tarot card meanings, cited to the source

Every card is one recurring human predicament — the leap, the withdrawal, the turning of luck — held up against a Western and an Eastern anchor and closed with a Socratic question. Draw one and you meet a situation philosophers on two continents already argued over, each quote traced to its source. Read the deck straight through and it stops being fortune-telling: it becomes an index of the situations philosophy keeps answering. No predictions here — only the questions worth sitting with.

major arcana · 22 cards

the fool the magician the high priestess the empress the emperor the hierophant the lovers the chariot strength the hermit wheel of fortune justice the hanged man death temperance the devil the tower the star the moon the sun judgement the world

wands · 14 cards

ace of wands two of wands three of wands four of wands five of wands six of wands seven of wands eight of wands nine of wands ten of wands page of wands knight of wands queen of wands king of wands

cups · 14 cards

ace of cups two of cups three of cups four of cups five of cups six of cups seven of cups eight of cups nine of cups ten of cups page of cups knight of cups queen of cups king of cups

swords · 14 cards

ace of swords two of swords three of swords four of swords five of swords six of swords seven of swords eight of swords nine of swords ten of swords page of swords knight of swords queen of swords king of swords

pentacles · 14 cards

ace of pentacles two of pentacles three of pentacles four of pentacles five of pentacles six of pentacles seven of pentacles eight of pentacles nine of pentacles ten of pentacles page of pentacles knight of pentacles queen of pentacles king of pentacles

Ready to use them? draw a reading, go deeper in the essays, or see how a reading is composed — always a question, never a prediction.