Major Arcana Tarot Card Meanings
Recently, I was inspired to create a virtual tarot deck from some of my photographs. This graphic includes the Major Arcana, which represents the journey of the Fool through various archetypal adventures and challenges. Take a screenshot to “pick” a card and then scroll down to see its meaning.
The Fool
Be brave. Leave the nest and step into the unknown. Try new things and embrace beginner’s mind.
Stay awake! Remember to look before you leap and don’t let hopeful optimism turn into recklessness.
Photo: bird’s nest in my backyard, Lawrence, KS
The Magician
You have all the tools you need to manifest your desires. Like the snake who sheds its skin, don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself to become the person you want to be.
Stay awake! Power can lead to unhealthy ego and self-aggrandizement. Be aware and stay humble.
Photo: western hognose snake, Prairie Park Nature Center, Lawrence, KS
The High Priestess
Your best move is to go within to contemplate the mysteries, contradictions, and subtleties of the situation. Progress is not always made through outward action. Be sensitive to the unseen and energetic forces at play. Trust your intuition.
Stay awake! Don’t forget to stay grounded while you explore the unknown.
Photo: 2018 solar eclipse, Columbia, MO
The Emperor
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online canStand tall and lead with wisdom and compassionate detachment. Embrace structure and discipline and you’ll be able to weather any storm.
Stay awake! Don’t let your respect for rules turn into rigid authoritarianism. A little flexibility will let you bend instead of breaking.
Photo: The Bur Oak, Columbia, MO
The Empress
Lead through caring and emotional intelligence. Embrace your creative, nurturing, colorful side and help others do the same.
Stay Awake! Put on your own oxygen mask first. Don’t let your caring nature turn into codependence.
Photo: scarlet macaw, Prairie Park Nature Center, Lawrence, KS
The Hierophant
Respect the expertise and traditions of those who have come before you. Find a worthy mentor or become one yourself if you have wisdom to share.
Stay Awake! Don’t get too attached to rules for their own sake, and don’t let your authority go to your head. Every tradition changes over time.
Photo: barred owl, Columbia, MO
The Lovers
Let yourself be swept away by a person, place, activity, or idea. Relish the joyous sparks of enthusiasm that come with new infatuation.
Stay Awake! Stay in integrity and don’t compromise yourself to fit someone else’s ideal.
Photo: male and female cardinal, my parents’ backyard, Overland Park, KS
The Chariot
Harness your willpower, determination, and discipline to get you where you want to go.
Stay Awake! Don’t run roughshod over others in your quest for progress.
Photo: snail, Columbia, MO
Strength
Draw on your reserves of courage and self-possession. This kind of strength is not a show of force, but a quieter, gentler, deeper power.
Photo: tree roots, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA
The Hermit
This is a time to embrace solitude and study. Learn to keep yourself company. Focus your mind and remove extraneous distractions.
Stay Awake! Don’t spend your whole life here - eventually you’ll need to rejoin the world.
Photo: box turtle, Columbia, MO
The Wheel
Wherever you are now, the only constant is change. Your fortune will eventually change, so don’t stay attached to the good or despair at the bad. Some days you’re the spider and some days you’re the fly!
Photo: spiderweb, Columbia, MO
Justice
Justice is the principle of karma or cosmic balance. What goes around comes around - it’s not personal, it just is. A vulture doesn’t discriminate when it finds a meal, and justice doesn’t play favorites.
Photo: vulture, Columbia, MO
The Hanged One
Embrace purposeful inaction and focused stillness. This is a time to pause, surrender control, and let go of needing a particular outcome.
Stay Awake! Don’t let your waiting turn to unconsciousness, apathy, or indecision.
Photo: squirrel on park bench, Shelter Gardens, Columbia, MO
Death
An ending, transition, or transformation. Every new thing requires the end of something old. In the same way, every ending contains within it the seeds of a new beginning.
Photo: deer skull and atlas bone, Lawrence, KS
Temperance
Seek balance and homeostasis, avoid extremes, and you’ll be able to thrive amphibiously in a variety of environments. Combine disparate elements to create something new.
Stay Awake! Don’t tolerate evil or avoid taking action just to keep the peace.
Photo: partially-submerged frog, Columbia, MO
The Devil
Watch out for your baser instincts, knee-jerk reactions, and addictive behaviors. If your willpower is low right now, try to resist diving head-first into self-indulgent and self-destructive habits.
Photo: chipmunk sitting in a mug, McCall, ID
The Tower
Sudden and dramatic change. It may feel scary or destructive, but a tower constructed on shaky foundations needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. This shift can’t be avoided, so get through it as best you can and try to internalize the lessons it brings.
Photo: abandoned silo, Columbia, MO
The Star
Hope, optimism, beauty, and renewal. Take a breath, enjoy the good around you, and expand your vision to wish for something even better.
Photo: dandelion and wild salsify seedheads, Lawrence, KS
The Moon
Not everything is obvious in the daylight. It’s time to approach things from an intuitive and nonlinear perspective.
Stay Awake! Watch out for illusions, wishful thinking, and solutions that are more alluring than realistic. Moonlight makes everything more exotic and mysterious looking, but also obscures and camouflages things. When the Moon gives you insight, make sure it holds up before taking action.
Photo: moon jellyfish, Kansas City Zoo, Kansas City, MO
The Sun
The Sun brings warmth, positivity, confidence, success, and nourishment to whatever it touches.
Stay Awake! Too much Sun energy can lead to overconfidence. Balance its happy message with humility and discernment.
Photo: bee on flower, Lawrence, KS
Judgment
When a caterpillar enters its cocoon, it dissolves completely before becoming a butterfly. All your energy and efforts (whether positive or negative) are coming to fruition. You’ve put in the work and now it’s time to see the result.
Photo: butterfly, Lawrence, KS
The World
A cycle completes and a new one begins. All your hard work has culminated in a triumphant success. Take this time to appreciate the result before starting the next project.
Stay Awake! Celebrate your progress, but know that your next Fool’s journey is just around the corner.
Photo: sprouting plant, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA