✨ Major Arcana Meanings ✨
Hello!! In this post I’ll explain the meaning of the major arcana (rider Waite). They are the product of many years using the tarot, reading many books, practicing etc. Remember that tarot is an art and like all art it needs time and sacrifice to improve. Don’t get so attached to books and keywords, use your most powerful tool which is intuition. Look at the spread as if it was a movie, observe how the cards influence one another, put yourself in the shoes of the figures, observe the colors, composition, facial expressions, poses and what they say to you. Something that helped me understand the Major Arcana was “The fool’s Journey”. Perhaps you feel that the meanings are somewhat vague or many of them are repeated, keep in mind that many cards can mean different things depending on the other cards that accompany them.
🃏 The Fool:
Purity, spontaneity, credulity, innocence, free spirit, new beginnings, adventure, courage, originality.
Reversed: Hasty action, failure to measure risks, naivety, foolishness, insanity, chaos, poor judgment.
🃏 The Magician:
Power, intelligence, action, manifestation, eloquence, firm direction.
Reversed: Manipulation, poor planning, latent talents that are not yet known, hidden emotions, deceptions or scams, abuse of power, creative stagnation.
🃏 The High Priestess:
Intuition, higher powers, mysteries, listen to your fucking subconscious, self-confidence, spiritual insight, emotional stability, divination.
Reversed: Something that remains hidden from you, falsehood, disconnection with the interior, misuse of spiritual gifts, not trusting your intuition.
🃏 The Empress:
Abundance, the feminine, maternal figure, beauty, fertility, nature, motherhood, love, creativity, multitasking, opportunity for success.
Reversed: Blocked creativity, dependency, low self-esteem, laziness, lack of coordination at home, problems within.
🃏 The Emperor:
Authority, father figure, rigid structures, order, leadership, ambition, law, firmness.
Reversed: Exaggerated control, dominance, inflexibility, autocrat, obsession with control, weak or cruel man, corruption.
🃏 The Hierophant:
Religious spiritual, group work, you are ok with your current life, beliefs, can represent great institutions (ex: school), teacher or spiritual guide.
Reversed: Deny and suppress temptations, rebellious attitude, disagreement with some situation, unreliable teacher or spiritual guide.
🃏 The Lovers:
Harmony in relationships, equality of values, love crossroads, love story, fell in love, trust.
Reversed: Relationships in imbalance, disharmony, broken love story, infidelity, problems in the relationship, separation, relationship that ends.
🃏 The Chariot:
Achievements achieved thanks to the will, success, determination, persevering, a trip, any kind of transport, overcoming obstacles, helping others.
Reversed: Erratic direction, without control or losing it, aggressive attitudes, lack of direction, sometimes it symbolizes the longest way to your goal, some canceled trip, broken bonds.
🃏 Strength:
Courage, patience, compassion, persuasion, inner strength, self-confidence, lust, sex, vitality.
Reversed: Insecurities, physical weakness, lack of will, fragility, lack of values, need for help, vanity.
🃏 The hermit:
Introspection, someone lonely, inner voice, contemplation, discretion and patience, positive isolation.
Reversed: Loneliness, isolating from people or society, turning your back on someone, exile, sadness.
🃏 Wheel of fortune:
Good luck, Karma, destiny, life cycles, changes, movement, ups and downs, a definite yes, opportunities that can change your life.
Reversed: Temporary bad luck, negative external forces, misfortunes, something is not going as you planned, disappointments, a definite no.
🃏 Justice:
Balance, justice, truth, cause and effect, laws and norms, Karma, legal matters, maybe you should seek a lawyer.
Reversed: Injustice, dishonesty, immorality, losing a case, manipulation, not being able to tell your truth.
🃏 The Hanged Man:
Being in suspense, delaying plans, restrictions, letting go, sacrifice, crisis, seeing from another perspective, new perspective, metamorphosis, spiritual advancement.
