innocence, taking a leap. | Recklessness, holding back due to fear. |
| I — The Magician | Manifestation, skill, using existing resources. | Manipulation, wasted talent, feeling powerless. |
| II — The High Priestess | Intuition, subconscious, mystery. | Repressed intuition, hidden agendas, secrets revealed. |
| III — The Empress | Abundance, nurturing, creation, femininity. | Creative block, dependence, neglect. |
| IV — The Emperor | Structure, discipline, authority. | Tyranny, inflexibility, lack of control. |
| V — The Hierophant | Tradition, guidance, spiritual structure. | Rebellion, nonconformity, outdated beliefs. |
| VI — The Lovers | Alignment, values, real choices, union. | Disharmony, misalignment, bad choices. |
| VII — The Chariot | Drive, willpower, focus, victory. | Lack of direction, scattered effort, defeat. |
| VIII — Strength | Emotional resilience, inner calm, courage. | Self-doubt, feeling overwhelmed, weakness. |
| IX — The Hermit | Introspection, seeking truth, solitude. | Isolation, avoidance, over-analyzing. |
| X — The Wheel of Fortune | Cycles, change, timing shifts. | Bad luck, resistance to change, stalled progress. |
| XI — Justice | Accountability, truth, cause/effect. | Unfairness, denial, legal complications. |
| XII — The Hanged Man | Pause, surrender, new perspective. | Martyrdom, stalling, refusing to yield. |
| XIII — Death | Transformation, endings → beginnings. | Resistance to change, stagnation, fear of loss. |
| XIV — Temperance | Balance, integration, patience. | Imbalance, discord, impatience, excess. |
| XV — The Devil | Attachment, fear, coping patterns. | Breaking free, releasing bondage, shadow work. |
| XVI — The Tower | Disruption, truth breaking through. | Disaster avoided, fearing disaster, deep internal change. |
| XVII — The Star | Hope, healing, alignment, serenity. | Despair, loss of faith, feeling uninspired. |
| XVIII — The Moon | Uncertainty, subconscious, illusions. | Confusion clearing, releasing fear, facing inner truth. |
| XIX — The Sun | Joy, clarity, confidence, vitality. | Temporary gloom, feeling blocked, unrealistic optimism. |
| XX — Judgement | Awakening, accountability, new direction. | Self-doubt, refusal to face past, judgmental. |
| XXI — The World | Wholeness, completion, fulfillment. | Lack of closure, delayed success, feeling incomplete. |
In-Depth Meanings of the Major Arcana
0 — The Fool
The Fool represents the moment before the first step. It is the card of pure potential, boundless optimism, and innocent new beginnings. It asks you to trust the universe and take a leap of faith, even if you don’t know where you’ll land. Reversed, it warns against reckless behavior or, conversely, letting fear hold you back from a necessary adventure. The beauty of the fool as a 0 is that he can go anywhere in the deck. Remember that!
I — The Magician
The Magician is the master manifester. This card signifies that you have all the tools, talent, and resources necessary to achieve your goal right now. It is the power of concentration, skill, and conscious action. Reversed, it may signal manipulation, unethical use of your power, or a deep sense that you are powerless or wasting your gifts.
II — The High Priestess
The High Priestess is the keeper of sacred knowledge and your deepest intuition. She lives in the subconscious world and asks you to trust what you feel rather than what you see. She brings an understanding of deep mystery and the unseen forces at play. Reversed, she warns that you are ignoring your inner voice or that secrets and hidden information are causing problems.
III — The Empress
The Empress is the archetype of nurturing, abundance, and fertile creation. She relates to nature, sensuality, material comfort, and the power of feminine energy. This card encourages you to treat yourself with love and bring your creative ideas into reality. Reversed, it can indicate a creative block, feeling dependent on others, or neglecting self-care.
IV — The Emperor
The Emperor brings structure, order, and authority. He represents discipline, boundaries, and leadership. This card asks you to take charge of your life, establish firm rules, and build a stable foundation. Reversed, it signals inflexibility, tyranny, over-dominance, or feeling a complete lack of control over your own life.
V — The Hierophant
The Hierophant represents tradition, conventional wisdom, institutions, and spiritual guidance. He is a teacher or mentor who guides you through established systems. This card often suggests aligning with community values or seeking traditional education. Reversed, it calls for a rebellion against outdated beliefs or a rejection of suffocating societal norms.
VI — The Lovers
More than romance, The Lovers represents a clear, profound alignment of values. It is about harmony, union, and making authentic choices that reflect your highest self and integrity. Reversed, it points to disharmony in a relationship, a misalignment of personal values, or making a choice that you know is wrong for your soul.
VII — The Chariot
The Chariot is pure drive and willpower. It signifies moving forward with determined focus, overcoming obstacles through disciplined effort, and achieving victory through directed action. This card says: steer your course and don’t look back. Reversed, it suggests scattered efforts, a lack of direction, or a feeling of defeat before the race even starts.
