Major Arcana
 

Carl Jung believed that the cards in the Major Arcana represented every aspect of our lives.  He took the tarot and created or interpreted the Major Arcana into the journey of our lives.
 
 

0	The Fool	Naiveté, beginning a journey, unaware of surroundings, oblivious to what is happening
1	The Magician	Factual knowledge, logic, skills, talents
2	High Priestess	Intuition, inner knowledge, spirituality
3	The Empress	Maternal, fertility
4	The Emperor	Maleness, authority, control
5	The Hierophant	Traditions, religious ceremonies, ritual
6	The Lovers	Choices, yin/yang
7	The Chariot	Conflict, compromise, struggle to maintain balance between two extremes.
8	Strength	Moral force, knowledge of right from wrong, strength tempered with compassion
9	The Hermit	Solitude, introspection, reflection
10	Wheel of Fortune	Fate, obstacles
11	Justice	Karmic Balance
12	The Hanged Man	Questioning status quo, seeking a new perspective
13	Death	New beginning, rebirth or rejuvenation, death of old ways
14	Temperance	Wisdom, patience, balancing time
15	The Devil	Self limitations, extremes, excesses
16	The Tower	Calamity, earth shattering, drastic changes
17	The Star	Hope
18	The Moon	Deception, animal instincts, things are not what they appear to be
19	The Sun	Happiness, warmth, fulfillment
20	Judgment	Decisions, rebirth, rejuvenation
21	The World	Full circle, completion, fulfillment

 
 

When one or more major Arcana cards come up in a spread this will usually mean that there is a major happening in the querents life.  Major in the sense of a birth, death, marriage, divorce, etc.  I have even heard of readers keeping a second deck of just the Major Arcana cards and when two or more show up in the original spread they have the querent shuffle this deck and then they do a spread with just the Major Arcana cards.
 

Generally court cards are read as people either known or unknown to the querent.  Kings are considered men over forty.  Queens are woman over forty, Knights are men under forty, Pages are women under forty or can be children or teens of either gender.  When choosing a significator often a court card is used.  The courts can also be read by their suit traits.  These traits can either be ones that the querent wishes they had or that a person(s) or situation brings out in the querent.
 
 

 
 
 

Court Card	Cups	Wands	Pentacles	Swords
Kings	A compassionate man. Intellectual and kind gentleman	A doer, a man of action and activity. Charismatic and persuasive.	A man who is involved in finances or security. Male fertility.	A man who rules with head and no heart, authoritative, rigid and competitive.
Queens	Mother, kind, loving, nurturing, very maternal.	Super woman, career, family, outside activities	A secure, practical woman of solitude, could be divorced or widowed	A strong willed, solitary, cerebral woman, reversed a bitch
Knights  can be young men but are usually significant events or actions	Emotional, relationships	Enterprising, projects, moving or change of residence	Stability, money, finances, security	Unexpected, sudden action that you have no control over
Pages  can be young women or children but usually represent a message, announcement, telephone call, letter, or the beginning of an idea	Emotional, creativity (often a gay man)	Enterprise, project	business security	unwelcome surprise, sudden conflict

 
 

 

Tarot	Playing Deck	Element	Description
Cups	Hearts	Water	Emotions
Wands	Clubs	Fire	Activities, enterprise
Pentacles	Diamonds	Earth	Money, finances, personal possessions
Swords	Spades	Air	Decisions, conflict, facts

 
 
 

Creating the right atmosphere is also a key aspect of reading the Tarot cards.  Whether you are doing it just for yourself or for someone else it is important that you create just the right mood.

Traditionally the reader sits facing North and the querent sits facing south.  A piece of black silk is spread out to lay the cards upon.  Some people choose to light candles or add incense.  These are not required but whatever helps you create an atmosphere of intimacy then by all means do it.

Your Tarot cards should be treated with respect and cared for as you would any treasured tool.  Traditionally cards are kept wrapped in a piece of black silk and stored in a small wooden box.  Many people believe that you should sleep with the cards under your pillow so they can become infused with your vibrations or essence.

The cards should be shuffled (in any manner) at least thirteen times.  I usually shuffle them at least ten times which clears them of any previous vibrations or readings.  During the time the reader is shuffling you can instruct the querent in general about the cards and how to shuffle them.  Be sure to remove the querents significator card and set aside.

The querent should then shuffle for at least three or more times while focusing on their particular question.  When the querent 'feels' the cards a shuffled enough of if the cards stop wanting to be shuffled then have the querent, with their right hand divide the cards from left to right into three piles.  Then with their left hand, reassemble the cards into a single pile placing the last pile they made on the top of the reassembled deck.  The querent should then hand them back to the reader.

Be sure to note and hold aside any cards that may jump or fall out of the deck while being shuffled by the querent.

Some believe that no one else should touch your cards, I prefer to have the querent shuffle them to add their energy.  I think this gives a better reading.  However there is no right or wrong way and you should do whatever you are comfortable with.

If for some reason you wish to cleanse energy from your cards or just clear them, place them in order suits, courts, then the Major arcana, smudge them by passing them through some sage incense, then wrap them in the silk and sleep with them under your pillow until you feel they are cleansed and cleared.
 
 

When you pick a significator for the querent, it generally is a court card used to represent that person.  If you wish you can choose another card to represent the situation.  For example if you are doing a reading regarding a trip, you may want to use The Chariot as the significator.
 
Using Court cards you can either match on general appearances, traits (see suit descriptions) astrological signs.
   

