Tarot Cards

The modern, 78-card tarot deck has two distinct parts: The major arcana ("greater secrets"), known as the trump cards, consists of 21 cards without suits, plus a 22nd card, The Fool, which is often given the value of zero. The Major Arcana (Trumps Major, Major Trumps) of the Tarot deck consists of 22 cards. The name Major Arcana is used only in esoteric practice. Each Major Arcanum depicts a scene, mostly featuring a person or several people, with many symbolic elements. In many decks, each has a number and a name, though not all decks have both, and some have only a picture. The most common set of names is as follows:

The Fool-- The Fool begins (or ends) the series with the numeral 0. It is taught that the Fool is the protagonist of a story and the Major Arcana is the path the Fool takes through the great mysteries of life and the main human archetypes.

The Magician—The magician shares a connection with the number 8 and signifies the divine motive in man.  It is also referred to as the “sign of life”.

The High Priestess----The High Priestess is associated with intuitive knowledge. She is often shown sitting between two columns, one black, one white representing all dualities; light and dark, good and evil. She knows that dualities are useful abstractions but can blind us to the underlying wholeness of reality and the need to integrate them.

The Empress---The Empress is symbolized by Venus. She is the mother, creator and nurturer representing the creation of life, romance, art and business. The Empress can represent where an idea grows till it is ready to be born and is interpreted as the goddess of abundance.

The Emperor---The Emperor symbolizes the desire to rule over one's surroundings, and its appearance in a reading often suggests that the subject needs to accept that some things may not be controllable, and others may not benefit from being controlled.

The Hierophant---The Hierophant is the card representing organized religion - any religion. It’s positive aspects are about the positive aspects of the relevant religion. It’s negative aspects are the over crystallization of rituals, formulas and rigid beliefs.
 

The Chariot---Characterised as a sign of conquest. It represents a battle that can be won with will power. The card represents an external battle with a clear goal and plan of action. Self-reliance, righteousness, conviction and plain hard work are the keys to winning. The steeds represent powerful forces, internal or external, that need to be controlled to achieve the goal.

Strength---This card stresses discipline and control. The lion represents the primal 'id' part of the mind, and the woman the 'higher' parts. The card warns against the temptations of the flesh. In Strength, the battle is internal rather than external.

The Hermit—This card represents the internalization of the lessons of life to the point that he is the lesson. It urges the need to withdraw from society to become comfortable with himself; and the need to come out of isolation to share his knowledge with others.

Wheel of Fortune--The Wheel of Fortune represents changes in station or sudden reversal of fortune. The card has strong Buddhist associations with the Karmic. It represents the forces that can disrupt, destroy, or bless the individual.

Justice-- The card Justice is the card which reminds us that we are not perfect. When this card appears it ask us to identify what we did wrong and to claim our own mistakes - and perhaps to apologize for something we have done.

The Hanged Man-- It is a card of profound but veiled significance. Its symbolism points to divinity. It signifies that the destruction of self brings life to humanity; on the card, these are symbolized respectively by the hanged man and the living tree from which he swings. Its relationship to the other cards usually involves personal loss for a greater gain.

Death-- Death is the gardener of life. Rarely does this card represent physical death.  Death is not something that happens once to our bodies. It happens continually, at many levels and not just in the physical. Each moment we die to the present so the future can unfold. Death is change. The card could be interpreted as sacrifice of virtue or vice, a loved one or a loathed one, demanded by Time.

Temperance--- Temperance appearance suggests that moderation is required in some aspect of life. Temperance is the remixing of life, accepting the dead into the underworld and deciding what to send back into the fray.

The Devil-- The Devil is the card of self-bondage to an idea or belief which prevents one from growing— however, it can also be a warning to someone who is too restrained or dispassionate which is yet another form of enslavement.

The Tower--- The tower symbolizes failure, ruin and catastrophe. It proposes that one may be holding on to false ideas or pretenses; a new approach to thinking about the problem is needed. The card advises to think outside the box.

The Star-- The Star is inspiring, but not a card of practical solutions or final answers. The card provides hope which is only the beginning. The star blesses your goals but to realize them, you must take positive action.

The Moon—The Moon shows that there's a pathway into the distant, dark unknown. The two wild dogs howling at the Moon represent the fears of the natural mind in the presence of that place of exit, when there is only reflected light to guide it.

The Sun-- The child of life holds a red flag representing the blood of renewal a smiling sun shines down on him representing accomplishment.

Judgment--- Is a reminder that judgments are necessary; sometimes you must decide. At such moments, it is best to consider the matter carefully and then commit yourself without censure. If you are being judged yourself, learn from the process.

The World--- The final card of the "Major Arcana" or tarot trump sequence. The card gives a sense that everything is working together in harmony with dynamic balance.  Represents the state when one is happy and connected with what is around them.

The minor arcana (“lesser secrets”) consist of 56 cards closely related to the deck of 52 playing cards used in most modern card games. It is comprised of four suits, most commonly named Wands, Cups, Swords, and Coins (also called Pentacles or Disks), although there is a wide variety of different names and suit symbols used in different decks. The court cards are the page, the knight, the queen and the king. The traditional Italian suits are swords, batons, coins and cups; in modern tarot decks, however, the batons suit is often called wands, rods or staves, while the coins suit is often called pentacles or disks.

These cards are used by Tarot readers world over to help millions of people cope with the fear of the unknown and life's uncertainties. The mystery surrounding Tarot cards made them feared holding potential for evil. The history of the tarot’s origins however suggests that they were derived from divination and rooted in ancient philosophies and religious systems.