Reversed: Martyrdom, delay, being in “limbo”, getting back into play, getting back to your life, inability to free yourself, fixation on the material.
🃏 Death:
(It does not symbolize passing away)
Beginnings of things, change, transformation, transition, end, rebirth, detachment from something or someone emotionally.
Reversed: Resistance to change, inability to move on, anger or depression, denial of the obvious.
🃏 Temperance:
Balance, moderation, harmony, synthesis, communication with your deity / spirit guide, etc. Patience.
Reversed: Imbalance, you lack long-term vision, anger explosion, you feel that your deity or destiny has abandoned you, you feel that you always give and never receive.
🃏 The devil:
Suffering, Masochism, sexuality, materialism, temptation, slavery, addictions, fear, doubt, lies, violence, toxic relationships.
Reversed: Positive energy released, release from toxic relationships, divorce, relationship that becomes less sexual, end of restrictions.
🃏 The Tower:
Disaster (in a positive way), unexpected change, upheaval, ruin, catastrophe, revelation, accidents or home damage, bankruptcy, loss of job.
Reversed: Avoid taking risks, fear of disaster, obstacles, maybe there is a change in your life that you should not resist.
🃏 The star:
Hope, happiness, spirituality, Inner renewal, serenity, optimism, beauty, astrology, health, healing.
Reversed: Lack of faith, despair, sadness, feeling unwell, don’t reject the help from others.
🃏The Moon:
Illusion, fear, anxiety, insecurity, subconscious, dreams, nightmares, hidden things (especially enemies), mystery, visions, mental confusion.
Reversed: Free yourself from fear, secrets that are revealed, what was hidden is now visible, abnormal dreams (pay attention to them), Visions or dreams that you cannot understand.
🃏 The Sun:
Fun, excitement, success, positivity, vitality, energy, joy, enlightenment, manifestation, riches.
Reversed: Lack, temporary depression, lack of success (temporary), lack of energy, being too sentimental, false impressions.
🃏 Judgment:
Rebirth, absolution, forgiveness, awakening, end of a career, end of a period of change, decision making.
Reversed: Doubt, negative balance, low self-esteem, doing something that is known to be wrong, doubting yourself, some karma from this life or a past life that must be healed.
🃏 The world:
Completion of processes, realization, communication with people, success, movement, achievement of goals, fullness.
Reversed: Lack of realization, Lack of realization in all aspects, you feel that the world or life owes you something, failed plans, unfinished business, stuck in the routine.
Thank you very much!! Please let me know if it was helpful, also let me know if you want me to post the meaning of minor arcana and some other stuff related to tarot, like some combination of cards, meaning more in depth, spreads, tips.....
sketching some ideas 🌿
💐Fae Witch Guide💐
Fae star (septagram), milk, apples, wild flowers, mushrooms, alcohol, fairy statues, butterfly and/or bee symbolism, dried or fresh fruits, fresh water, plants, bells, bubbles, non-plastic glitter, tree symbolism, dancing, 4 leaf clovers, nuts and seeds
Don'ts: anything plastic or unnatural like plastic glitter (that’s littering and fae hate littering), chocolate (it’s extremely dangerous for animals), Himalayan salt (it gets its pink color from iron and iron repels fae)
Pink tourmaline, rose quartz, aura quartz, chyroprase, amethyst, peridot, opal (opalite), tree agate, moss agate, dyed quartz, holey stones, goldstone, copper, honey calcite, calcite (any)
Rose, lavender, thyme, chamomile, blackberry, apple, clover, elderberry, violet, bluebells, lilac, peony, st John’s wort, oak, holly, willow, moss, fern, dandelions, berries
Brigid, Aine, Rhiannon, Lugh, Morrigan
Bergamot, lavender, rose, fir, pine, ylang ylang, geranium, jasmine, lemongrass, strawberry, violet, gardenia, grapefruit, oakmoss, tea tree
Rivers, stone or tree arches, lakes, springs, mountains, old trees, (wishing) wells, hills, wildflower fields, stone circles, flower gardens, rainbows, clover patches, mushroom circle
Water, Earth, Air, Fire, Moon, Sun, Stars
*this isnt a complete list, but it’s a list of what I’ve found fae to be the MOST helpful at
Cottage witchcraft, kitchen magic, garden magic, prosperity, happiness spells, elemental magic, art magic, life witchcraft, animal magic, cannabis magic, solar and lunar magic, nature magic, air witchcraft, fertility spells, magic/witchcraft that has to children
Raspberry leaf
Rose
Lavender
Lemonbalm
Strawberry
Earl grey tea
Jasmine or rose or lavender (optional)
Cream (or any milk substitute)
Fae witch bath (mine)
Fae work guide for witches (mine)
Pixies!! (Not mine)
My personal favorite fae sigil (not mine)
Faery sugar recipe (not mine)
Gift ideas for Fae Witches (not mine)
Fae witch self care tips! (Not mine)
🌸 clean up litter!
