Tarot Glossary
Every term a tarot reader uses — the arcana and the suits, spreads and positions, court cards, reversals, and the words of the reading itself — defined in plain language.
New to the cards? Start with the free lessons or browse all 78 card meanings. The terms below link to a fuller explanation where one exists.
- Tarot
- A deck of 78 illustrated cards used for reflection and divination — 22 Major and 56 Minor Arcana.
- Arcana
- Latin for “secrets.” The 78 tarot cards split into two arcana: the 22 Major and the 56 Minor.
- Major Arcana
- The 22 trump cards, The Fool through The World — life's great archetypes and turning points.
- Minor Arcana
- The 56 suit cards (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles) dealing with everyday matters and situations.
- Suit
- One of the four families of the Minor Arcana: Wands, Cups, Swords, or Pentacles.
- Court Card
- The Page, Knight, Queen, and King of a suit — often standing for people or facets of personality.
- Pip Card
- A numbered Minor Arcana card, Ace through Ten.
- Numerology
- The symbolic weight of numbers; in tarot a card's number marks its stage — Aces begin, Tens complete.
- Rider-Waite-Smith
- The 1909 tarot deck illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith for A. E. Waite — the most widely used deck.
- Trump
- An older name for a Major Arcana card, from tarot's origin as a trick-taking card game.
- Wands
- The suit of Fire — passion, creativity, drive, and action.
- Cups
- The suit of Water — emotion, relationships, intuition, and love.
- Swords
- The suit of Air — thought, intellect, truth, and conflict.
- Pentacles
- The suit of Earth — work, money, the body, and the material world.
- Fire
- The element of Wands — energy, passion, willpower, and inspiration.
- Water
- The element of Cups — emotion, intuition, and relationships.
- Air
- The element of Swords — intellect, communication, and conflict.
- Earth
- The element of Pentacles — material life, work, money, and the body.
- Elemental Dignities
- How neighbouring cards strengthen or weaken each other by element — fire and air agree; fire and water clash.
- Upright
- A card drawn right-way-up, expressing its meaning directly and outwardly.
- Reversed
- A card drawn upside-down, shading its meaning toward the blocked, inward, or shadow side.
- Spread
- The pattern cards are laid in, each position carrying its own meaning.
- Position
- A single slot in a spread with an assigned meaning (e.g. “the past”), which frames the card that lands there.
- Celtic Cross
- A classic ten-card spread examining a question from many angles — present, challenge, past, future, hopes, and outcome.
- Three-Card Spread
- A simple three-card reading, most often Past, Present, and Future.
- Past–Present–Future
- The most common three-card layout: one card for what's behind you, one for now, one for where it's heading.
- Open Reading
- A reading with no set question — “show me what I need to see” — letting the cards raise the subject.
- Yes/No Reading
- A quick reading that treats a single card (or its orientation) as a yes, no, or maybe to a direct question.
- Querent
- The person a reading is for — the one asking the question.
- Significator
- A card chosen to represent the querent or the heart of the question.
- Clarifier
- An extra card pulled to shed light on a confusing or ambiguous card already in the spread.
- Reading
- A single session of drawing and interpreting cards in a spread to reflect on a question or moment.
- Cartomancy
- Divination using cards of any kind — tarot is one branch; ordinary playing cards are another.
- Intuition
- The felt, immediate sense a card or spread gives you — read alongside the traditional meanings, not against them.
- Keywords
- The short tag-words attached to a card (e.g. “new beginnings, potential”) — a memory aid, not the whole meaning.
- The Fool's Journey
- A way of reading the 22 Major Arcana in order as one story — the Fool's path from innocence to wholeness.
- Ace
- The first card of a suit — its raw potential, seed, and pure essence.
- Page
- The youngest court card — a curious learner or messenger of the suit.
- Knight
- A court card of action — the suit's energy in motion and pursuit.
- Queen
- A court card of inward mastery — nurturing and embodying the suit.
- King
- A court card of outward mastery — authority and command of the suit.
- the Sun
- In astrology, the core self, vitality, and conscious will.
- the Moon
- In astrology, the emotions, instincts, and inner world.
- Mercury
- The planet of mind, communication, and quick thinking.
- Venus
- The planet of love, beauty, harmony, and values.
- Mars
- The planet of drive, courage, conflict, and desire.
- Jupiter
- The planet of expansion, luck, growth, and abundance.
- Saturn
- The planet of structure, discipline, limits, and time.
- Uranus
- The planet of sudden change, awakening, and rebellion.
- Neptune
- The planet of dreams, intuition, illusion, and surrender.
- Pluto
- The planet of transformation, death-and-rebirth, and deep power.
- Aries
- Cardinal Fire sign — initiative, courage, and assertive drive.
- Taurus
- Fixed Earth sign — stability, sensuality, and steadfastness.
- Gemini
- Mutable Air sign — curiosity, communication, and duality.
- Cancer
- Cardinal Water sign — nurture, home, and emotional depth.
- Leo
- Fixed Fire sign — confidence, warmth, and self-expression.
- Virgo
- Mutable Earth sign — analysis, service, and discernment.
- Libra
- Cardinal Air sign — balance, justice, and relationship.
- Scorpio
- Fixed Water sign — intensity, transformation, and depth.
- Sagittarius
- Mutable Fire sign — exploration, freedom, and meaning.
- Capricorn
- Cardinal Earth sign — ambition, structure, and mastery.
- Aquarius
- Fixed Air sign — vision, individuality, and ideals.
- Pisces
- Mutable Water sign — compassion, imagination, and surrender.