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The 22 Major Arcana
The 22 Major Arcana, numbered 0 to 21, stand for life's great lessons and turning points. When several appear in a reading, the question usually matters more than everyday business.
In the Rider–Waite–Smith deck Waite swapped the numbers of Strength (8) and Justice (11) from the Marseille order so they would follow the Golden Dawn's zodiac sequence, with Leo before Libra. This site uses Waite's numbering. Many readers read the Majors in order as "the Fool's Journey", the growth of the soul from innocence to completion.
- The Fool0
- The MagicianI
- The High PriestessII
- The EmpressIII
- The EmperorIV
- The HierophantV
- The LoversVI
- The ChariotVII
- StrengthVIII
- The HermitIX
- Wheel of FortuneX
- JusticeXI
- The Hanged ManXII
- DeathXIII
- TemperanceXIV
- The DevilXV
- The TowerXVI
- The StarXVII
- The MoonXVIII
- The SunXIX
- JudgementXX
- The WorldXXI
Summary table
| Card | Upright | Reversed | Astrology |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Fool | new beginnings, freedom, leap of faith | recklessness, poor preparation, impulsiveness | Element of Air |
| The Magician | manifestation, skill, willpower | manipulation, misused talent, scattered focus | Mercury ☿ |
| The High Priestess | intuition, secrets, the subconscious | ignored intuition, secrets surfacing, confusion | Moon ☽ |
| The Empress | abundance, nurturing, love and beauty | over-dependence, self-neglect, creative block | Venus ♀ |
| The Emperor | authority, structure, stability | domination, rigidity, lack of discipline | Aries ♈︎ |
| The Hierophant | tradition, mentorship, belief | rebellion, questioning rules, dogma | Taurus ♉︎ |
| The Lovers | love, choice, harmony | disharmony, wrong choice, conflicting values | Gemini ♊︎ |
| The Chariot | victory, determination, self-control | lack of direction, loss of control, aggression | Cancer ♋︎ |
| Strength | inner strength, courage, patience | self-doubt, exhaustion, emotions in control | Leo ♌︎ |
| The Hermit | soul-searching, solitude, wisdom | isolation, withdrawal, feeling lost | Virgo ♍︎ |
| Wheel of Fortune | cycles, fate, turning point | bad luck, resisting change, repeating cycles | Jupiter ♃ |
| Justice | fairness, truth, cause and effect | injustice, avoiding accountability, bias | Libra ♎︎ |
| The Hanged Man | suspension, new perspective, surrender | stalling, needless sacrifice, refusal to let go | Element of Water |
| Death | endings, transition, release | resisting change, clinging to the past, stagnation | Scorpio ♏︎ |
| Temperance | moderation, balance, patience | imbalance, excess, impatience | Sagittarius ♐︎ |
| The Devil | bondage, obsession, attachment | release, awareness, breaking chains | Capricorn ♑︎ |
| The Tower | sudden upheaval, collapse, revelation | disaster averted, fear of change, delaying the inevitable | Mars ♂ |
| The Star | hope, healing, inspiration | despair, lack of self-belief, discouragement | Aquarius ♒︎ |
| The Moon | uncertainty, illusion, fear | truth emerging, fears easing, clarity returning | Pisces ♓︎ |
| The Sun | success, joy, clarity | delayed joy, over-optimism, dimmed confidence | Sun ☉ |
| Judgement | awakening, self-evaluation, inner calling | self-doubt, ignoring the lesson, harsh self-judgement | Element of Fire |
| The World | completion, achievement, wholeness | incompletion, falling just short, delays | Saturn ♄ |