The Meaning of All 78 Tarot Cards

A tarot deck is a set of 78 illustrated cards. Using the most widely known Rider–Waite tradition as our reference, those 78 cards divide into 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. This guide walks a first-time reader through what each group means, how upright and reversed cards are read, and the simplest spreads to begin with.

One thing to keep in mind from the start: card meanings are not fixed rules but a long-standing vocabulary of symbols. The same card reads differently depending on the question, the cards drawn alongside it, and its position in a spread. Treat keywords not as answers but as threads for telling a story.

How the 78 cards are structured

A full deck is organized like this:

• 22 Major Arcana — the numbered cards from 0, The Fool, to 21, The World. They stand for life's big themes, turning points, and stages of growth. When a Major card appears in a reading, it usually signals an important current.
• 56 Minor Arcana — divided into four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. Each suit has ten numbered cards (Ace through Ten) plus four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King), for 14 cards each (14 × 4 = 56). They deal with the concrete events and feelings of daily life.

A common analogy: the Majors are the "big picture," the Minors the "fine detail." When both appear together, the full story gains depth and dimension.

Core keywords for the 22 Major Arcana

The 22 Majors are often called "the Fool's Journey" — the story of the Fool (0), who sets out knowing nothing and, passing through many figures and events, reaches completion (21). The table below lists the core upright keywords for each card.

No.	Card	Core upright keywords
0	The Fool	New beginnings, innocence, adventure, freedom
1	The Magician	Will, creation, manifestation, skill
2	The High Priestess	Intuition, inner wisdom, mystery, the subconscious
3	The Empress	Abundance, nurturing, creativity, nature
4	The Emperor	Authority, stability, structure, leadership
5	The Hierophant	Tradition, teaching, institutions, belief
6	The Lovers	Love, relationship, choice, harmony
7	The Chariot	Will, drive, victory, control
8	Strength	Courage, patience, gentle strength, self-mastery
9	The Hermit	Reflection, solitude, search, inner light
10	Wheel of Fortune	Change, cycles, luck, turning point
11	Justice	Balance, fairness, cause and effect, truth
12	The Hanged Man	Pause, shift in perspective, surrender, sacrifice
13	Death	Endings and beginnings, transformation, transition, renewal
14	Temperance	Balance, harmony, moderation, blending
15	The Devil	Attachment, bondage, temptation, materialism
16	The Tower	Sudden upheaval, shock, awakening, release
17	The Star	Hope, inspiration, healing, serenity
18	The Moon	Anxiety, illusion, the unconscious, uncertainty
19	The Sun	Joy, success, vitality, positivity
20	Judgement	Awakening, rebirth, reckoning, a calling
21	The World	Completion, achievement, integration, the journey's end

The character of the four Minor suits

The 56 Minors split into four suits, and each suit maps to an element and an area of life. Learn the character of the suits first and you can find your bearings without memorizing all 56 cards at once.

Suit	Element	Life area	Character keywords
Wands	Fire	Work, creation, drive	Passion, energy, momentum, ambition
Cups	Water	Emotions, relationships	Love, feeling, intuition, connection
Swords	Air	Thought, communication	Intellect, judgment, conflict, truth
Pentacles	Earth	Money, the material, health	Resources, stability, diligence, results

The numbers carry a flow of their own. The Ace is the seed of the suit (a new beginning), the middle numbers bring development and conflict, and the Ten often marks the completion or peak of that area. The four court cards represent people or dispositions: broadly, the Page means learning and news, the Knight action and pursuit, the Queen maturity and care, and the King seasoned mastery and command.

How to read upright and reversed

When a card lands with its image facing up, it is upright; when the image is turned over, it is reversed. A reversal is not automatically "bad" — it usually means the same energy is showing up in a different state. Common ways to read it:

• Weakened or blocked energy — the upright force hasn't emerged yet, or is delayed. Example: The Sun reversed can mean joy that is briefly clouded.
• Energy turned inward — a theme that would play out openly turns toward the inner, personal realm.
• Excessive or distorted energy — the upright quality overshoots into a side effect. Example: Strength reversed can point to wavering self-control.

When you're starting out, it's perfectly fine to read every card upright and skip reversals entirely. Add reversals later, once you're comfortable, and your readings gain nuance. The goal is not to memorize rules but to practice explaining, in your own words, which direction of energy the card is describing for this question.

The most basic spreads

A spread is a set layout in which each position has an assigned meaning. The two most beginner-friendly ones are these.

One Card

Hold your question in mind and draw a single card. It suits light questions like "What attitude should I carry through today?" and, drawn daily and journaled, it's the fastest way to get acquainted with the cards.

Three-Card Spread

Lay three cards side by side and assign a meaning to each position — the most widely used spread of all. You can define the positions freely to fit your question; common examples include:

• Past – Present – Future: for seeing flow and change
• Situation – Action – Outcome: for deciding how to respond
• You – The Other – The Relationship: for reading what's between two people

Interpret each of the three cards, then read them as a single connected story. The flow the three cards create together tells you more than any single card's meaning on its own.

Tips for beginners

• Keywords first, then the image. Use the table's keywords to set direction, then flesh it out by observing the figures, colors, and symbols in the picture. The impressions you discover yourself are the ones that stick.
• Make the question specific. "Will it go well?" reads vaguely; "What will I go through if I take this new job?" gives the cards something clear to answer.
• Start with the Majors and the suits. Don't try to memorize all 78 at once — knowing the 22 Majors and the character of the four suits is enough to begin most readings.
• Keep a journal. Note the cards you drew, your reading that day, and how things actually turned out; over time your own interpretive instinct builds up.
• Don't be absolute. Tarot isn't a tool for fixing the future, but one for viewing your present situation from a fresh angle and helping you sort out your thinking.

🃏 Tarot Card MeaningsA dictionary of all 78 upright & reversed meanings + AI three-card readings