Tarot
The 22 Major Arcana Tarot Cards and What They Mean
The Major Arcana are the 22 main cards of the tarot, numbered from 0 (The Fool) to 21 (The World). They stand for big life chapters and themes, while the 56 Minor Arcana deal with everyday situations. When several Major Arcana show up in a spread, the reading is usually about something important.
This guide covers what each card means upright and reversed, along with the astrological correspondence assigned by the Golden Dawn tradition, which most modern tarot follows.
How to use this guide
- Upright: the card's core meaning.
- Reversed: not always the opposite. More often it means the card's energy is blocked, overdone or turned inward.
- Astrology: the planet or sign linked to the card helps explain its tone.
The 22 cards
0. The Fool
Astrology: Uranus (traditionally, the element of air). Upright: new beginnings, spontaneity, a leap of faith. It shows up when something starts without guarantees. Reversed: recklessness, fear of starting, or choices made without thinking them through.
1. The Magician
Astrology: Mercury. Upright: initiative, skill, having the tools to begin. It's the card of someone who knows what they want and has the means to get it. Reversed: manipulation, wasted talent, or plans that stay as talk.
2. The High Priestess
Astrology: the Moon. Upright: intuition, inner knowing, knowing when to stay quiet. It asks you to watch before you act. Reversed: ignoring your intuition, secrets, or information being withheld.
3. The Empress
Astrology: Venus. Upright: abundance, creativity, nurturing, fertility in the broad sense (projects, ideas, relationships). Reversed: dependence, neglecting yourself, or a creative block.
4. The Emperor
Astrology: Aries. Upright: structure, authority, order, setting boundaries. It's about leadership and building something stable. Reversed: rigidity, abuse of power, or a lack of discipline.
5. The Hierophant
Astrology: Taurus. Upright: tradition, teaching, institutions, advice from someone experienced. Reversed: breaking with convention, dogmatism, or rules that no longer fit.
6. The Lovers
Astrology: Gemini. Upright: choice, union, shared values. More than romance itself, it's about choosing with your heart and owning it. Reversed: indecision, imbalance in a relationship, or choices that go against your values.
7. The Chariot
Astrology: Cancer. Upright: progress, willpower, victory through your own effort. It's the card of movement with direction. Reversed: loss of control, scattered energy, or forces pulling in opposite directions.
8. Strength
Astrology: Leo. Upright: inner strength, patience, self-control without force. Reversed: insecurity, impulses getting away from you, or fear of showing what you feel.
9. The Hermit
Astrology: Virgo. Upright: introspection, a personal search, stepping back to think clearly. Reversed: too much isolation, or refusing to ask for help.
10. Wheel of Fortune
Astrology: Jupiter. Upright: cycles, change, turns of luck. What was down comes up, and vice versa. Reversed: resisting change, or a streak that lasts longer than it should.
11. Justice
Astrology: Libra. Upright: balance, truth, fair decisions, legal matters. Every action has a consequence. Reversed: unfairness, dishonesty, or a decision being avoided.
12. The Hanged Man
Astrology: Neptune (traditionally, the element of water). Upright: a pause, a change of perspective, giving something up to gain something else. Reversed: stagnation, pointless sacrifice, or refusing to let go.
13. Death
Astrology: Scorpio. Upright: the end of a chapter and transformation. It almost never refers to physical death, but to something ending so something else can begin. Reversed: fear of change, or clinging to something that's already over.
14. Temperance
Astrology: Sagittarius. Upright: moderation, patience, blending opposites in balance. Reversed: excess, haste, or a lack of harmony.
15. The Devil
Astrology: Capricorn. Upright: attachments, temptation, dependence, power dynamics. It points to what has you hooked. Reversed: breaking free from an attachment, or finally seeing it for what it is.
16. The Tower
Astrology: Mars. Upright: sudden upheaval, revelation, the collapse of something built on a bad foundation. Reversed: avoiding an inevitable change, or a crisis lived internally.
17. The Star
Astrology: Aquarius. Upright: hope, inspiration, healing after a hard stretch. Reversed: discouragement, lack of faith in yourself, or unrealistic expectations.
18. The Moon
Astrology: Pisces. Upright: uncertainty, illusion, fear, things you can't see clearly. Reversed: coming out of confusion, or uncovering what was hidden.
19. The Sun
Astrology: the Sun. Upright: joy, success, clarity, vitality. One of the most positive cards in the deck. Reversed: too much optimism, or success that takes longer to arrive.
20. Judgement
Astrology: Pluto (traditionally, the element of fire). Upright: awakening, renewal, a call to take stock of your life and decide. Reversed: self-doubt, or ignoring a clear signal.
21. The World
Astrology: Saturn. Upright: completion, achievement, the close of a full cycle. Reversed: something left unfinished, or fear of taking the last step.
Tarot and astrology
The pairing of cards and planets isn't random. In the late 19th century the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn assigned each Major Arcana card a planet, sign or element, and the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (1909), the most widely used today, was designed on that basis. That's why Strength shows a lion (Leo) and The Emperor sits on a throne carved with ram heads (Aries).
If you're curious about the astrology side, Orbitastral publishes a weekly horoscope calculated from real ephemeris data every week, and the blog breaks down major transits such as Mercury retrograde in 2027.
FAQ
How many Major Arcana cards are there?
Twenty-two, numbered 0 to 21. The rest of the deck is made up of 56 Minor Arcana cards in four suits.
Is the Death card bad?
No. In tarot it means the end of one chapter and the start of another. It's rarely read literally.
Which Major Arcana card is the most positive?
The Sun is usually seen as the most favorable card, followed by The Star and The World.
Do you have to read reversed cards?
It's optional. Many readers only read upright and let the surrounding cards shade the meaning. If you do read reversals, treat them as blocked or inward energy rather than the exact opposite.