Suit	Appearance	Astrological Signs
Cups	Fair, blonde, light brown or gray hair with gray, blue or hazel eyes	Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
Wands	Fair, freckled, Yellow, auburn, reddish hair with dark or light eyes	Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Pentacles	Dark complexion, Black or very dark hair, brown or dark eyes	Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
Swords	Olive complexion, Brown or black hair, light eyes	Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

 

Five Card Spread

If you just need a question answered or if there are a lot of things going on in your life that you need guidance on, I use a five card spread that I was taught.  You can do this as many times a day as you need to.
 
 

 
Card 1 is the question
Card 2 is what the querent expects
Card 3 is what the querent doesn't expect
Card 4 is the short term future (generally within two weeks)
Card 5 is the long term future (generally within a month or moon cycle)
 
 
The Astrological Spread
   

First House - Physical body, self, sense of identity, personal needs.
Second House - Money, income, finances
Third House - Siblings, environment, communications
Fourth House - Family, home, real estate
Fifth House - Children, romance, creative endeavors
Sixth House - Daily routine, work, duty
Seventh House - Marriage, relationships, legal issues
Eighth House - Sex, death, spirituality
Ninth House - Education, philosophy
Tenth House - Career, ambition, status, destiny
Eleventh House - Friends, hopes
Twelfth House - Solitude, secrets, subconscious
Thirteenth card is the final outcome
 
 
Tree of Life  

 

This spread is good for inner reflection.

 

Card 1 Matters on a spiritual plane - the question

Card 2 Karmic responsibility - querents duties

Card 3 Hindrances - occurrences or things that deter querent

Card 4 Helpful - Anything helpful - people, traits, skills

Card 5 Not Helpful - Unexpected blind spots, shortcomings

Card 6 Accomplishments - Things querent has accomplished to date

Card 7 Relationships

Card 8 Career

Card 9 Unconscious Motivation - unknown to the querent

Card 10 Roots - family, childhood
 

Celtic Cross - Traditional

 

 

Place significator on the table - have the querent shuffle and lay the first card on top of the significator.

 
Card 1 - Covers - Surrounds and represents what the querents immediate concern or question is.

Card 2 - Crosses for good or negative - Represents the things that will help you or get in your way (influences)

Card 3 - Beneath - Long term past, can represent childhood - personal history

Card 4 - Behind - Represents recent past or influences (last two weeks)

Card 5 - Crowns - Represents long term future - what your options or choices are

Card 6 - Before - Represents immediate future - (next two weeks)

Card 7 - Self - This is the way querent sees themselves or how they view the situation - conscious or subconscious expectations

Card 8 - House - This represents everyone else, family, friends and how they see the querent or situation - opinions

Card 9 - Hopes and Expectations - What the querent would like to see happen or expects

Card 10 - Final Outcome - long term future - read closely with cards 5 and 6 (Future triangle)
 
 
 

 
•  SARENAS TAROT
• Tarot FAQ Version 2
• Tarot Card Meanings
• TAROT: Michele's Tarot Page
• TarotWorks Web
• Tarot Ease Homepage
• Tarot Info & Resources
• Mary Greer's Tarot Links
• Tarot Color Zodiac Wheel
• Tarot for Self Discovery
• TAROT: Tools and Rites of Transformation
• Light!
• Altar to the Tarot
• Tarot Articles and "How To's"
• Learning the Tarot - An On-Line Course
• Tarot & Carl Jung
• Tarot-L
• Robin Wood's Homepage
     

 
 

Tarot Plain and Simple by Anthony Louis	This is a wonderful book.  The illustrations are taken from The Robin Wood Tarot.  There is a lot of detailed information on each card.  If you are a beginner and only can buy one book I would recommend this one.
Tarot for Yourself - A Workbook for Personal Transformation by Mary Greer	This is a good book for the beginner.  There are many great exercises that help you learn the cards easily.
Tarot - New Handbook for the Apprentice by Eileen Connolly	This entire series is excellent.  Don't be turned off be Ms. Connolly's Christian leanings.  There is an abundance of historical and excellent information in this series. This particular book is great for learning the meanings of the individual cards.
Tarot - The Handbook for the Journeyman by Eileen Connolly	This is the next stage in the series and in this book you will learn many spreads.
Tarot - The First Handbook for the Master by Eileen Connolly	This is the book that teaches the history and links the tarot to astrology, numerology, etc.
Tarot Spells by Janina Renee	An excellent addition to anyone's Book Shelf of Shadows.
The Secrets of the Tarot by Barbara Walker
Jung and the Tarot by Sallie Nichols
The Complete Book of Tarot Spreads by Evelin Burger and Johannes Fiebig
Looking for another book on any subject?

 
 

 
The first deck I ever purchased was the Mythic deck.  The images are beautiful and drew me immediately.  I loved that they were created with the ancient Greek parthenon, myths and legends.  I keep this deck for my personal readings.

The next deck that came to me was the traditional Rider-Waite deck.  This is deck is a classic and great for learning that Tarot.  The symbolism is rich and the illustrations are excellent and easy to interpret.

My next two decks were the Renaissance and the Moon Garden decks.  Both are have very different yet have very beautiful illustrations.

The most recent deck that called me was the beautiful Robin Wood deck.  I would highly recommend this deck for beginners as well as masters.  The deck is lavishly illustrated and rich with symbolism.

When buying a deck I try to find a place that has open decks where you can look at all the cards.  There are certain cards that always draw me to a deck - not only do I like the illustrations on the Major Arcana to be rich with symbolism, I like the pip cards to be illustrated as well.