The 78 Tarot Cards: Major and Minor Arcana
A tarot deck contains 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana cards. Majors often point to life stages and central themes; minors describe everyday actions, emotions, thoughts, and resources.
Major Arcana: 22 Cards for Broader Themes
The Major Arcana represent broad themes such as change, choice and completion. In a beginner reading, compare the card’s image and meaning with the question and its position rather than treating it as a fixed prediction.
Minor Arcana: 56 Cards Across Four Suits
The Minor Arcana contain four suits of fourteen cards each. Numbered cards and court cards add everyday situations and approaches; suit, rank and spread position work together when you interpret a card.
The Four Minor Arcana Suits and Their Meanings
Wands relate to action and passion, Cups to emotion and relationships, Swords to thought and communication, and Pentacles to work, the body, and practical resources.
How to Complete Your First Tarot Reading
Write down a question, shuffle while holding it in mind, and draw one to three cards. Describe what you see before checking meanings, then finish with one practical action.
A first reading, from question to action
Try “What would help me restart my drawing practice this week?” Before drawing, assign three positions: current pattern, obstacle, next step. An illustrative draw is Four of Cups, Eight of Swords and Page of Pentacles. This is a teaching example, not a draw made for you.
Four of Cups might describe disengagement; Eight of Swords might invite you to question the belief that you must already be good; Page of Pentacles suggests a beginner exercise. An alternative reading is that you simply need rest before adding a hobby. Check which account matches your actual week.
A practical action is one ten-minute sketch after a restful evening. Write down what you tried and how it felt. The point is to practice interpreting positions together, not to prove that three cards knew your future.
Reading one card without memorizing everything
Describe the card before consulting a meaning: a gesture, a contrast or an object that attracts attention. Then read its upright and reversed notes in the library. Choose the interpretation that speaks to the question and explain why, while acknowledging what does not fit.
For your first few sessions, decide in advance whether you will use reversals. You can learn upright meanings first. Adding reversals later should expand your interpretation, not turn half the deck into automatic bad news.
A four-session practice route
Session one: read one card for attention and write three observations. Session two: use situation, obstacle and next step. Session three: revisit the same cards in different positions to see how the meaning changes. Session four: compare the journal entry with what you actually did.
Continue with the card library when you need a reference and the techniques guide when you want more deliberate practice. Do not add a large spread until each extra position answers a distinct question.