VIII — Strength
Strength is not brute force, but gentle, emotional resilience. It is the inner calm required to handle difficult situations with patience, compassion, and courage rooted in the heart. This card asks you to tame your inner fears through love, not force. Reversed, it indicates self-doubt, feeling overwhelmed, or allowing your inner weaknesses to take control.
IX — The Hermit
The Hermit represents the need for solitude and introspection. He seeks truth by withdrawing from the noise of the world to look within. This card guides you to spend time alone for self-discovery and to act as a wise guide for others once you return. Reversed, it warns of unhealthy isolation, avoiding necessary interaction, or over-analyzing to the point of inaction.
X — The Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune represents the ever-changing cycles of life, fate, and cosmic timing. It shows that fortune can turn at any moment—sometimes up, sometimes down. It is a reminder that what goes around comes around. Reversed, it suggests resistance to change, feeling stuck in a rut, or experiencing a run of bad luck that needs a perspective shift.
XI — Justice
Justice is about truth, integrity, accountability, and the universal principle of cause and effect. This card often relates to legal matters or simply the need to be fair and honest with yourself and others. Reversed, it points to unfair outcomes, denial of responsibility, or complications that prevent a just resolution.
XII — The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man is a call to pause and surrender control completely. By hanging upside down, he gains a radical new perspective on an old problem. This card says stop pushing and instead, wait, yield, and accept the necessity of delay. Reversed, it warns against being a martyr, stalling for no good reason, or stubbornly refusing to sacrifice something necessary for progress.
XIII — Death
The Death card is perhaps the most misunderstood. It represents profound transformation, the inevitable ending of an era, and the powerful release that must happen before new growth can begin. It is not literal death; it is the death of a situation, mindset, or role. Reversed, it signifies a strong resistance to necessary change, stagnation, or crippling fear of loss.
XIV — Temperance
Temperance is the key to balance, patience, and integration. It asks you to blend different aspects of yourself or a situation to create a harmonious middle ground. This card encourages a slow, moderate approach to find what truly works. Reversed, it indicates imbalance, discord, impatience, or unhealthy extremes and excess.
XV — The Devil
The Devil represents bondage to material attachments, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and fear that holds you back. It shows you where you have given away your power, often through perceived limitations or desire. Reversed, it is a powerful sign of breaking free from bondage, releasing negative habits, and finally engaging in shadow work.
XVI — The Tower
The Tower is a sudden, often shocking disruption that breaks down false structures you have built around yourself. While painful, it is necessary to clear space for the truth. This card signifies quick and radical change. Reversed, it suggests that a major disaster was narrowly avoided, or that you are desperately holding off a necessary internal change.
XVII — The Star
The Star is a beacon of hope, healing, and serenity after the storm. It represents aligning with your true path, feeling spiritually guided, and finding deep faith in the future. It is a gentle promise of peace and clarity. Reversed, it can indicate despair, a loss of faith in the universe, or a feeling of being uninspired and creatively blocked.
XVIII — The Moon
The Moon is the territory of the subconscious, dreams, and uncertainty. It warns that things are not as they seem; illusions and fears are at play. You are asked to trust your intuition to navigate the darkness. Reversed, it suggests that confusion is finally beginning to clear, deep-seated fears are being released, and the inner truth is being faced.
XIX — The Sun
The Sun is absolute joy, clarity, vitality, and confidence. It represents success, abundance, and clarity about your situation. This is one of the most positive cards in the deck, signaling optimism and fulfillment. Reversed, it can indicate a temporary feeling of gloom, blocked energy, or overconfidence bordering on arrogance.
XX — Judgement
Judgement is a call to awakening, accountability, and a final reckoning. It represents a major life review that leads to a clear, powerful new direction or calling. This card means you must answer for your past actions before moving forward. Reversed, it warns of intense self-doubt, a refusal to learn from the past, or being overly judgmental of others.
XXI — The World
The World represents wholeness, successful completion, and fulfillment. It signifies the end of a major cycle, the integration of all lessons learned, and the achievement of a goal you have worked hard for. It is the pinnacle of the Fool’s Journey. Reversed, it suggests a lack of closure, a feeling of incompleteness, or delayed success due to small, final steps being ignored.
Ready to Map Your Major Arcana Journey?
Understanding the Major Arcana meanings helps you pinpoint exactly where you are on your path and which forces are driving your next move. These powerful archetypes guide you toward your greatest self-awareness. If you want to go deeper into the meanings and symbolism of each card, then I suggest reading 78 Degrees of Wisdom. That book helped me learn so much and was a tremendous tarot resource for me.
Bookmark this page because it is on my to-do list to do a deep dive on each individual card! So visit frequently for updates or visit my Tarot Resource Guide page for more in depth tarot topics.
Ready to see how these powerful forces are manifesting in your personal journey right now?