What Is the Major Arcana?
If you have ever held a tarot deck in your hands and wondered where to begin, the answer almost always lies with the Major Arcana. These 22 powerful cards sit at the heart of every tarot deck, carrying with them centuries of symbolism, spiritual wisdom, and archetypal truth.
Understanding the major arcana tarot card meanings is not just an intellectual exercise. It is a doorway into understanding yourself, your patterns, and the larger forces at work in your life.
The word arcana comes from the Latin word for secrets or mysteries. The Major Arcana, then, are the great mysteries. They represent the big themes of human experience, the turning points, the soul lessons, and the cosmic forces that shape our lives far beyond the everyday.
In most traditional decks, including the Rider Waite tarot, the Major Arcana is numbered from 0 to 21. Each card depicts a universal archetype drawn from mythology, religion, astrology, and the collective human story. When these cards appear in a reading, they ask you to pause and pay serious attention.
The Fool's Journey: The Story Behind All 22 Cards
One of the most useful ways to understand the major arcana tarot card meanings is through what is known as the Fool's Journey. This is the narrative framework that connects all 22 cards into a single, coherent story of growth and transformation.
The Fool, numbered 0, is the protagonist. He begins his journey with wide eyes, innocence, and an open heart, stepping off the edge of a cliff with nothing but a small sack and a white rose.
Over the course of the Major Arcana, he meets teachers, faces challenges, endures darkness, finds love, survives crisis, and ultimately arrives at The World, card 21, having integrated all the lessons of the journey.
This is not just a mythological tale. It is your story. At different moments in your life, you may find yourself in the shoes of the Fool, the Hermit, or the Star.
If you would like personalised guidance from an experienced reader, you can book a tarot reading session with Mini Govil.
Cards 0 to 7: The Outer World and Its Lessons
The Fool (0)
The Fool represents pure potential. He stands at the beginning of every new chapter with enthusiasm and a touch of recklessness. The Fool tarot card reminds you that beginnings require courage and trust, even when you cannot see the full picture.
The Magician (1)
The Magician is the card of willpower, skill, and manifestation. He holds a wand aloft with all four suits of the tarot laid before him. He reminds you that you already have everything you need to create the life you want.
The High Priestess (2)
The High Priestess governs the world of intuition, mystery, and the subconscious. In readings, she is often a signal to trust your inner knowing before acting.
The Empress (3)
The Empress is abundance, fertility, creativity, and nurturing. Her energy invites you to slow down, care for yourself and others, and recognise the beauty already present in your life.
The Emperor (4)
The Emperor represents structure, authority, and discipline. His lesson is about building foundations that last.
The Hierophant (5)
The Hierophant represents tradition, spiritual institutions, and established wisdom. He often appears as a mentor figure or an invitation to explore structured spiritual practice.
The Lovers (6)
The Lovers tarot is not merely about romantic partnership. At its core, it is a card of choice, alignment, and values. It asks whether the path you are on truly reflects who you are and what you believe.
The Chariot (7)
The Chariot is the card of determination, momentum, and victory earned through discipline. It speaks to the power of focused intention and the drive to overcome obstacles.
Cards 8 to 14: The Inner World and Its Depths
Strength (8)
The strength card meaning is often misread as brute force, but this card depicts a gentle figure taming a lion with open hands. True strength is compassion applied with patience.
The Hermit (9)
The Hermit is the great seeker. This card often appears when you need solitude, introspection, or time to reconnect with your own truth.
The Wheel of Fortune (10)
The Wheel of Fortune reminds us that life is cyclical. Fortunes rise and fall. Its lesson is that nothing is permanent and timing matters enormously.
Justice (11)
Justice is a card of truth, accountability, and fairness. It speaks to honesty, cause and effect, and facing reality without evasion.
The Hanged Man (12)
The Hanged Man asks you to pause, release control, and see things from an entirely new perspective. What looks like defeat may actually be enlightenment in disguise.
Death (13)
Death is one of the most misunderstood tarot cards. It speaks to transformation and the ending of one chapter so that another can begin.
Temperance (14)
Temperance is the card of balance, flow, and moderation. It asks you to blend opposites, find the middle path, and allow healing to unfold at its own pace.
Cards 15 to 21: Transformation, Crisis, and Completion
The Devil (15)
The Devil confronts us with attachments, addictions, and illusions. Its lesson is that what imprisons us often does so only with our own consent.
The Tower (16)
The Tower card depicts a tall structure struck by lightning. This is a card of sudden disruption and false foundations collapsing to make room for what is real.
The Star (17)
The Star follows The Tower and brings hope, healing, renewal, and the gentle return of faith in the future.
The Moon (18)
The Moon governs illusion, the unconscious, and hidden truths. Its arrival often signals a time of uncertainty and navigating by instinct rather than logic.
The Sun (19)
The Sun is joy, clarity, and vital energy. It is one of the most positive cards in the Major Arcana, signalling success, happiness, and confidence.
Judgement (20)
Judgement is a card of reckoning and awakening. It is the call to rise, answer your highest calling, and fully become who you are meant to be.
The World (21)
The World completes the Fool's Journey. It speaks of wholeness, accomplishment, and integration. When this card appears, something significant has been completed and a new cycle is ready to begin.
Rider Waite Tarot and the Power of Arcana Symbolism
The Rider Waite tarot, illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite and published in 1909, remains the most widely used tarot system in the world.
Understanding arcana symbolism within the Rider Waite system means learning a visual language. Colours, flowers, animals, gestures, planets, and numbers all carry meaning.
When you learn to read the images rather than simply memorise keywords, the cards begin to speak in a richer and more personal way.
How to Work with the Major Arcana as a Beginner
If you are new to tarot, the Major Arcana is the best place to begin. Before working with all 78 cards, spend time with only these 22.
Draw one card each morning. Sit with it quietly. Notice what feelings, memories, or thoughts it stirs before looking up any formal interpretation. Keep a journal of your observations.
Many experienced readers suggest that tarot for beginners should focus less on memorising rigid definitions and more on developing a personal relationship with each card.
For deeper learning, explore Mini Govil's tarot courses and build confidence in reading cards with clarity and intuition.
Reading the Major Arcana as a Living Language
The major arcana tarot card meanings are not static definitions to be memorised like a vocabulary list. They are living symbols that shift and deepen depending on the question asked, the spread used, the surrounding cards, and the intuition of the reader.
This is what makes tarot endlessly fascinating. Each time you sit with the cards, you bring your present self to a set of ancient symbols, and something new is always revealed.
Whether you are brand new to the practice or returning to deepen a long relationship with the cards, the 22 cards of the Major Arcana will always have something fresh to offer. Begin with the Fool. Trust the journey. Let the cards speak at their own pace and on their own terms.