Judgement is one of the most striking cards in the Major Arcana. An angel appears in the clouds, sounding a trumpet, while people rise from their coffins below. Their arms are raised toward the sky, and the entire scene feels as though something important is taking place. Unlike the peaceful atmosphere of The Sun, Judgement … Read more

The Sun is one of the easiest tarot cards to like. A bright sun fills the sky, a child rides openly on a white horse, sunflowers rise behind a wall, and a red banner moves through the centre of the scene. After the uncertainty of The Moon, almost everything here feels open and exposed. There … Read more

The Moon is one of those tarot cards that feels strange before we even try to interpret it. A moon hangs above two towers, a dog and a wolf stand on either side of a path, and a crayfish crawls out of the water below. The road continues into the distance, but we cannot see … Read more

After the chaos of The Tower, The Star feels almost impossibly quiet. There is no lightning, no falling structure, and no one trying to escape. Instead, a nude woman kneels beside a pool beneath an open sky, pouring water onto both the land and the water. The whole scene feels open and calm, especially after … Read more

The Devil is one of those tarot cards that can feel unsettling before we even begin to interpret it. A horned figure sits above two people who are chained to a pedestal. The scene is dark, there is fire in the background, and the two figures seem to be trapped beneath something much larger than … Read more

Temperance is often summed up with a few familiar words: balance, moderation, patience, and harmony. They are all useful meanings, but if we stop there, we miss something important about the card. Look closely at the Rider–Waite–Smith image. The angel is not standing perfectly still between two equal objects. Instead, liquid is being poured from … Read more

Few tarot cards create an immediate reaction as strong as Death. A skeleton in armour rides forward on a white horse. A king lies beneath him, other figures face the rider, and a child looks upward. In the distance, the sun appears between two towers. For someone seeing the card for the first time, the … Read more

The Hanged Man is commonly associated with surrender, waiting, and seeing a situation differently. Yet the history of the card is less peaceful than its modern meanings might suggest. Looking at the suspended figure—from early Italian tarot to the Rider–Waite–Smith deck—reveals how much the interpretation of a single image can change over time. A man … Read more

Justice is often associated with fairness, truth, responsibility, and consequences. In the Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot, a seated figure holds a balanced scale in one hand and an upright sword in the other. Together, these objects raise a question that goes beyond deciding who is right or wrong: what does it take to make a fair judgment? … Read more