An overview of the Major Arcana cards of the Tarot

 🜁 UPPER WORLD — Call to Adventure, Formation of Self

The Fool begins as an innocent wanderer, stepping off the cliff into the Upper World. Here he meets teachers and forces that shape him: the Magician sparks his will, the High Priestess whispers of hidden mysteries, the Empress teaches growth, and the Emperor grants structure. Guided by the Hierophant’s rites and the challenge of choice with the Lovers, the Fool learns discipline and mastery with the Chariot. His self is formed.

0 – The Fool The call to adventure; innocence and potential

I – The Magician Activation of will and conscious power

II – The High Priestess Subconscious invitation; hidden knowledge

III – The Empress Nurturing, abundance, creative growth

IV – The Emperor Structure, stability, and authority

V – The Hierophant Tradition, initiation, spiritual learning

VI – The Lovers Union, duality, ethical choice

VII – The Chariot Discipline, mastery of forces, forward motion

🜃 UNDERWORLD — Descent, Trials, Death, Shadow Work

But the path dips into the Underworld. Here courage is tested through Strength, solitude through the Hermit, and fate’s cycles through the Wheel. Justice demands balance, the Hanged Man overturns perception, and Death strips away old forms. Temperance brings fragile harmony, the Devil tempts him to chain himself, and the Tower strikes, collapsing false structures. These are the trials of shadow and descent.

VIII – Strength Courage through gentleness; inner alchemy

IX – The Hermit Solitude, introspection, inner guidance

X – Wheel of Fortune Turning point, fate, karmic cycles

XI – Justice Moral reckoning, truth, balance

XII – The Hanged Man Surrender, sacrifice, altered perception

XIII – Death Transformation, endings, ego death

XIV – Temperance Synthesis, alchemical healing, patience

XV – The Devil Temptation, shadow integration, bondage

XVI – The Tower Sudden collapse, awakening, divine disruption

🜄 REWARD CYCLE — Resurrection, Illumination, Return with the Elixir

From this darkness the Fool rises into the Reward Cycle. The Star lights his way with healing hope, the Moon tests him with dreams and illusions, and the Sun dawns with clarity and joy. At last, Judgement calls him to rise renewed, no longer the same wanderer but transformed. The journey ends with the World—completion, wholeness, and the cosmic dance.

XVII – The Star Hope, spiritual guidance, cosmic healing

XVIII – The Moon Dreamscape, illusion, navigating the unknown

XIX – The Sun Joy, success, radiant clarity

XX – Judgement Resurrection, calling, spiritual awakening

XXI – The World Completion, wholeness, cosmic integration