Tarot 101
This information is simply to give you an understanding of the deck, but please don’t feel pressured to remember every detail. I will discuss what’s applicable to the cards in your spread during the reading.
Every tarot deck has 78 cards, which can be divided into two portions – the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana.
Major Arcana
What it represents:
If you study tarot, it will often reference how the Major Arcana maps out this journey that our soul goes on in search of enlightenment.
I like to think of enlightenment as us finding ourselves and coming into our own. Understanding who we are, what our gifts are, and what our purpose is in this world.
This also speaks to my philosophy and how I read and interpret the cards.
Where it “begins” & “ends” & everything in between!
The Major Arcana starts with a card called the Fool and ends with a card called The World.
The Fool is representative of the purest essence of our spirits – before we’ve been molded or influenced in any direction.
The World can speak to that attainment of enlightenment, but it doesn’t have to be all encompassing. It often references completions of major cycles and phases in our lives that have taught us about who we are, what our gifts are, and what our purpose is.
All the cards in between (this is where we find the Sun, the Moon, the Magician, the Chariot, etc.) represent different things that we experience and encounter while we’re on that journey that help to mold and shape us, and help us to understand who we are.
Minor Arcana
This is where we find the four suits, which in tarot are Swords, Cups, Wands, and Pentacles each with their own theme and element.
Swords are about our minds, and therefore they pertain to knowledge, thought and belief patterns, and communication with others (because all of that originates in our minds).
Cups are about our heart space, so they pertain to our emotions, intuition, and relationships with other people.
Wands are about our spirits, our passions, taking action, and making changes in our lives.
Pentacles pertain to the tangible things that we both experience and manifest here in this earthly plane as humans, so they apply to home, money, career, and health.
Elements Each of the four suits also has an association with one of the four elements. Swords are Air, Cups are Water, Wands are Fire, and Pentacles are Earth.
I like to point this out because these elements guide the artwork in my favorite deck, so if we happen to get a bunch of Wands, please don’t feel intimidated by the sort of fiery imagery on those cards. It’s just referencing that element and energy.
Aces through Kings In each suit, we have Aces through Kings and the numeric value for each card holds its own meaning as well. For example, all Aces are about new beginnings and opportunities. All Twos are about duality and balance. All Threes are about creation, ideas, and growth.
Bringing it all together We can pair this numeric meaning with the overall theme of the suit, as well as the artwork on the card and the symbolism it depicts, the general meanings each card is known to represent, and the intuitive hits that the reader is getting to glean the different nuances from each card in your spread.