Free Card Meanings

All 78 Cards

Pick a card. Say what you think it means. Then see what it meant originally, in the words of Arthur Waite, who created the deck in 1909 with the artist Pamela Colman Smith.

Please Note

I am showing you Arthur Edward Waite's meanings to help you understand why each card exists in the deck and what it was intended for. Waite and the artist Pamela Colman Smith both belonged to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a society that studied the tarot as part of its teaching. Waite wrote that the cards held a higher meaning than fortune telling.

Please bear in mind that reading a card is different. When we read, we go to the thing we are most drawn to on the card. We read it for what lives in that moment, for that person and that question.

Imagine Jane, John and Louise each came to you for a reading. They asked three different questions, and you pulled the same card for each of them. Would you give all three the same meaning?

Please note. A few of these cards show unclothed figures in the original 1909 artwork. I have softened those parts so these pages are suitable for all ages.

The MajorsWandsPentaclesSwordsCups

The Majors

The FoolThe MagicianThe High PriestessThe EmpressThe EmperorThe HierophantThe LoversThe ChariotStrengthThe HermitWheel of FortuneJusticeThe Hanged ManDeathTemperanceThe DevilThe TowerThe StarThe MoonThe SunJudgementThe World

Wands

Ace of WandsTwo of WandsThree of WandsFour of WandsFive of WandsSix of WandsSeven of WandsEight of WandsNine of WandsTen of WandsPage of WandsKnight of WandsQueen of WandsKing of Wands

Pentacles

Ace of PentaclesTwo of PentaclesThree of PentaclesFour of PentaclesFive of PentaclesSix of PentaclesSeven of PentaclesEight of PentaclesNine of PentaclesTen of PentaclesPage of PentaclesKnight of PentaclesQueen of PentaclesKing of Pentacles

Swords

Ace of SwordsTwo of SwordsThree of SwordsFour of SwordsFive of SwordsSix of SwordsSeven of SwordsEight of SwordsNine of SwordsTen of SwordsPage of SwordsKnight of SwordsQueen of SwordsKing of Swords

Cups

Ace of CupsTwo of CupsThree of CupsFour of CupsFive of CupsSix of CupsSeven of CupsEight of CupsNine of CupsTen of CupsPage of CupsKnight of CupsQueen of CupsKing of Cups

Want To Know What It Means?

When you break a card down, you go with the thing you are drawn to. Want to know what that thing means? Start here.

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