When on the lookout for an effective and painless way to self-reflect and self-discover, consider doing tarot reading sessions. The best thing about this old mystical practice is that it doesn’t matter if you’re new to it or not. Anyone can benefit from this form of self-guidance! 

Today, we’ll take a look at the key meanings and interpretations of the tarot cards. However, before you dive in, keep in mind that no such thing as a “right” or “wrong” interpretation exists. The list of tarot cards and meanings and interpretations provided by experts below are just the foundations to guide you, while it’s your intuition that is essential for insightful readings.

But First, the Basics!

Just like in the case of any other “science,” understanding the basics is the first step to take in the tarot world. First, you should learn the structure of the tarot deck. A conventional deck includes 78 cards. These cards comprise 2 categories. The Major Arcana category has 22 cards. All of them are related to some grandiose themes of life, spiritual lessons, overarching energies, and other significant issues. It is in the Major Arcana that you can find well-known cards like The World, The Tower, and The Fool. The category # 2 is the Minor Arcana. It consists of 56 cards and is more about trivial events in your routine, the emotions you experience during the day, the challenges you encounter, and so on. These can be divided into 4 groups. They are Cups (your intuition, relationships, emotions), Pentacles (material stuff like money and career), Swords (intellect and thoughts in tandem with conflicts of all sorts), and Wands (creative juices, passions, actions, etc.).

Major Arcana Cards: Interpret the Basics

Every card from the Major Arcana pack has its unique profound meaning. We will give a quick description of the most well-known and popular cards below:

  • The Fool is a powerful card that is typically focused on impulsiveness and the start of something new in life. It’s the guide for taking risks and making decisions that are tough to make. All the changes that come with The Fool card should be approached with due optimism.
  • The Tower calls for a sudden change and a possible transformation that you may go through in the near future. When reversed, you might consider it as a sign of avoiding unnecessary changes.
  • The World becomes a solid foundation for various achievements and completions. It’s the indicator that you should finally say bye to your past and welcome the future. It’s a nice beginning of something new.
  • The Lovers stand for love that comes in many different forms. It’s the card indicating tough and important choices that you’re about to make. As a rule, the choices come between elements of absolutely different natures.

Quick Minor Arcana Guide

As it’s said above, the MA consists of 4 groups – Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands. 

The Cups are typically associated with emotions and correspond to the Zodiacs like Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio. It’s a water element. When it comes to the Ace of Cups, it’s about love and what you feel at the emotional level. Five of Cups go for a loss and all kinds of experiences that are far from positive. At the same time, King of Cups is about wisdom and being well-balanced in emotions.

The earth elements – Pentacles – focus on material things and financial status. When it’s Two of Pentacles, think of flexibility and balance. Ten of the Pentacles come with success, well-being and wealth. Finally, the Queen of Pentacles should be viewed as financial self-sufficiency.

Swords – the air element – are related to various intellectual activities and connect you with the Zodiac signs like Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra. The Three Swords reflect mental pain and a broken heart. Six of Swords should be seen as a potential transition and a stimulus to move forward. Knight of Swords is about acting bravely and firmly. It’s an ambition as it is.

Wands, in turn, is a fire element and includes the Ace of Wands (your creative potential and inspiration), Seven of Wands (the ability to stand your ground and defend yourself), as well as the King of Wands (the strong spirit of a leader).  

Tips to Learn Interpretations of Tarot

Interpreting cards from the tarot deck requires practice, skills, and intuition. With the basics above, you should now do the reading sessions to infuse those tarot card meanings into personalized messages. We know that it is not easy at first. That is why the tips below are given by a team of online tarot readers from TarotAtlas to make the process a bit smoother.

  • Symbols, colors, numbers, images. All this should be attentively studied together with the meanings. For instance, red usually stands for passion (what a surprise, eh?), while blue is about intuition and calm. As for the numbers, they reflect progress in the Minor Arcana. Imagery includes crucial elements like objects, animals, and gestures that stand for various hidden messages.
  • Consider the context. The meaning of the card might change based on the question that you ask. For example, if it’s the Three of Swords, think of constructive criticism if you’re doing the reading session for a career segment of life. However, you’ll take it as heartbreak if the story is about love.
  • Let intuition work, too. Your skills and knowledge of all the tarot card meanings are essential, yet your gut feelings should be part of the process as well.
  • Deal with reversals. It might feel pretty challenging (especially at the beginning); however, reversed cards are the fountain of meanings. Embrace and view them as new opportunities and calls for better introspection. Plus, it can be a source of energy blockages. For instance, if it’s about The Lovers being reversed, you might consider it as indecision in your current relationship. We strongly recommend writing down all your experiences with cards to get back to your notes later to discover a linked pattern (or not) in the data you were analyzing.

Conclusion

Ok, ok. We know what you’re going to say. There are too many symbols and potential interpretations behind each card. The truth is that it only seems that way. With a bit of practice and your intuition running wild, you’ll soon find yourself the tarot guru guessing the wisdom within the cards from A to Z.