Learning the Tarot Card Meanings
There is no doubt that learning the meanings of 78 Tarot cards is a labour of love. It takes a lot of dedication, study and practice. Some methods of learning the cards are quick and basic, some are more thorough.
In this post I will discuss a few different ways you can start to learn the meanings of the cards so you can find the way that works best for you.
Start with the Major Arcana
I think most Tarot readers agree that starting to learn Tarot using just the Major Arcana is a good way to go. The Major Arcana has 22 cards, numbered from 0 (The Fool) to 21 (The World). The Major Arcana represent the universal life lessons and archetypes we all know and experience throughout our lives, so most people can understand and identify with the general meanings of these cards with relative ease. Plus, it’s a lot less daunting to try and learn 22 card meanings than all 78. Learning Tarot with bite sized chunks can make the process less overwhelming and more manageable.
While you are learning the meanings, you may even decide to use only the Major Arcana in your readings. You can still get incredibly clear and insightful readings by using only 22 cards. There are plenty of Tarot spreads that only use the Major Arcana, and some artists have even created “Majors Only” tarot decks. Obviously learning the meanings of the Minor Arcana will add more detail to your readings, but starting with the Majors can be great for establishing a strong relationship with your cards.
Ignore reversals
The topic of reversals (upside-down cards) can be a controversial one amongst the Tarot community. Whilst some readers believe that you must read reversals to get the full experience of the Tarot, other readers believe that the Tarot spread will give you the context needed for you to know whether the upright or reversed meaning should be applied. Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on, most Tarot readers agree that when you are first learning to read the Tarot, ignoring the reversed meanings will make your life much simpler. Learning the meanings of 78 cards is hard enough, but doubling the workload to learn 156 card meanings can make a beginner feel defeated before they even start. Once you’ve learned the upright meanings, the reversed meanings will come to you more easily because you’ve already grasped the general energy of the card. And to add more confusion, there are a few different ways to read reversed cards other than just the opposite meaning to the upright card, so my advice is to not overcomplicate the learning process by mixing in reversals too early.
Use the elements
You can’t learn the Minor Arcana without understanding their elemental energy.
Fire energy rules the suit of wands and relates to our passions and desires. The wands suit wants us to pursue the things that ignite us and light us up. It is the fastest moving energy of the four suits and is all about taking action when a spark of inspiration or creativity strikes. However, the problem with the wands suit is the tendency to burn itself out. A fire needs to be nurtured, it can’t burn full throttle forever.
The suit of swords is ruled by air energy, with thoughts and words being the basis. Communication issues, overthinking and mental conflict characterise this suit, with lessons of honesty, integrity and rationality all part of the journey. The suit of swords involves new ideas, harsh truths and decision making and will make you tougher and wiser.
Completely opposite to the swords energy is the suit of cups. Ruled by water, this suit is all about love, kindness, emotions and relationships. If the swords focus on following your head, the cups are all about following your heart. Family, friends and feelings are all part of the cups game, with nurturing, support and healing the focus. When you deal with this suit, be prepared for tears - the happy and sad kind - and you’ll come out the other side feeling refreshed and renewed.
And lastly, we have the suit of pentacles. Ruled by the element of earth, the pentacles suit has the slowest moving energy in the Tarot. It rules the physical plane, dealing with all things related to health and wealth. Work, finances and material comforts are all in focus with the pentacles suit, where working hard and being responsible is valued and rewarded. The pentacles energy involves planning and investing in your long-term future by using your resources consciously and wisely. In contrast to the wands, the pentacles suit is risk-adverse and very measured in its actions, but sometimes the lack of movement and momentum can mean that opportunities will be missed.
Numerology
Numerology can be weaved into your Tarot practice in different ways. If you are new to numerology, you can think of the Minor Arcana as gaining momentum as the suit number increases. Ones (aces), for example, represent new beginnings, manifestation and raw potential. Twos then focus on making plans or decisions to utilise that ace energy. At the other end of the spectrum, Tens are the culmination of their suit and represent endings. Every ending is a new beginning, so pulling a Ten means that there will soon be Ace energy on the horizon. The higher the suit number, the further through your journey you are, so you can layer the elemental energy of the suit with the potency of the numerological value to start building your knowledge of the card meanings.
Numerology associates key words and meanings with the numbers one through ten. Another approach to learning the Tarot is to start by memorising the numerological meanings which you can then apply to the cards. In numerology, everything can be reduced back down to these root numbers. For example, Death is number 13, which can be reduced down to the root number 4 (1 + 3 = 4). Fours are associated with structure and stability, so a numerological view of the Death card may indicate a period of instability and change. Similarly, The Emperor is also number four and focuses on building structures that encourage order and minimise chaos.
Astrology
If you are already well versed in astrology, applying this knowledge to the Tarot may quicken up the learning process for you. Each Tarot card has an astrological association, so learning the ruling zodiac signs and planets may help you get a feel for the energy of each card.
I’m not an astrology expert, but I found that applying the astrological correspondences to the Tarot court cards in particular helped me to understand the underlying nature of those tricky cards. Even if you aren’t an experienced astrologer, an understanding of the ruling elements of each sign will help you grasp the general feel of each suit. Aries, Leo and Sagitarius are fire signs and rule the suit of wands. Gemini, Libra and Aquarius are air signs and rule the suit of swords. Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are water signs and rule the suit of cups. Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are earth signs and rule the suit of pentacles. Learning the astrological energy of the suits can be a good place to start building your foundational Tarot knowledge from.
Memorising key words
Each Tarot card is associated with key words. For example, The Fool represents new beginnings, innocence and taking a leap of faith. This is definitely a method that is better suited to the more studious folks, but with patience and practice you can memorise the key words for all 78 cards. It might feel like a hard road to take, but learning the Tarot in this way will mean you’ll always have a strong foundation of knowledge to pull from when reading the cards. You can then add depth to your card knowledge by incorporating astrology, numerology and elemental energies on top.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list of ways to learn the Tarot card meanings, hopefully one or more of these methods has inspired you to continue on your Tarot journey - it will be worth the hard work!
