The Major Arcana of a tarot deck are considered to be its trump cards in esoteric rituals. In a typical 78-card pack, there are typically 22 of these cards, which are ordinarily numbered from 0 to 21.
The trumps were merely a component of a unique card deck used for gaming and gambling before the seventeenth century. The trumps may have had cultural and allegorical connotations, but they initially held little mystical or magical importance. These cards are distinguishable from the remaining cards, the suit cards, which are known by occultists as the Minor Arcana, when decks are used for card games (Tarot card games), serving as constant trumps.
The words “Major Arcana” and “Minor Arcana” was first used by Jean-Baptiste Pitois (18111877), who wrote under the pen name Paul Christian, in the occult and divinatory applications of the deck as in the Esoteric Tarot.
According to Michael Dummett, when the Major Arcana was created in the Italian courts of the 15th century, it had simple allegorical or esoteric meaning that was primarily rooted on elite ideology. With the publication of Le Monde Primitif by Swiss clergyman and Freemason Antoine Court de Gbelin in the 18th century, the occult importance started to become apparent. From then, the Major and Minor Arcana of the Tarot and their esoteric and divinatory significance were further constructed. For instance, Liphas Lvi worked to break away from the Egyptian nature of the divinatory tarot, bringing it back to the tarot de Marseilles, creating a “tortuous” kabbalistic correspondence, and even suggested that the Major Arcana represent stages of life. Court de Gbelin argued for the Egyptian, kabbalistic, and divine significance of the tarot trumps. Etteilla created a method of divination using ta The Major Arcana was created by the Marquis Stanislas de Guaita as an initiatory sequence for establishing a path of spiritual ascension and progress. Sallie Nichols, a Jungian psychologist, claimed in 1980 that the tarot had profound psychological and archetypal meaning. She even claimed that the tarot trumps included the complete Jungian individuation process.
These different interpretations of the Major Arcana evolved over time, and they all still have a big impact on how practitioners explain the cards.
In This Article...
How many Major Arcana tarot cards are there?
The major arcana, which contains 22 cards and is also known as the trumps, and the minor arcana, which has 56 cards, make up the 78 cards that make up this deck.
What is Card 22 of the Major Arcana?
One of the 78 cards in a tarot deck is The Fool. It is one of the 22 Major Arcana in tarot card reading, sometimes denoted by the numbers 0 (the first) or XXI (the last).
What card in the Major Arcana are the 12?
In the majority of conventional Tarot decks, The Hanged Man (XII) is the twelveth Major Arcana card. Both divination and game play include its utilization.
What is my Major Arcana card location?
what card in the tarot represents your birth. A tarot birth card is generated by adding the numbers of the month, day, and year you were born, following a method akin to that of numerology. You can use that number to determine the Major Arcana tarot card that represents your birth date, according to Trinh.
Is the Major Arcana sufficient for Tarot reading?
Any Tarot spread, as long as it has fewer than 22 cards, can use the Major Arcana. My advice is to reserve these potent cards for Tarot readings that will have a significant impact on your life.
The Major Arcana cards are known to be connected to universal forces that are present in our lives and frequently represent the most profound lessons in life that we must experience before we can change for the better and go on to the next phase of our lives. We are also aware that certain facets of our psychological and spiritual selves are represented by the Major Arcana cards. This means that we must take these factors into consideration when selecting a Tarot spread that is suitable for the Major Arcana.
For the following kinds of Tarot spreads, think about using the Major Arcana cards:
- Tarot readings with a spiritual or psychological theme
- Personal development and change readings with tarot cards, like the Sacred Mandala
- Annual projected values
For queries that are extremely important, you might also want to consult the Major Arcana. The Major Arcana cards, for instance, may be suitable for a straightforward Past/Present/Future spread if the query is, “What lessons in life do I still need to learn? or “What should I understand about myself? Look for inquiries that touch on universal or enduring impacts.
What signs are represented by the Major Arcana?
The astrological signs that correspond to the major arcana tarot cards are as follows:
- The Emperor rules Aries. Aries people enjoy taking charge of situations and being in leadership roles.
- The Hierophant is in Taurus.
- The lovers sign of Gemini.
- The Chariot of Cancer
- The Hermit, or Virgo.
What card in the Major Arcana is number 11?
Depending on the deck, Justice’s Major Arcana card number is either VIII or XI. Both divination and game play include the use of this card.
What do the 21 cards in the Tarot mean?
The World card has multiple tarot connotations, according to A.E. Waite’s 1910 book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot:
THE WORLD, 21
Guaranteed success, payment, travel, route, emigration, flight, and relocation.
Inertia, fixity, stagnation, and permanence inverted.
The World is the culmination of one cycle of life and the interim period between that cycle and the following one, which starts with the fool. Between the heavens and the earth, the figure is masculine and female from above and below. It’s completion. The possibility for perfect oneness with the One Power of the universe is claimed to be represented by it as well as cosmic consciousness. It teaches us that in order to truly be happy, we must also give to the world by imparting what we have learned or acquired. According to Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene’s book The New Mythic Tarot (p. 82), the woman’s image, known in Greek mythology as Hermaphroditus, represents wholeness unrelated to sexual identity but rather of combined male and female energy on an inner level, integrating opposite traits that emerge in the personality charged by both energies. The opposite traits of male and female that cause us stress are united in this card, and the idea of becoming entire is portrayed as an ideal goal rather than something that can be attained.
The four creatures on the Universe card, according to Robert M. Place in his book The Tarot, symbolize the fourfold framework of the physical world, which encloses the holy center of the world, a location where the divine can incarnate. The fifth element is spirit, or the sacred center, and its name is Sophia, which means Prudence or Wisdom (the dancing woman in the middle). The fourth Cardinal virtue in the Tarot is prudence. The woman in the middle represents the aim of mystical seekers. This prominent character can be Christ in some older decks or Hermes in others. This card represents what is actually desired whenever it appears.