The Major Arcana: A Journey of Self-Discovery
Have you ever wondered what the Major Arcana cards mean in a tarot reading? These 22 cards represent the most important and influential energies in your life. They tell the story of your soul’s journey from the innocent Fool to the enlightened World. They also offer guidance and insight into your personal and spiritual growth.
The Major Arcana cards are more than just symbols. They are mirrors that reflect your inner world. They are teachers that offer you lessons. They are friends that accompany you on your journey. They are keys that unlock your destiny.
Receiving a Major Arcana card in a reading invites you to reflect on a significant aspect of your life. The Major Arcana cards represent universal human experiences, such as challenging authority, falling in love, facing change, and even unexpected bad news.
A Major Arcana card usually determines the main theme of a tarot reading, while the other cards provide more details and variations on its core message. If, however, a tarot layout has several Major Arcana cards, this often indicates significant life events and lessons.
The Cards and Their Meanings
If you’re like me, you’ll want to dive right into the cards, so here they are! These are from the Rider Waite deck. Following the cards are some great tips on how to use the cards and a brief section on the history for you history buffs out there.
How to use the Cards
Tarot cards are more than just a fortune-telling tool. They are also a powerful way to enhance your personal growth, awareness, and creativity. Whether you are new to tarot or have some experience, you can use the cards in various ways to enrich your life and explore your potential. Here are some of the basic ways to use tarot cards:
Meditation
Meditation is the practice of focusing your attention on something, such as your breath, a mantra, or a tarot card. By meditating with a tarot card, you can tap into your intuition and inner wisdom and discover the deeper meaning and message of the card for you.
To meditate with a tarot card, you can choose a card that resonates with you and place it in front of you. Then close your eyes and breathe deeply, or keep your eyes open and gaze at the card.
As you meditate with the card, pay attention to any thoughts, feelings, sensations, or images that come to mind.
You can also meditate on these questions:
- What does the card teach you?
- How does it inspire you?
- How does it reflect your current state of being?
Be sure to jot down what comes to you in a journal!
Daily Guidance
Daily guidance is a simple way to use tarot cards to get advice or inspiration for the day ahead. By drawing a card every morning, you can align with the energy of the card and use its energy to inspire your day or guide your attention.
Asking questions as you shuffle the cards is another source of daily guidance. Ask questions such as, “What do I need to know today?” or “What is the best way to approach this day?” Then, draw a card and interpret its meaning for you. (Come back to this page to use the card meanings for guidance!)
You can also use the card you draw as an affirmation for the day and apply its lesson or message in your daily activities.
Self-reflection
Self-reflection is a way of examining your thoughts, feelings, actions, and experiences and learning from them. By using tarot cards for self-reflection, you can gain insight into your past, present, and future and understand yourself better.
To use tarot cards for self-reflection, ask yourself questions that relate to the cards, such as “What have I learned from this card?” or “How does this card relate to my current situation?” or “What does this card suggest for my future?”
You can also use different spreads or layouts that help you explore different aspects of your life, such as your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, challenges, goals, etc.
Storytelling
Storytelling is a way of using tarot cards to create stories or narratives that explore your personal journey. By using tarot cards for storytelling, you can express yourself creatively and imaginatively and discover new perspectives and possibilities.
To use tarot cards for storytelling, draw one or more cards and use them as prompts for your story. For example, if you want to write a story about yourself, you can draw three cards and use them as the beginning, middle, and end of your story.
Or, if you want to create a fictional story, you can draw cards for different elements of your story, such as characters, settings, conflicts, resolutions, etc., and let the energy and meaning of the card guide the elements of your story.
Creativity
Draw upon tarot cards to stimulate your imagination and your creative projects, such as writing, painting, or music.
Try drawing one or more cards and use them as inspiration for your creative project. For example, if you want to paint a picture, you can draw a card and use its colors, shapes, and symbols as inspiration for your painting.
Or, if you want to write a poem or a song, you can draw a card and use its imagery, symbolism, or theme as inspiration for your poem or song.
These are just some of the ways to use tarot cards. The most important thing is to have fun and enjoy the process of exploring the cards. Though tarot cards can give us valuable information, they are not meant to tell you what to do or what will happen.
A Brief History of the Major Arcana
The Major Arcana cards have a rich and fascinating history. They originated in medieval Europe as part of a card game called Tarocchi. Some scholars believe ancient Egyptian, Kabbalistic, and Hermetic traditions influenced them, and over time, they became associated with occult and mystical teachings, such as astrology, numerology, and alchemy.
The Rider Waite Tarot Deck is a popular and recognizable tarot deck that many people around the world use. It was created by artist Pamela Colman Smith and occultist Arthur Edward Waite in 1909. They were both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society that studied esoteric and mystical teachings.
Waite wanted to create a tarot deck that would be more accessible and intuitive for beginners, incorporating the symbolism and imagery of the traditions he studied, such as astrology, numerology, and Kabbalah.
Smith worked closely with Waite to illustrate the 78 cards of the deck, featuring full scenes with figures and symbols. The deck was originally published by the Rider Company in 1909, hence its name, and has since been published in numerous editions and inspired many variants and imitations.
The Rider Waite Tarot Deck has inspired numerous variants and imitations over the years, as many tarot artists and enthusiasts have sought to reinterpret, update, or personalize the classic imagery and symbolism of the deck. Some of these variants include:
- The Halloween Tarot, which adapts the Rider Waite imagery to the theme of the American Halloween holiday, features vampires, skeletons, bats, and jack-o’ lanterns.
- The Herbal Tarot pairs each card with a different herb corresponding to its meaning, such as garlic for the Tower and lotus for the Ace of Cups.
- The Color Your Tarot is a black-and-white line art deck that invites users to color the cards according to their preferences and intuition.
- The Dreamkeepers Tarot deck is inspired by the Rider-Waite-Smith deck but with a unique and spiritual vision. The deck helps readers understand the hidden powers that shape our lives by mirroring our inner realities and subconscious desires.
These are just some examples of the many Rider Waite-inspired decks in the tarot world. Each offers a different perspective and interpretation of the original deck while honoring its legacy and influence.