🌸 spend time in or near natural gateways
🌸 wear a rose, lavender, or floral perfume blend
🌸help animals when you can
🌸 grow a faery garden
🌸 study local fae
🌸stay hydrated with fruit infused water and floral infused water (or teas)
🌸have an outdoor tea party or picnic to honor the fae
🌸 make offerings regularly, especially before asking for favors
🌸 things going missing or lost things suddenly reappearing is a sign of fae near
🌸 carry a satchet of, or wear a locket of rose quartz, thyme, st John’s wort, rose petals and lavender to attract fae and help you see them
🌸 dance, sing, or make art
🌸 make a faery wand with wood like yew, oak, rowan, willow, apple, holly, hawthorn, alder, or ash. Decorate it with pretty ribbons, shiny beads, and quartz
- Leviathan -
Maps! Maps! MAPS! If you're a death witch, get one for the cemeteries you visit and mark gravestones/areas you've practiced in! Garden witches! Map out your gardens! Green witches! Map where you find specific herbs in your area! Lunar witches! Mark the best spots to go look at the sky! Make a key! Take notes!
Recipes for COMPONENTS! Write down how to make the mixtures you use in spells often- A special salt mixed with herbs and put under the moon, a mixture of oils for protection, the herb mixes sachets you keep making to add to sachets, whatever!
For green witches- press samples of stuff and glue them in! Go to an arboretum and ask for permission to take leaves to press, they'll usually let you take some- add them in with your notes about trees
Cool ways to make spells! I make spells in envelopes and on empty spools, what are some ways you do?
The local plants in your area and what they do. You're not going to be likely to find chrysanthemums to forage in Missouri, but you will find creeping charlie and prairie plants. What can you do with a thistle?
When you celebrate a sabbat, write down what you did and include samples! Ribbons from your Beltane altar, a pressed sample of your lemmas harvest, a scrap of your Yule decorations. Maybe do a spell and tape the remnants into your grimoire in a plastic baggie
Learn how to make an envelope out of paper just by folding it, how to string seeds, how to dry plants, how to macrame rocks and hang them from your window. Find those little witchy skills and write them down.
How to incorporate your hobby into your magic. Sigiling origami paper, weaving knot magick into your crochet, making blessed bookmarks, etc
Substitutes! Rosemary, rose and clear quartz are good for most things, but there are more substitutes to be used that are more powerful. Roanoke bells are good substitutes for bluebells, apparently.
Correspondences of odd things. Turns out different kinds of cats have different correspondences, huh.
Superstitions and such from where you're from.
For kitchen witches: easy to alter recipes. An egg noodle recipe that takes herbs really well, a simple bread recipe that can be dressed up for spells or rituals, how to make a good pie crust that you can sprinkle nutmeg in or whatever you desire.
