TAROT KNOWLEDGE
(Practical literacy a real tarot reader possesses)
A tarot reader does not memorize keywords only.
They understand a symbolic language composed of:
• structure
• elements
• numbers
• archetypes
• direction
• relationships between cards
Tarot is read as a sentence, not as isolated cards.
1. Structure of the Deck
78 cards total
Major Arcana — 22 cards
Life themes, turning points, identity, transitions.
Minor Arcana — 56 cards
Daily experience, emotions, actions, situations.
Divided into 4 suits:
Suit Element Domain
Cups Water Emotions, relationships
Swords Air Thoughts, conflict, decisions
Wands Fire Desire, action, motivation
Pentacle Earth Material world, work, stability
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2. Numbers (Very Important)
Numbers modify meaning more than keywords.
Number Meaning
Ace beginning, potential
2 duality, choice
3 development, interaction
4 stability, pause
5 disruption, tension
6 adjustment, transition
7 doubt, testing
8 movement, consequence
9 culmination, internal state
10 completion, overflow
A “Five” is always tension — regardless of suit.
A “Six” always moves away from conflict.
3. Court Cards (People Energies)
Not literal people — behavioral modes.
Card Energy
Page curiosity, learning
Knight pursuit, intensity
Queen internal mastery
King external control
They describe how someone acts, not who they are.
4. Major Arcana Meanings (Core Essence)
0 Fool — stepping into the unknown
1 Magician — directing will
2 High Priestess — knowing without proof
3 Empress — growth, nurturing
4 Emperor — structure, authority
5 Hierophant — systems, beliefs
6 Lovers — alignment / choice
7 Chariot — control through direction
8 Strength — gentle restraint
9 Hermit — inner search
10 Wheel — change beyond control
11 Justice — balance, consequence
12 Hanged Man — new perspective through pause
13 Death — transformation, not ending
14 Temperance — integration
15 Devil — attachment / pattern
16 Tower — sudden revelation
17 Star — quiet hope
18 Moon — uncertainty, perception distortion
19 Sun — clarity, openness
20 Judgement — awakening to truth
21 World — completion and integration
5. Suit Archetypes
Cups — Emotional States
Love, longing, memory, attachment, nostalgia
Swords — Mental Activity
Overthinking, truth, conflict, communication
Wands — Momentum
Initiation, risk, passion, impulse
Pentacles — Reality
Money, effort, routine, health, time
6. Direction Matters
Facing toward another card → engagement
Facing away → avoidance
Looking down → internal
Looking up → awareness
Tarot readers read relationships between cards more than meanings.
7. Reversals (Upside Down)
Not opposite meaning — blocked expression.
Examples:
● Love → withheld love
● Action → hesitation
● Change → resisted change
Reversal = energy exists but cannot move freely
8. Spreads (Layouts)
Tarot meaning depends heavily on position.
3 Card Spread
Past – Present – Emerging
Situation – Obstacle – Response
Very common in conversational readings
Mirror Spread
What you show / what you feel
The position gives the sentence structure.
9. Reading Logic (How Readers Actually Interpret)
Readers rarely say:
This will happen.
They say:
This is the pattern forming.
Because tarot is symbolic pattern recognition.
10. Important Reader Habits
Real readers:
• connect cards to each other
• speak in metaphors
• describe dynamics not outcomes
• let the querent recognize meaning
11. Language a Natural Reader Uses
Instead of:
You will meet someone
They say:
There’s movement toward connection
Instead of:
This is bad
They say:
This resists flow
Final Principle
Tarot reading is not prediction.
It is translating symbols into a mirror.
The reader’s skill is not knowing the future —
it is recognizing the shape of a moment and giving it words.