The Meaning Of Tarot Cards: Major Arcana Overview

We all want to learn the full meaning of tarot cards when we start out as beginner’s or are maybe more advanced but in need of a little review.  The Major Arcana cards are a good place to start your more in-depth explorations of the tarot card meanings. 

First off, the tarot deck holds 22 Major Arcana cards.  These cards are numbered and so have numerological meanings too.  There is some debate on how the Major Arcana cards should be ordered.  In my deck, they go from 0 for The Fool to 21 for The World, but some tarot card decks place The Magician at 1 and The Fool at 22.  Try not to be confused.  If it helps any, try thinking of the Major Arcana cards sitting in a big, never ending circle so they symbolically continue the cycle of development from The Fool to The World and so on.

Brief History

 It is believed that the Major Arcana cards were developed by the Hebrew people.  The Hebrew alphabet contains 22 letters and many of the symbols for the meaning of the tarot cards correspond with those in the Tree of Life in the Hebrew Kabalah.

The true origins of the entire tarot deck are lost in history, but there is some belief that they were first used by clubs and societies in ancient Egypt and India.  From there most of you will know that gypsies used the tarot and kept their secrets intact until they were rediscovered by the rest of society.

Their Influence

Major Arcana cards represent the most powerful influences in a layout.  They stand for dramatic, meaningful issues in one’s life, whereas the Minor Arcana deal with the day to day drama that most worry about.

Whenever you see a Major Arcana card in your layout you know the position that card lies in is very important and you should pay special attention to it.  I like to think that Major Arcana cards point out the areas where your life is changing or developing at the past, present or future, depending on where they show up.  They are kind of an indicator of what you should be most focused on at any point in time.

Layouts and Uses

You can use only the Major Arcana cards in a layout if you’d like.   When learning the meaning of tarot cards this makes for good practice.  It can also point out the major issues of your life associated with each position of the tarot layout. 

For example; you use the Major Arcana cards to find the general important influences of your past, present and future for say the next 6 months. 

1^st is The Empress

2^nd is The Hermit

3^rd is The Magician

 
In the past position: The Empress indicates rather passive influences.  You were very creative, but not so active in social gatherings. 

In the present position: The Hermit indicates that you are now withdrawn.  Perhaps you’ve stopped going out altogether. Maybe you are more focused on learning and educating yourself in preparation for the future.

In the future position: The Magician indicates that you are now in a position to gain anything you desire.  The efforts of the present are definitely going to pay off in the future.  Rather than, being passive as with The Empress, you’ll become more active and focused on creation.

Remember, when it comes to the Major Arcana, the meaning of the tarot cards is all about major life influences.