Tarot card meanings: all 78 cards

All 78 tarot cards with their meanings upright and reversed, in A. E. Waite's own words from The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910), each with Pamela Colman Smith's original picture. The 22 Major Arcana come first, then the four suits of the Minor Arcana: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles.

The Major Arcana

• The Fool: The spirit in search of experience, at the edge of the height.
• The Magician: Skill and will: everything needed is already on the table.
• The High Priestess: Secrets, silence, the future not yet revealed.
• The Empress: Fruitfulness and action: the long day of growing things.
• The Emperor: Stability, power, protection: the frame that holds.
• The Hierophant: Mercy, goodness and counsel: the one you turn to.
• The Lovers: Attraction, love, beauty, and trials overcome.
• The Chariot: Providence and triumph: the will drives on.
• Strength: Courage and gentleness: the hand that calms the lion.
• The Hermit: Prudence: a lantern raised on a dark height.
• Wheel of Fortune: Destiny, fortune, luck: the wheel turns.
• Justice: Equity and right: the scales held level.
• The Hanged Man: Wisdom and trial: life in suspension, not death.
• Death: An ending, and the passage to what comes next.
• Temperance: Moderation: water poured from one cup to the other.
• The Devil: Force and fatality, and chains loose enough to lift off.
• The Tower: Sudden change: a false house struck down.
• The Star: Hope and bright prospects, after the loss.
• The Moon: Deception and hidden things: walk carefully by moonlight.
• The Sun: Contentment and plain happiness: a child rides out in the light.
• Judgement: Renewal and outcome: the trumpet sounds.
• The World: Assured success, the road, and the journey.

The suit of Wands

• Ace of Wands: Creation and beginning: the source of new enterprise.
• Two of Wands: The world in your hand, and what to do with it.
• Three of Wands: Ships at sea: established strength and enterprise.
• Four of Wands: Harvest-home: refuge, repose and peace.
• Five of Wands: A sham fight: the scramble for fortune.
• Six of Wands: The victor rides home: expectation crowned.
• Seven of Wands: Valour on high ground: the advantage is yours.
• Eight of Wands: Swiftness and great hope: things in motion.
• Nine of Wands: Strength in opposition: hold the line, ready.
• Ten of Wands: A heavy load: success that has become a burden.
• Page of Wands: A faithful messenger bringing good news.
• Knight of Wands: Departure and a change of home: the road calls.
• Queen of Wands: Warm, loving and honourable: a friend to the house.
• King of Wands: An honest, conscientious friend, and news of an inheritance.

The suit of Cups

• Ace of Cups: The true heart: joy, nourishment, abundance.
• Two of Cups: Love and friendship: a union pledged.
• Three of Cups: Plenty and merriment: a happy conclusion.
• Four of Cups: Weariness, while a new gift is held out unnoticed.
• Five of Cups: Loss, but something remains: two cups still stand.
• Six of Cups: Memories: old joys looked back on.
• Seven of Cups: Fairy favours and visions in the glass: nothing yet solid.
• Eight of Cups: Walking away from what once made you glad.
• Nine of Cups: Concord and contentment: satisfaction for the one who asks.
• Ten of Cups: Contentment of the whole heart: home, love, friendship.
• Page of Cups: News and reflection: a fish rises from the cup.
• Knight of Cups: Arrival and invitation: a proposal comes.
• Queen of Cups: Loving intelligence, and the gift of vision.
• King of Cups: Responsible and kind: art, science and fair dealing.

The suit of Swords

• Ace of Swords: Triumph and conquest: force in its full degree.
• Two of Swords: Balance held under arms: courage and friendship.
• Three of Swords: A heart pierced: rupture and division.
• Four of Swords: Retreat and solitude: a hermit’s repose.
• Five of Swords: A hollow win: dishonour and loss.
• Six of Swords: A journey by water to a quieter shore.
• Seven of Swords: A plan in motion that may fail.
• Eight of Swords: Bound and blindfold: power in trammels.
• Nine of Swords: A night of lamentation and despair.
• Ten of Swords: Affliction and tears, though not, Waite says, violent death.
• Page of Swords: Vigilance: watchful, alert, on the lookout.
• Knight of Swords: Skill and bravery, riding at full speed.
• Queen of Swords: A severe but chastened face, familiar with sorrow.
• King of Swords: Judgment and authority: the clear, commanding mind.

The suit of Pentacles

• Ace of Pentacles: Perfect contentment, and gold.
• Two of Pentacles: A dance with two coins: gaiety, and news in writing.
• Three of Pentacles: Skilled labour, and the renown it earns.
• Four of Pentacles: Holding fast to what one has.
• Five of Pentacles: Hard times in the snow, passing a lit window.
• Six of Pentacles: Gifts and present prosperity: now is the time.
• Seven of Pentacles: Looking at what has grown: money, business, barter.
• Eight of Pentacles: Craftsmanship: skill in the work of the hands.
• Nine of Pentacles: Safety and accomplishment in a garden of plenty.
• Ten of Pentacles: Gain, riches, and the house of a family.
• Page of Pentacles: Study and scholarship, and news on its way.
• Knight of Pentacles: Utility and responsibility: slow, sure, upright.
• Queen of Pentacles: Opulence, generosity and security.
• King of Pentacles: Valour and business sense: success along these paths.

About the source

Every meaning here is A. E. Waite's, from The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1910), the book written to accompany the deck drawn by Pamela Colman Smith. The text was checked word for word against the Wikisource transcription, and the pictures are the 1910 printing. The one-line summaries are Esbat's own.

Last updated October 25, 2026.

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