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TheresaThe Astro AcademyBy Theresa

Tarot card meanings — all 78 cards explained

Search by name or keyword. Filter by suit to browse the minor arcana. Tap any card for the full interpretation.

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Guide

Tarot card meanings — how to read all 78

This library brings all 78 tarot cards together in one place — the 22 Major Arcana cards for the big life themes, and the 56 Minor Arcana cards across four suits (wands, cups, swords, pentacles) for everyday life. For every card you get the upright and the reversed meaning, the key words, and a clear sense of when it shows up in a reading.

A tarot card never has just one meaning — it has a direction. Upright, the card turns its energy outward; reversed, that same energy runs inward, is blocked, or isn’t fully awake yet. So never read a card in isolation: its position in the spread, the cards around it, and your own question are what give it the context where it actually says something.

The fastest way to learn the cards is to use them — one card a day, five minutes, tied to your own day. That’s exactly what our 30-day tarot path is built for: step by step, no jargon, until you can read all 78 cards with confidence.

Graphic of the four elements fire, earth, air and water, matched to the four tarot suits: wands, pentacles, swords and cups
Every Minor Arcana suit belongs to one element.

The four suits of the Minor Arcana

Every suit has 14 cards: Ace to Ten plus four court cards — Page, Knight, Queen, King. The Ace is the seed of the element, the Ten its end point, the court cards show people or attitudes. Once you know a card’s element, you have half the reading. An example: the Five of Cups and the Five of Pentacles share a number, yet one tells of a disappointment in feeling, the other of a squeeze around money or health.

Suits, elements and court cards
SuitElementThemeAceCourt cards
WandsFirewill, drive, beginningsAce of WandsPage of Wands, Knight of Wands, Queen of Wands, King of Wands
CupsWaterfeelings, closeness, relationshipsAce of CupsPage of Cups, Knight of Cups, Queen of Cups, King of Cups
SwordsAirthoughts, words, conflictAce of SwordsPage of Swords, Knight of Swords, Queen of Swords, King of Swords
PentaclesEarthbody, money, everyday lifeAce of PentaclesPage of Pentacles, Knight of Pentacles, Queen of Pentacles, King of Pentacles

Reading a card in three steps

  1. Image first, text second: what do you see before you look it up? With The Sun it is often warmth and light, with The Moon more uncertainty and hunches.
  2. Then the position: if the card is upside down, read the reversed meaning — for example The Sun reversed or The Tower reversed.
  3. Finally the position in the spread: the same card reads differently as “past” than as “advice”. The card of the day is the easiest place to practise; the tarot spreads show which positions exist.
FAQ

Tarot card meaning FAQs

How many tarot cards are there?

A classical tarot deck has 78 cards — 22 Major Arcana cards that describe the big themes of a life, and 56 Minor Arcana cards across four suits (wands, cups, swords, pentacles) for everyday experience.

What is the difference between the Major and Minor Arcana?

The Major Arcana is the 22 picture cards from The Fool to The World — they represent overarching life phases and archetypes. The Minor Arcana looks like a regular playing-card deck with four suits and 14 cards each; it shows concrete situations, feelings and everyday actions.

What do reversed tarot cards mean?

When a tarot card lands reversed, it points to a blocked, internal or not-yet-conscious version of the same energy. A reversed card isn't "bad" — it shows that the same meaning is currently turned inward or hasn't fully expressed itself yet.

Can you learn tarot on your own?

Yes. Most tarot readers start by learning the cards themselves, in small daily steps — one card a day, with notes and a tie to their own life. Our 30-day tarot guide is built exactly for that: 5 minutes a day, one card after another.

Inbaal HonigmanReviewed by Inbaal Honigman · Psychic & Tarot Reader