The Major Arcana:

Pleasure of Tarot

The Major Arcana cards are numbered 0-21, each card telling a story or conveying a message. Major Arcana cards represent more significant events or decisions, practically, emotionally and spiritually in a reading, whilst the Minor Arcana represent the more mundane, everyday aspects or events in a reading.

There is a specific order for the Major Arcana, as listed below, however some decks choose to switch the Strength and Justice cards around and you'll find a healthy debate about this all over the internet as to who is right and who is wrong.

In this list, each card of the Major Arcana is attributed an element, planet or zodiac sign.

0 – The Fool – Air, Uranus
1 – The Magician - Mercury
2 – The High Priestess – Moon
3 – The Empress - Venus
4 – The Emperor - Aries
5 – The Hierophant - Taurus
6 – The Lovers - Gemini
7 – The Chariot - Cancer
8 – Strength – Leo
9 – The Hermit - Virgo
10 – The Wheel of Fortune - Jupiter
11 – Justice – Libra
12 – The Hanged Man – Water, Neptune
13 – Death - Scorpio
14 – Temperance - Sagittarius
15 – The Devil - Capricorn
16 – The Tower - Mars
17 – The Star - Aquarius
18 – The Moon - Pisces
19 – The Sun - Sun
20 – Judgement – Fire, Pluto
21 – The World – Saturn

Often called The Fool’s Journey, the Major Arcana represents our journey from earliest awareness (The Fool numbered 0), to fulfillment (The World numbered 21). The cards represent the qualities and experiences we must incorporate into our lives before we can realize our full potential - emotionally, spiritually and physically.

The Major Arcana naturally fall into two groups, with the Wheel of Fortune significantly at the mid point - this turning point between one half of life and the other is of critical importance.

We will cover each of the cards in the Major Arcana in more detail in lessons 2 and 3.