Everything about Major Arcana totally explained
The
Major Arcana (
Trumps Major,
Major Trumps) of the
Tarot deck consists of 22 cards. The name
Major Arcana is used only in esoteric practice. Game players using Tarot decks for
playing call them Trumps and usually only show a Roman or Arabic numeral on each card, plus some decoration that's identical on all of them.
In esoteric sets, each Major Arcanum depicts a scene, mostly featuring a person or several people, with many symbolic elements. In many decks, each has a number (usually in
Roman numerals) and a name, though not all decks have both, and some have only a picture. The earliest decks bore unnamed and unnumbered pictures on the Majors (probably because a great many of the people using them at the time were illiterate), and the order of cards isn't standardised. Nevertheless, one of the most common set of names and numbers is as follows:
Image:1-I-Bateleur.jpg|I - The Magician or Juggler
Image:2-II-Papesse.jpg|II - The High Priestess or Popess
Image:3-III-Imperatrice.jpg|III - The Empress
Image:4-IIII-IV-Empereur.jpg|IV - The Emperor
Image:5-V-Pape.jpg|V - The Hierophant or Pope
Image:6-VI-Amoureux.jpg|VI - The Lovers
Image:7-VII-Chariot.jpg|VII - The Chariot
Image:8-VIII-Justice.jpg|VIII - Justice
Image:9-VIIII-IX-Hermite.jpg|IX - The Hermit
Image:10-X-Roue de la fortune.jpg|X - Wheel of Fortune
Image:11-XI-Force.jpg|XI - Strength
Image:12-XII-Pendu.jpg|XII - The Hanged Man
Image:13-XIII-arcane sans nom.jpg|XIII - Death
Image:14-XIIII-XIV-Tempérance.jpg|XIV - Temperance
Image:15-XV-Diable.jpg|XV - The Devil
Image:16-XVI-Maison Dieu.jpg|XVI - The Tower
Image:17-XVII-Etoile.jpg|XVII - The Star
Image:18-XVIII-Lune.jpg|XVIII - The Moon
Image:19-XVIIII-Soleil.jpg|XIX - The Sun
Image:20-XX-Jugement.jpg|XX - Judgement
Image:21-XXI-Monde.jpg|XXI - The World
The images on the Major Arcana in esoteric decks are often very heavy with symbolism; in
occult decks, there's far more to the illustration than a mere depiction of the card title. The Major Arcana are usually regarded by card readers as relating to matters of higher purpose or deep significance, as opposed to the
Minor Arcana which relate to the everyday world and matters of immediate significance.
Further Information
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