Tarot Card Meanings — All 78 Cards

A tarot deck has 78 cards. Each one has a name and a picture, and stands for something real, like a fresh start, a loss or a fair deal. The meanings here follow the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the best-known tarot deck.

The 22 Major Arcana cards, like The Lovers and The Tower, show big life themes. Arcana is an old word for secrets. The other 56 cards, the Minor Arcana, show everyday events. Like playing cards, they come in four suits, each running from Ace to Ten plus a Page, Knight, Queen and King. Wands are about action and drive. Cups are about feelings and love. Swords are about thoughts and hard truths. Pentacles are about money, work and home.

A card can land upright or reversed. Upright means the picture is the right way up, so you read its main meaning. Reversed means it came out upside down. That is not bad news by itself. It often means the card's theme is stuck, held back or harder to reach.