The Major Arcana can be read as a single story: the Fool’s Journey. The Fool, numbered 0, sets out on a path and meets each of the other 21 cards in turn. Each meeting is a lesson, and the whole sequence is a map of growth.
Cards 1 to 7: building the self
The Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers and Chariot cover learning to act, to listen inwardly, to create, to structure, to belong, to choose and to move forward with will.
Cards 8 to 14: turning inward
Strength, the Hermit, the Wheel of Fortune, Justice, the Hanged Man, Death and Temperance ask for patience, solitude, acceptance of change, honesty, surrender, endings and balance.
Cards 15 to 21: facing the shadow and arriving
The Devil, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Judgement and World move through confrontation with what binds us, sudden change, hope, uncertainty, joy, renewal and completion.
Why numbers matter
Each card carries a number, and numerology reduces any birth date to one of these cards. That is the idea behind tarot birth cards. Explore all 22 on our Major Arcana page.