
Learn Tarot – The Major Arcana
The 22 Major Arcana represent archetypes, these are clear statements, patterns and ideas that represent the human life / story. We start our journey as the fool (innocent, adventurous, perhaps naive) and progress through the major arcana until reaching our destination; enlightenment (The World).
A basic list of the major associations can be found below:-
Number | Roman | Major | Association |
---|---|---|---|
0 | 0 | The Fool | Beginnings, innocence |
1 | I | The Magician | Power, action, manifestation, the link between the divine and physical |
2 | II | High Priestess | Intuition, mystery, subconscious |
3 | III | The Empress | Fertility, femininity, nature |
4 | IV | The Emperor | Authority, structure, foundations, father figure |
5 | V | The Heirophant | Religion, dogma, conformity, control |
6 | VI | The Lovers | Love, partnership |
7 | VII | The Chariot | Control, will power, determiniation, movement |
8 | VIII | Strength | Strength, courage, control, compassion |
9 | IX | The Hermit | Spiritual wisdom, introspection, meditation |
10 | X | The Wheel of Fortune | Cycles, karma, luck |
11 | XI | Justice | Justice, fairness, law |
12 | XII | The Hanged Man | Restriction, different viewpoints |
13 | XIII | Death | End of a cycle, new beginnings, transition |
14 | XIV | Temperance | Balance, moderation |
15 | XV | The Devil | Addiction, sexuality, materialism |
16 | XVI | The Tower | Disaster, destruction of ego, change, revelation |
17 | XVII | The Star | Spirituality, wonder, inspiration |
18 | XVIII | The Moon | Illusion, fear, subconscious |
19 | XIX | The Sun | Light, warmth, positivity |
20 | XX | Judgement | Judgement, inner struggle, morales |
21 | XXI | The World | Completion, accomplishment, travel |
The major arcana can be divided in several ways in order to gain additional insight. One of the common methods is to separate the fool then divide the remaining 21 cards into 3 lines of 7 cards. The first line (1-7) represents how others perceive us, the second (8-14) represent how we perceive ourselves and the final (15-22) represent deeper spiritual truths.
In the next post, we’ll start to put the pieces together – Learn Tarot – Putting The Pieces Together
Note: This is a ‘work in progress’; a placeholder until a more detailed article can be added.

Esotericist with particular interest in tarot and the underlying magical traditions/systems.
The World is mentioned twice… is this correct or a typo?
Well spotted, thanks! The tenth major is Wheel of Fortune. I’ll update this now.
Thanks again!