Explaining the Major Arcana
The inclusion of the 22 Major Arcana sets Tarot apart from all other playing card decks, featuring figures that symbolise and individual's growth as they go through life.
For Beginners
When you start using a complete deck in your Tarot readings, you will discover a delicate relationship between the Major and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana represent archetypal symbols and spiritual power, while the Minor Arcana feature less powerful images, focusing on daily and passing events. As you continue on your Tarot journey, you will learn to analyse the interplay between the Major and the Minor Arcana in a Spread. This will allow you to see how the Minor Arcana are influence by the Major Arcana and vice versa.
A Tarot deck has four suits, like a normal pack of playing cards. Unlike a normal deck, however, it also includes the Major Arcana. Also known as soul cards, they encapsulate every known human experience or capability and response to the physical world. The figures on these cards were once called trumps, a term probably inspired by parades popular in Renaissance Europe, known as triumphal processions. Actors in lavish costumes portrayed authority figures (including Emperors and Popes), Christian virtues (such as Strength and Justice), life events (Death and Resurrection) and even heavenly bodies (the Stars, Sun and Moon).
The Progress of the Major Arcana
As the parade progressed, each new character 'triumphed over' (triumphed or outranked) the last. The 22 trumps of the Tarot can be considered a 'paper parade', depicting important truths about life and humanity. Before universal education and the advent of the printing press, such images could be more significant and familiar than the written word.
The illustrations of these trump cards captured the attention of occult scholars in the 19th Century, who realised they were more important than other cards but were not sure what inspired the images. They concluded that the pictures were a visual code concealing ancient secrets, calling the trumps the 'Major Arcana' ('meaning great mysteries') and the other cards the 'Minor Arcana' ('little mysteries').
The Major Arcana is full of archetypes, original models or typical examples that stem from the collective unconscious. The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung was one of the first people to explain this concept of the innate universal prototype, listing figures such as the hero, the child and the trickster.
Model Figures
Mother and Father are two more examples of archetypes, with almost everyone having an understanding of what these terms mean. In Tarot, the Empress card is the archetypal mother, while the Emperor is the archetypal father. The wise man and wise woman are two more examples that find their counterparts in the Major Arcana, in the Hierophant and High Priestess respectively.
An archetype can also be a recurring symbol, such as a cross representing the Christian idea of eternal life, or motif in literature or painting. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and Romero and Juliet are both examples of Lover archetypes. Most of us do not need to be taught the meaning of these archetypes: they are resent in the mind of every human being, symbols that are accessible to us all.
1. The Hero's Journey
As well as archetypal characters, there are archetypal stories that appear again and again in human culture - with 'the Hero's Journey' being reflected in the Major Arcana. The ultimate adventure story, the context and protagonist (or Hero) may change, but the structure remains the same. If you are reading the cards for yourself, then you are the Hero; if reading for someone else, they will be the Hero in their own story.
To understand how the cards relate to the journey, put the Fool to the left and place the remaining Major Arcana cards in three lines following this pattern:
The Fool: The Hero
Cards I-VII: the earthly journey, the material world and encountered personalities.
Cards VIII-XIV: the second stage of the journey, the spiritual world.
Cards XV-XXI: the final stage of the journey, the heavenly world.
2. The Earthly Journey:
Cards I-VII
The story starts with an inexperienced young person (the Fool) setting off to find his or her fortune. The Fool meets a series of earthly authorities, each more powerful than the last: a Magician, a High Priestess, an Empress, an Emperor, a Hierophant (or Pope). Having found his or her true love (the Lovers), the Fool becomes as powerful as it is possible for a human being (the Chariot). From an earthly point of view, the journey is finished.
3. The Spiritual Journey:
Cards VIII-XIV:
The Fool comes to understand that there is power beyond mere material dominance (Strength). Retreating from society (the Hermit), he or she recognises the mystical mechanics of reality (the Wheel) and learns that there is a higher purpose in the Universe (Justice). The Fool faces a difficult test (the Hanged Man) and loses everything (Death). During the process, he or she learns the meaning of life (Temperance), which concludes his or her spiritual growth.
4. The Heavenly Journey:
Cards XV-XXI
Having overcome fear (the Devil) and pride (the Tower), the Fool ascends to the heavens (the Star, the Moon, the Sun) to face one final test (Judgement). He or she is worthy of the greatest reward (the World).
Our Story
This is the tale of every Hero and protagonist. From King Arthur to Luke Skywalker, Wonder Woman to Hermione Granger, the story remains the same. It is a metaphor for growth, lessons and experience, and every life is a Hero's journey. Through each triumph and tribulation, we grow and become closer to our true selves. The Major Arcana is a symbolic representation of this voyage, with the cards indicating where we are in our journey of them.
Major Arcana Variations
The cards of the Major Arcana have remained almost unchanged throughout the history of the Tarot, though some adaptations have occurred. The Fool, for example occasionally appears as the Magician. Similarly, Justice is normally numbered VIII, while Strength is numbered XI, but in the modern decks these two cards are swapped. This means that is not uncommon to find Justice at XI and Strength at number VIII. The Wheel is sometimes called the Wheel of Fortune, while the Lovers and the Stars can also appear in the singular (as the Lover and the Star). Finally, the Fool, usually number 0, at times appears with the number XXII. Bear in mind that each Tarot deck can have small variations, but the ones listed above are the most common.
Major and Minor
Once you are more experienced in the art of Tarot, try making a note of how many Major Arcana and how many Minor Arcana cards you find within a Spread. If there are lots of Major cards, the situation being explored in the reading will have a strong impact on your life. If the opposite occurs and there are just a few Major Arcana cards, the impact on your life is likely to be transitory and mild.