All 22 Major Arcana cards in order, and how to remember them as one story
The Major Arcana scare beginners more than anything else in the deck. Death or The Tower - it feels like these cards can't mean anything good. In fact the Major Arcana are easier than the Minor Arcana: there are only 22 of them, each has its own name, and together they tell one story. It's called the Fool's Journey.
The Fool is number 0. He's someone at the very start of the road: he knows nothing, but he's ready for anything. The other 21 cards are the people and events he meets. Read the Major Arcana in order and you get a story about growing up, where every card has its place.
That's also the easiest way to remember them: not 22 separate meanings, but four stretches of one journey.
The Fool meets the people who teach him how the world works.
In a reading, these cards often point to people and support around you.
The Fool grows up and has to decide for himself.
This is where the scariest-looking cards live. They aren't punishments, they're a stage you can't skip if anything is going to change.
After the crisis, the Fool walks back into the light.
A Major Arcana card in a spread is a sign that the question is bigger than it looks. If one turns up among Minor cards, read it first: it sets the theme. If there are three or more, you're looking at a major life stage, not the week's errands.
And the main rule: don't be scared by the names. Death almost always means the end of one period, The Tower means something that should have been rebuilt long ago. The frightening pictures were drawn to be memorable, not to frighten you.
Split them into those four stretches and learn one a day. Then spend two days drawing your card of the day and recalling which stretch it belongs to. Full meanings for every card are in our tarot card meanings section.
In lesson 3 we move to the Minor Arcana and look at the four suits and their elements.