How many cards are in a tarot deck?

A standard tarot deck has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana cards that describe major life themes, and 56 Minor Arcana cards split into four suits (Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles) that describe everyday situations.

What does a reversed tarot card mean?

A reversed card usually points to the same theme as the upright card, but blocked, delayed, internalised or overdone. It is rarely the simple opposite. Read it as "where is this energy stuck?"

Do I need to memorise card meanings to read tarot?

No. Meanings are a starting vocabulary. What matters more is how a card relates to your question and to the position it lands in within a spread.

Tarot card meanings

What every tarot card means

All 78 cards, in plain language: what the card shows, what it means upright and reversed, and how it reads for love, career and yes-or-no questions.

Major Arcana

The 22 trump cards. They describe the big turning points and life lessons: choices, endings, awakenings.

Suit of Wands

Fire. Energy, ambition, creativity and the drive to start things.

Suit of Cups

Water. Feelings, relationships, intuition and what the heart wants.

Suit of Swords

Air. Thought, truth, conflict, decisions and the stories we tell ourselves.

Suit of Pentacles

Earth. Money, work, health, the body and the things we build over time.

Common questions

How many cards are in a tarot deck?: A standard tarot deck has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana cards that describe major life themes, and 56 Minor Arcana cards split into four suits (Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles) that describe everyday situations.
What does a reversed tarot card mean?: A reversed card usually points to the same theme as the upright card, but blocked, delayed, internalised or overdone. It is rarely the simple opposite. Read it as "where is this energy stuck?"
Do I need to memorise card meanings to read tarot?: No. Meanings are a starting vocabulary. What matters more is how a card relates to your question and to the position it lands in within a spread.

Meanings are the vocabulary. Your question is the sentence.

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