The Major Arcana are the 22 "big picture" cards of a tarot deck, numbered 0 to 21, from The Fool to The World. Together they tell the story of a journey through life's major lessons: beginnings, love, power, loss, hope and completion. This guide lists all 22 Major Arcana tarot card meanings in order, with short upright and reversed keywords and a link to each card's full meaning.
An honest note: tarot is a spiritual tradition for reflection and storytelling, not fact or prediction. These are standard Rider-Waite meanings. Read the cards as a mirror, not a map.
What are the Major Arcana?
A standard tarot deck has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. The Minor Arcana describe everyday events and moods. The Major Arcana describe the larger themes and turning points, so when one appears in a reading, it is often seen as carrying extra weight.
Many readers call the sequence "The Fool's Journey". The Fool (0) sets out with nothing but trust, meets teachers and challenges along the way, and arrives at The World (21) whole and complete, ready to begin again.
The journey is often split into three stages of seven cards after The Fool. The first stage is about the outer world: learning skills, finding teachers and making choices. The second turns inward, towards courage, solitude, fairness and surrender. The third is the great awakening, where old structures fall away and hope, clarity and wholeness arrive. The list below follows those three stages.
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All 22 Major Arcana cards and their meanings
The beginning: cards 0 to VII
- 0 · The Fool – Upright: new beginnings, spontaneity, a leap of faith. Reversed: recklessness, hesitation, fear of the unknown.
- I · The Magician – Upright: willpower, skill, manifestation. Reversed: manipulation, untapped talent, scattered energy.
- II · The High Priestess – Upright: intuition, mystery, inner knowing. Reversed: ignoring your gut, secrets, disconnection.
- III · The Empress – Upright: abundance, nurturing, creativity. Reversed: creative block, dependence, neglecting yourself.
- IV · The Emperor – Upright: structure, authority, stability. Reversed: rigidity, control, misuse of power.
- V · The Hierophant – Upright: tradition, teaching, shared beliefs. Reversed: rebellion, questioning rules, your own path.
- VI · The Lovers – Upright: love, union, aligned choices. Reversed: imbalance, disharmony, a values conflict.
- VII · The Chariot – Upright: determination, control, victory. Reversed: lack of direction, opposing forces, frustration.
The inner journey: cards VIII to XIV
- VIII · Strength – Upright: courage, compassion, quiet strength. Reversed: self-doubt, low energy, raw emotion.
- IX · The Hermit – Upright: solitude, soul-searching, inner guidance. Reversed: isolation, loneliness, withdrawing too far.
- X · Wheel of Fortune – Upright: cycles, fate, a turning point. Reversed: bad luck, resisting change, feeling stuck.
- XI · Justice – Upright: fairness, truth, cause and effect. Reversed: unfairness, dishonesty, avoiding accountability.
- XII · The Hanged Man – Upright: surrender, pause, a new perspective. Reversed: stalling, resistance, needless sacrifice.
- XIII · Death – Upright: endings, transformation, transition. Reversed: resisting change, stagnation, fear of letting go.
- XIV · Temperance – Upright: balance, patience, moderation. Reversed: excess, imbalance, impatience.
The great awakening: cards XV to XXI
- XV · The Devil – Upright: attachment, temptation, unhealthy patterns. Reversed: release, breaking free, reclaiming power.
- XVI · The Tower – Upright: sudden change, upheaval, revelation. Reversed: resisting change, inner upheaval, a narrow escape.
- XVII · The Star – Upright: hope, healing, renewal. Reversed: discouragement, lost faith, disconnection.
- XVIII · The Moon – Upright: illusion, intuition, the unconscious. Reversed: confusion lifting, released fear, truth emerging.
- XIX · The Sun – Upright: joy, success, vitality. Reversed: a temporary cloud, low mood, delayed success.
- XX · Judgement – Upright: awakening, reckoning, a calling. Reversed: self-doubt, harsh self-judgement, ignoring the call.
- XXI · The World – Upright: completion, wholeness, achievement. Reversed: loose ends, delays, seeking closure.
How to read the Major Arcana in a spread
When a Major Arcana card turns up, ask what big theme or life lesson it is pointing to, then look at the Minor Arcana around it for the everyday details. A reading full of Major Arcana often suggests an important period of change.
- Read the card's neighbours. The Tower next to The Star tells a different story from The Tower next to The Devil.
- Notice the stage of the journey. Early cards often speak to beginnings, middle cards to inner work, later cards to big shifts and completion.
- Reversed is not "bad". A reversal often means the energy is blocked, delayed or turned inward.
If you are just starting, our step-by-step guide on how to read a three-card spread is the easiest way in, and Getting Started with Tarot & Oracle Cards covers choosing and caring for your first deck. When you are ready, browse our tarot decks.
Frequently asked questions
How many Major Arcana cards are there?
There are 22 Major Arcana cards, numbered 0 (The Fool) to 21 (The World), out of 78 cards in a standard tarot deck.
What is the most powerful Major Arcana card?
Many readers see The World, The Sun or The Tower as especially strong, but no card is more powerful in general. The card's meaning depends on the question and the cards around it.
Are Strength and Justice VIII or XI?
In the Rider-Waite deck, Strength is VIII and Justice is XI. Some older decks, like the Marseille tarot, swap them. This guide follows Rider-Waite numbering.
Do I need to memorise all 22 meanings?
No. Many readers learn one card at a time, often by pulling a daily card and reflecting on it. Over a few weeks the meanings start to feel natural.
Want to meet the cards one at a time? Pull your free daily tarot card and let Barry read it to you.
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