Or: What foods go good with what herbs. You'll make a better apple pie (and get the benefits of apples, nutmeg, and cinnamon together!) If you know how your herbs taste together with your cooking. (Most kitchen witches know this stuff, but for a green witch who likes to make teas or a sea witch that likes to make soup, etc, this is important)
Tea is a powerful tool in witchcraft. I use it to improve my mood, give myself energy and strength, cure small illnesses, and bring casual magic to my life.
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🌿 Basil: wealth, money, blessings, fertility, protection, house blessings
🌿 Catnip: love, beauty, happiness, working with cat spirits
🌿 Chamomile: luck, sleep, peace, purification, calm
🌿 Cinnamon: sexuality, lust, consecration, love, spice
🌿 Elderberry: exorcism, healing, prosperity, protection
🌿 Lavender: anti-anxiety, sleep, healing, meditation, psychic abilities
🌿 Peppermint: purification, love, anti-negativity, power
🌿 Rosemary: cleansing, drawing the aid of spirits, mental focus
–
✨ Attracting money: ¼ tsp chamomile, ¼ tsp basil, ¼ tsp goldenrod
✨ Love and sexual energy: ¼ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp catnip, ¼ tsp ginseng
✨ Cleansing: ¼ tsp dandelion, ¼ tsp lemon balm, ¼ tsp thyme
✨ Protection: ¼ tsp pine needles, ¼ tsp elderberries, ¼ tsp blackberry leaf
treacherous / gold rush
🕯️ Decorations: cornucopia, bread basket, corn dolly, sunflowers
🌿 Incense: peppermint, chamomile, eucalyptus, rosemary
🥧 Food: wild berries, bread, beer, cider, corn, grains, potatoes, rice, grapes, pears, nuts
It is now high summer and the union of sun and earth has produced the first harvest. It is a time of gathering in and giving thanks for abundance. Feasting, market fairs, games and bonfires are the order of the day. Active growth is slowing and darker days are coming…
🥳 With people, have a popcorn party.
🍽️ In the kitchen, bake your own bread and brew your own beer.
🎨 Get crafty, by making beeswax candles to keep some warmth and light in the coming cold seasons.
💃 Dress up, with fire-safe clothes in colors of yellow, orange, green, brown, or red.
📜 Write in your journal, about what you are harvesting in your life at the moment.
🔮 Meditate, about how hard you’ve worked this year and rest on your accomplishments.
Learn how to preserve the harvest, from drying herbs to canning fresh produce.
Toast the sunset to honor the sun before it starts resting.
Make corn dolls out of cob husks.
Enjoy the fresh air and nature while you still can.
Dance around a bonfire.
strawberry kisses🍰
🎧 Witch Wednesdays is a great podcast for the baby/beginner witches out there, with 20 to 30 minutes episodes covering topics such as kitchen witchcraft, how to use herbs and crystals, how to caste a circle, and much more.
🎧 Seeking Witchcraft, similarly to Witch Wednesdays, is aimed at beginner witches who are looking for 30 minutes informational episodes on various topics in the witchcraft and wiccan worlds.
🎧 Between the Worlds has tremendously helped me to improve my Tarot practice. The host discusses Tarot, psychology, mythology, pop culture, witchcraft, magic, art, and history with guests, it’s fun!
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🎧 My Favorite Murder - do I even need to introduce it? - is a fantastic true crime comedy podcast. The hosts are hilarious, and tell horrifying stories with the right amount of comedy, respect, and gravity.
🎧 The Faculty of Horror is a great podcast hosted by witchy-horror journalists to tackle all things horror with a slash of analysis and research. Each episode discusses horror movies with a fascinating academic point of view.
🎧 This Podcast Will Kill You might not actually kill you, but the hosts give me incredible witchy vibes with their knowledge in ecology and epidemiology. Each episode tackles a different disease, from its history, to its biology, and finally, how scared you need to be.
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Do you listen to witchy podcasts? I’d love to get your recommendations. I especially want to start listening from podcasts hosted by witchy POC and folks from different cultures and backgrounds.
she/hereclectic witchcrafttaurus sun / aquarius moon / aquarius risingmother of two
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