tarocchi
Major Arcana
The major arcana (from the Latin arcanum, "secret") are the 22 fundamental symbolic cards of the tarot deck. Numbered from 0 (the Fool) to XXI (the World), they represent universal archetypes of human life: love, power, death, transformation, fortune, justice, enlightenment.
Complete list
0 The Fool, I The Magician, II The High Priestess, III The Empress, IV The Emperor, V The Hierophant, VI The Lovers, VII The Chariot, VIII Justice, IX The Hermit, X The Wheel of Fortune, XI Strength, XII The Hanged Man, XIII Death (often unnamed), XIV Temperance, XV The Devil, XVI The Tower, XVII The Star, XVIII The Moon, XIX The Sun, XX Judgement, XXI The World.
The "Fool s journey"
A widespread reading, popularized by Eden Gray in the 1960s, sees in the major arcana a path of symbolic growth: the Fool (0) crosses the 21 subsequent cards as stages of an initiatory journey, up to the fulfillment of the World (XXI). It is a useful didactic key, not the only one.
FAQ
How many cards are there?
Twenty-two, numbered from 0 to XXI.
Is XI Strength or Justice?
It depends on the deck: in the traditional Marseille XI is Strength and VIII is Justice; in the Rider-Waite, Waite inverted the positions for astrological reasons, XI is Justice and VIII is Strength.
Is Death a negative card?
No. It symbolizes a passage, a transformation, the end of a cycle to make room for the new. Rarely does it speak of physical death.