Tarot 101

Class is back in session, witches, this time with a focus on Tarot magick! This mysterious and sometimes confusing divination tool is a favorite among witches and mystics, even though it can be a challenge to get started reading them. We’ll do our best to help you understand the basics of Tarot and hopefully answer some questions while we do it.

History of Tarot

The earliest historical references to Tarot are from the 1440s and 1450s, in the Northern Italian cities of Venice, Milan, Florence, and Urbino. It was a pretty complicated game before the 1440s and likely began to evolve around this time to make it more accessible.

As a game (yes, you can still use the cards as a game), it probably hasn’t changed much since the 15^th century. It wasn’t until around 1781 that Tarot was used first in France as a divination tool.

Tarot Basics

The deck includes 78 illustrated cards, divided into Major and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana (22 in total) are the archetypal cards, like the High Priestess, The Tower, and The Hierophant. The first card is The Fool, and the Major Arcana take the Fool on a journey through life as told in the 21 cards that come after it.

The Minor Arcana are divided into four suits, much like standard playing cards. In traditional Tarot, these suits are Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles.

In modern decks, you may find more cards in the Major Arcana to follow along with the theme of the deck. Some creators also switch the names for the Major Arcana figures, make them gender-neutral, or even create a version featuring cats or animals. For the purposes of this article (and honestly, to keep myself from getting confused talking about it), we’ll be focused on the traditional figures in the deck.

Likewise, the suits may differ in more modern decks, but there will always be a Major and Minor Arcana, and there will always be four suits in the Minor.

How to Read Tarot

Let’s set the record straight right here: Anyone can read Tarot. All you have to do is trust your intuition and trust those first impressions that come to you as you read the cards. Traditional decks will help you understand the meaning of each card through the imagery, and the rest is really up to you. Yes, you can memorize each card, but it’s not required.

What Do the Four Suits Mean?

If you want to memorize some Tarot information, start with the suits. Here’s a fun trick to remember what each one represents.

• Wands represent Fire and are associated with your wants (get it? wands = wants). This suit is about ambition, enthusiasm, and action.
• Cups represent the element of Water and are associated with emotions, feelings, and intuition. Think of a cup of water and the flow of feelings and intuition.
• Swords represent Air (like you’re lifting them in the air). Unsurprisingly, they’re associated with conflict and challenges. They also represent communication and intellect.
• Pentacles are sometimes called Coins and are aligned with Earth energy. They represent structure, practicality, and money.

Another way to remember them is to think about Pentacles aligning with your Root Chakra (grounding and physical needs), Wands with your Solar Plexus (deep desires and power center), Cups with your Heart Chakra (feelings, emotions), and Swords with your Third Eye and Crown Chakra (ambition, action, thoughts).

The Minor Acana represents minor events or day-to-day challenges/events in your life. They can be from the past, present, or may be coming in the future, but they aren’t huge pivot points in your life.

What Do the Numbers Mean in Tarot?

The easiest way to understand the numbers of both the Major and Minor Arcana is to think of each as a step forward in the journey. The number 1 is always a new beginning or something fresh, a creative spark, a new journey, a new idea, for example. Here’s a simple guide to help you understand the numbers in the Minor Arcana:

1. New Beginnings: 1 is the first number, so this is the starting point
2. Partnership/Collaboration/Opposition: 2 is a pair, so think of it as a pair of similarities or opposites
3. Growth/Change: 3 is an action number and it’s leading to expansion
4. Stability/Structure: Think of a 4-legged table – it’s stable and unshakable. It could also be stuck…
5. Conflict/Struggles: That stability of 4 is gone with 5 in the mix
6. Support/Balance: But the balance is back here with 6, which can be easily divided in equal parts, representing balance
7. Knowledge/Magick/Solutions: 7 is a universally perfect number, signaling that you’re on the right track
8. Transformation/Justice: Flip the 8 on its side and it’s an infinity symbol ∞ This number is about some sort of plateau or resolution point; there’s still more work to do
9. Momentum/Climax: You’re almost there! 9 signals that something is coming to a completion. It could be good or bad depending on the rest of the cards in the spread
10. End/Completion/Exit: 10 is the number of completion and now you’re faced with the consequences (again, good or bad) of your journey.

And yes, these numbers correspond to the numbers in the Major Arcana too!

Ok, that was a lot of information, but I promise you that with time, you’ll be able to understand your personal Tarot deck better than anyone else.

What Do the Major Arcana Cards Mean?

The Major Arcana represents major life events or major life lessons. So, if you do a reading that has a large amount of these cards, it’s a sign to tap into the larger forces in your life.

Each card is its own little masterpiece, and part of The Fool’s larger journey. Each card’s reversed meaning is essentially the opposite interpretation of its upright meaning. For instance, The Lovers reversed could mean self-love (rather than partnered love), misalignment, or imbalance.

Here’s a quick overview of what each Major card represents in the upright position:

• The Fool (0): New beginning, a free spirit, innocence
• The Magician (1): Manifestation, power, inspired action
• The High Priestess (2): Divine Feminine, intuition, subconscious
• The Empress (3): Femininity, nature, abundance, nurturing
• The Emperor (4): Authority, establishment, father energy
• The Hierophant (5): Spiritual wisdom, tradition, institutions, conformity
• The Lovers (6): Love, harmony, alignment
• The Chariot (7): Willpower, control, success, determination
• Strength (8): Strength, influence, compassion
• The Hermit (9): Soul-searching, being alone, inner guidance
• Wheel of Fortune (10): Karma, good luck, life cycles, destiny
• Justice (11): Justice, fairness, cause and effect, law
• The Hanged Man (12): Surrender, pause, letting go, new perspectives
• Death (13): Endings, change, transition
• Temperance (14): Balance, moderation, purpose, patience
• The Devil (15): Shadow self/shadow work, attachment, sexuality, restriction
• The Tower (16): Sudden change, upheaval, revelation, chaos, awakening
• The Star (17): Hope, faith, purpose, spirituality
• The Moon (18): Illusion, fear, intuition, anxiety
• The Sun (19): Fun, positivity, warmth, success, vitality
• Judgement (20): Judgment, inner calling, absolution, rebirth
• The World (21): Completion, integration, travel, accomplishment

Notice that some of the Major Arcana cards actually say what they mean, like Judgement or Strength. Most of the others intuitively make sense. The Fool has a happy little puppy at his feet; he’s looking toward the sky and standing on the edge of a cliff. This intuitively comes across to us as innocence, the fresh vibe of youthfulness, and eagerness of someone starting out.

Strength shows its compassionate side with the woman bending down to pet the lion. The infinity symbol over her head shows the infinite possibilities of the card; with courage and compassion, we open endless possibilities!

The Sun is about warmth and vitality, much like the actual sun in the sky.

Tarot is just like any other magickal tool – it takes a little practice and intentional energy to make it your own. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to pull out the guidebook that came in your Tarot deck either. There’s no rule that says you must treat a Tarot deck any differently than an Oracle deck!

Remember, you are the magick and your intuition will guide you in your Tarot journey.

Stay Magickal,
Megan W.