Tarot de Marseilles Explained

I have been a fortune teller for a while and I really enjoyed and loved it. I do not practice any more actively but, occasionally, I still read the cards for my friends.

While making a search in the Internet, I noticed that it is very difficult for an amateur, a beginner or a more advanced eager to learn more and/or have free information about tarot cards reading.

Being a good fortune teller can be a lucrative and interesting job. By being a good fortune teller, you have the opportunity to earn a lot of money while working at home.

You also do not have to invest a lot of money in our business: a table, two chairs, a tarot cards deck, some candles, incense... that's it!

On the other hand, having the basic knowledge of the tarot cards meaning can be very interesting especially if you want to learn more about your future without having to pay $ 75 up to $300 for a consultation with a professional.

Also, it is interesting if you plan to use the tarot cards quite often; for instance, if you want to know how will be your day or a date, etc.

That is why I create this page: to give anyone interested in the Tarot de Marseilles cards - or any other tarot card play - the opportunity to "look at the product" before buying.

If you are interested in tarot cards reading, then this page will be your guide.

Briefly explained, the Tarot de Marseilles is a card deck in which the cards are called "arcanas" and composed of 78 Arcanas (or slides): 22 major arcanas (that are mainly used) and 56 minor arcanas (that are used in addition to the major arcanas in games that fall into more details).

Both the major and minor arcanas are numbered.

Below is the list of the major arcanas:

1. The Magician
2. The High Priestess
3. The Empress
4. The Emperor
5. The Pope
6. The Lovers
7. The Chariot
8. Justice
9. The Hermit
10. The Wheel of Fortune
11. Strength
12. The Hanged Man
13. Death (or The No Name Arcana)
14. Temperance
15. The Devil
16. The Tower
17. The Star
18. The Moon
19. The Sun
20. Judgement
21. The World
22. The Fool

Regarding the minor arcana, they are divided in four suits that can be associated with figures of our traditional card games:

1. Spears (Diamonds)

2. Cups (Hearts)

3. Coins (Clubs)

4. Swords (Spade)

Each suit includes 14 arcanas (1 to 10, Page, Knight, Queen and King).

There are two types of cards interpretation: in the right position (top up) that gives a positive interpretation and the reverse position (top to bottom) that gives a negative interpretation.

Here are some basic explanations that will allow you an insight into the meaning of the cards and their effect on certain areas (1 star for low and 3 stars for excellent).

The Magician:

• Up: beginning of a relationship, new job, good luck
• Down: failure, lack of selfconfidence
• Finances, Professional, Health, Spirituality: 2 stars
• Love: 3 stars

The High Priestess:

• Up: patience, wisdom, a woman, a wife, a mother
• Down: lack of knowledge, superficiality
• Love, Finances, Professional: 1 star
• Health: 2 stars
• Spirituality: 3 stars

The Empress:

• Up: success, energy, happiness
• Down: ennemy, weakness, disagreement
• Love, Professional: 3 stars
• Finances, Health, Spirituality: 2 stars

The Emperor:

• Up: selfconfidence, power, domination
• Down: arrogance, laziness
• Love, Health: 1 star
• Professional: 2 stars
• Finances: 3 stars

The Pope:

• Up: kindness, respectability, generosity
• Down: conservatism, cowardice
• Spirituality:3 stars
• Health, Professional: 2 stars
• Love, Finances: 1 star

The Lovers:

• Up: indecision, temptations, waiting
• Down:rupture, selfishness, depression
• Love, Health, Spirituality: 1 star

The Chariot:

• Up:success, triumph, travel
• Down:failure, confusion
• Finances, Professional: 3 stars
• Health, Spirituality: 2 stars
• Love:1 star

Justice:

• Up: balance, good decisions, common sense
• Down: incorrection, prejudice, hypocrisy
• Finances, Professional: 2 stars
• Love, Health, Spirituality: 1 star

The Hermit:

• Up: protection, isolation, misanthropy
• Down: selfishness, pessimism
• Spirituality: 3 stars

The Wheel Of Fortune:

• Up: chance, opportunities, positive changes
• Down: failure, instability, blocking
• Finances, Professional: 3 stars
• Love, Health, Spirituality: 2 stars

Strength:

• Up: power, domination, success
• Down: meanness, tyranny, sterility
• Health: 3 stars
• Love, Professional, Finances, Spirituality: 2 stars

The Hanged Man:

• Up: waiting, failure

• Down: sacrifice, egocentrism, anguish

• Spirituality: 3 stars

The Death:

• Up: transormation, the end of something, failure
• Down: accident, blocking, disappointment
• Spirituality: 2 stars

Temperance:

• Up: harmony, balance, friendship, communication
• Down: disorder, apathy, disagreement

• Love, Finances, Professional, Health, Spirituality: 2 stars

The Devil:

• Up: domination, sex, immorality

• Down: punishment, vice, virus

• Finances: 2 star
• Love, Professional: 1 star

The Tower:

• Up: warning, conflict, difficulties

• Down: chocking, submission

• Spirituality: 2 stars

The Star:

• Up: happiness, balance, opportunities
• Down: pessimism, mistakes, misfortune
• Love, Spirituality: 3 stars
• Finances, Professional, Health: 2 stars

The Moon:

• Up: danger, illusions, nightmare

• Down: masochism, disorder, jealousy

• Professional, Spirituality: 2 stars

• Love, Health: 1 star

The Sun:

• Up: happiness, love, accomplishment,

• Down: success delayed, vanity, banality
• Love, Finances, Professional: 3 stars

• Health: 2 stars

• Spirituality: 1 star

The Judgement:

• Up: positive changes, resurrection, success

• Down: prostration, conflict, turmoil
• Love, Finances, Professional: 3 stars
• Health, Spirituality: 2 stars

The World:

• Up: happy events, victory, development
• Down: stagnation, dispersion, hostility
• Finances, Professional, Spirituality: 3 stars

• Love: 2 stars

• Health: 1 star

The Fool:

• Up: confusion, extravagance, leak

• Down: heedlessness, exhibitionnism

• Spirituality: 1 star

Simple 5 Cards Crossed Spread

I will not walk you through the minor arcanas details as it would take too long. The details will be available on the main site within some days...

But what you read here will help you to practice a simple draw (see picture).

Example:

Think about what you want to learn from the cards, ask your question, shuffle the cards, cut the play (with the left hand), spread the cards and select four cards.

Put one card to the left, the second to the right, the third one on top of the spread and the last one at the bottom.

You can interpret this draw like this:

• Card to the left: positive
• Card to the right: negative
• Top card: you and your question
• Bottom card: the answer.

The card in the center is "the synthesis". In order to obtain the synthesis, you just have to add the cards drawn such as: The Magician (=1) + The Tower (=16) + The Sun (=19) + The High Priestess (=2), the result is: 38.

3 + 8 = 11, so the synthesis is 11: The Strength.

Good luck and thank you very much for your visit :)

Edited on April 11th, 2010: I started a short course on HubPages that will walk you through the 22 tarot major arcana separately - this will be useful for you to learn how to read the tarot cards.