All 78 Tarot Cards
Major Arcana · Cups · Pentacles · Swords · Wands
Origins
Tarot emerged in 15th-century Italy as a card game called tarocchi. By the 18th century, the 78-card deck became a tool for divination — mapping archetypal patterns of human experience. The Rider-Waite deck (1909), illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, remains the foundation for modern interpretation.
Major Arcana — 22 Cards
The Major Arcana depicts the soul's journey — 22 archetypal figures and forces that represent the major themes of human experience. When Major Arcana cards appear, they signal significant life events and deeper spiritual lessons.
Cups — 14 Cards
The suit of water, emotion, intuition, and relationships. Cups cards speak to the inner life — love, grief, dreams, and the movement of feeling through time.
Pentacles — 14 Cards
The suit of earth, material reality, work, and abundance. Pentacles cards address the physical world — money, career, home, health, and the slow building of lasting things.
Swords — 14 Cards
The suit of air, intellect, communication, and conflict. Swords cards deal with the mind — thoughts, decisions, truth-telling, and the painful clarity of seeing things as they actually are.
Wands — 14 Cards
The suit of fire, passion, creativity, and ambition. Wands cards carry the energy of beginnings, inspiration, and the will to build something new.
Why Tarot Endures
Tarot is not a belief system. It is a language — 78 symbols that map to recognizable patterns of human experience. The cards don't predict the future. They name what you're living through and invite you to see it clearly.