Tarot card meanings

Here is the full list of tarot cards and their meanings: all 78 cards of the classic Rider–Waite deck, also known as the Smith–Waite tarot after its artist, Pamela Colman Smith. There are 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana cards in four suits, each running from Ace to Ten, plus four court cards: Page, Knight, Queen and King. Each card has its own page covering what it shows, its upright and reversed meanings, love, work, money, advice, a yes-or-no answer and combinations with other cards.

Upright, a card speaks at full strength. Reversed, its energy is weaker, delayed or turned inwards, which is not the same as “bad”. Read each card together with your question and its place in the spread: a meaning is a prompt for reflection, not a verdict.

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Major Arcana

Twenty-two cards in order from the Fool (0) to the World (21), covering the big themes and turning points: choices, changes and lessons that stay with you. When a Major Arcana card appears in a spread, the situation usually matters more than it seems.

Wands

The suit of fire: energy, drive, creativity and ambition. The Wands speak of new ventures, working on ideas and where you put your strength.

Cups

The suit of water: feelings, relationships, closeness and intuition. The Cups talk about love and friendship, about what brings you joy and what hurts.

Swords

The suit of air: thoughts, words, decisions and conflict. The Swords can be difficult cards, but their main meaning is clarity: seeing the truth and choosing honestly.

Pentacles

The suit of earth: work, money, the body and everyday life. The Pentacles are cards about what you can touch: effort, resources and patient growth.