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Tarot Card Meanings: All 78 Cards in Plain English

A tarot deck has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana, the big chapters of a life, and 56 Minor Arcana in four suits (Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles) for everyday scenes. Every page here uses the 1909 deck illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, and reads each card as a mirror for reflection, not a verdict.

Our way in is the Image-First Method: look at the picture before any keywords. Notice what you see, how it feels, what it reminds you of, then compare with the meaning, and sum it up in one sentence: “Today, this card invites me to…”

Major Arcana

22 cards about the big chapters of a life, from The Fool to The World.

Wands

14 cards about energy, drive, creativity and the projects you start.

Cups

14 cards about feelings, relationships, intuition and what you care about.

Swords

14 cards about thoughts, words, decisions and the stories you tell yourself.

Pentacles

14 cards about the body, work, money habits, home and slow growth.

Questions

How many tarot cards are there?
78: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. The Minor Arcana has four suits of 14 cards each: Ace to Ten, plus four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King).
Do I need to memorize all 78?
No. The pictures carry most of the meaning. Start by describing what you see; keywords come second. In the 30-Day Tarot Path you meet every card in about five minutes a day.
Should beginners read reversals?
Not at first. Read every card upright for a few weeks, then add reversals as a softer or blocked version of the upright meaning. The course introduces them on Day 27.

Image credits

Card images: Pamela Colman Smith, 1909, public domain (Public Domain Mark 1.0). Scans cleaned and colour-matched by Tarot Habit. You may reuse the original artwork freely.