The Cards of the Major Arcana
As you read these brief descriptions of the cards that compose the Major Arcana, do not try to memorize every detail. Your unconscious mind will absorb the information that is right for you. This information will come back to the surface of your conscious mind at the moment you need to know it. Your biggest task is to stay in tune so that you will be open and able to recognize the psychic information when it appears.
This card has no number and may represent you and your life journey. There are many different symbols within the card's illustrations that may lead you to look back over your life or forward into the future. As you look at the Fool, you may connect with the great Superconscious and the life energy that flows through the symbols. The Fool is your ticket to the journey of life through the Sacred Circle of Tarot. The rest of the cards help shape the journey of the Fool.
The Magician is assigned the number “1” in the Major Arcana. This card signifies your conscious mind and the material world. The Magician can help you set your goals and develop an action plan, and this card may serve as a reminder for you to examine the direction in which you are headed.
The High Priestess is assigned the number “2” in the Major Arcana. This card represents your unconscious mind. It can provide a balance to the Magician. Together, the Magician and the High Priestess can help manifest your unconscious abilities and bring them to reality.
The Empress is assigned the number “3” in the Major Arcana. This card represents your memory, which is also a part of your unconscious mind. The Empress can help manifest realities as it combines with the High Priestess and Magician cards.
The Emperor is assigned the number “4” in the Major Arcana. This card is similar to the Magician, except that it represents older and wiser knowledge. It helps balance the conscious mind and its material goals.
The Hierophant is assigned the number “5” in the Major Arcana. In the ancient Greek Eleusian mysteries, the Hierophant was the chief priest. Today, someone who is an advocate or who makes a case for somebody else is called a hierophant. This card represents your inner self, in particular your intuition. The Hierophant represents the process that your unconscious mind goes through when it evaluates the information sent down from your conscious mind.
Whenever you use a tool such as a tarot card deck to help you get psychic insights, make sure that you are in tune and in balance with both your internal and external guidance systems. If you are not, you may be startled by unexpected intuitive information.
The Lovers card is assigned the number “6” in the Major Arcana. The Lovers represents your relationships. This card indicates the differences between you and others and yet offers an opportunity for compatibility.
The Chariot is assigned the number “7” in the Major Arcana. This card represents both your positive and your negative efforts to control your journey. The Chariot provides you with the opportunity to balance your free will and soul purposes.
The Strength card is assigned the number “8” in the Major Arcana. This card is your control over your ego or materialistic goals. The Strength card represents the kundalini energy that is coiled and ready to surge at the base of your spine.
The Hermit is assigned the number “9” in the Major Arcana. This card represents your inner wisdom, which sets you apart from others. The Hermit reminds you that you have the opportunity to share your knowledge and help others in their journey.
The Wheel of Fortune is assigned the number “10” in the Major Arcana. This card represents your knowledge of who you are. Regardless of what you may own, the true essence of yourself is your true wealth.
The Justice card is assigned the number “11” in the Major Arcana. This card represents the process of resolving the issues and wrongs in your past. The past is not only this lifetime, but also the unresolved karma of your past lives.
The Hanged Man is assigned the number “12” in the Major Arcana. This card depicts a man who is suspended upside down. The Hanged Man represents your ability to understand the second view of a situation. It's a hologram of two different focuses, the ability to see from two perspectives, as discussed throughout this book.
You may notice that some of the Major Arcana tarot cards, such as Death or the Hanged Man, seem to have negative images. This is not the case, as you will understand when you read the card explanations more closely.
The Death card is assigned the number “13” in the Major Arcana. This card represents your rebirth into a higher level of consciousness. It is your opportunity to realize that you only take beyond the physical world what you have accumulated in your inner self on your life journey.
The Temperance card is assigned the number “14” in the Major Arcana. This card represents how you balance your positive and negative qualities. The Temperance card provides you with the opportunity to balance your conscious and unconscious minds.
The Devil is assigned the number “15” in the Major Arcana. This card represents the areas of your life that blind you to negative thoughts and deeds. Through the Devil card, you are given the opportunity to be aware of those of your actions that are contrary to the purpose of your life journey.
The Tower is assigned the number “16” in the Major Arcana. This card represents how you may suddenly become enlightened. The Tower is the psychic intuition that often comes exploding through your chakras when they are not balanced.
The Star is assigned the number “17” in the Major Arcana. This card represents how you connect your unconscious mind to the Universal Mind. The Star reminds you of your opportunity to share with others the universal knowledge that comes to the surface of your conscious mind.
The Moon is assigned the number “18” in the Major Arcana. This card represents how you develop as you progress along your life journey. This card reminds you that you always have the opportunity to bring yourself back in tune with your soul's purpose.
The Sun is assigned the number “19” in the Major Arcana. This card represents symbolically your ability to offer life to all things in the same way as the light of the sun does. It gives you the opportunity, through nurturing love, to help others grow and flourish on their life journeys.
The Judgment card is assigned the number “20” in the Major Arcana. This card represents your spirituality and how you work with the Universal Mind. It offers you the opportunity to find a balance with your conscious, unconscious, and Universal Mind.
The World card is assigned the number “21” in the Major Arcana. The last card in the Major Arcana, the World card reminds you that your life is a never-ending cycle. It encourages you always to be aware of the Universal Mind and the journey of your soul and also gives you the opportunity to be in tune with your soul's psychic gifts which have been with you since the beginning of your journey.
Follow Your Inner Wisdom
Did you notice the similarity between the explanations of the cards of the Major Arcana and other forms of psychic development discussed earlier in this book? You may want to start working with the Major Arcana cards when you begin to use the Tarot.
To do a reading, separate the Major Arcana cards from the rest of the deck and shuffle them. Before you begin, ground yourself in a bubble of universal love and peace, and ask your psychic guides to provide information through the cards that can give you positive insights in your life.
It is not necessary for you to follow any particular order in choosing the cards for your reading. The simplest way is to randomly draw a card out of the deck and examine it. Your intuitive mind will help you understand the reason you selected this particular card.
You can shuffle the deck and lay out the top three cards face-down from left to right in front of you. These three cards can represent your past, present, and future. Turn them over in the order you dealt them out, giving yourself time to reflect on each card. What intuitive images do the cards create in your mind? You may find that tarot cards can be an excellent tool to help you develop your psychic ability for both yourself and others.
