The 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot and Their Meanings
The Major Arcana of the tarot are a set of 22 cards loaded with symbolism that represent spiritual lessons and universal archetypes. Each of these cards guides us through the different stages of personal growth, from beginnings full of potential to full realization. In this article we explore the meanings of the Major Arcana, their importance in tarot and how they can help us understand our own path of spiritual transformation.
Table of Contents
- What are the Major Arcana in the Tarot?
- Difference between Major Arcana and Minor Arcana
- The Fool's Journey and His Spiritual Transformation
- How to Interpret the Major Arcana in a Tarot Spread
What are the Major Arcana in the Tarot?
The Major Arcana are 22 cards that form the backbone of the tarot. They represent universal themes such as love, transformation, balance and spiritual enlightenment. These cards, numbered from 0 (The Fool) to 21 (The World), describe a symbolic journey of evolution and personal growth. Each has a profound meaning that goes beyond everyday events, touching on the most important spiritual and emotional aspects of life.
Since their appearance in the tarot decks of the Renaissance, the Major Arcana have been interpreted as a tool to explore the unconscious and to connect with larger spiritual truths. These cards act as mirrors of our psyche, helping us to reflect on our emotions, actions and decisions at crucial moments.
In the series Mystery Teachings of the Tarot, available on Gaia, the deeper symbolism and meanings of these cards are explored. This series offers a practical and spiritual guide to interpreting the tarot and understanding how each major arcane can be a powerful tool for personal transformation.
Difference Between Major Arcana and Minor Arcana
The Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana make up the two main parts of a tarot deck. The Major Arcana represent great spiritual lessons, while the Minor Arcana focus on more practical, everyday issues. For example, the Major Arcana speak to themes such as life purpose, inner transformations and significant challenges, while the Minor Arcana reflect emotions, relationships and specific day-to-day situations.
In turn, the Minor Arcana are divided into four suits: clubs, cups, spades and golds. These suits relate to different areas of life: creativity, emotions, intellect and material matters, respectively. The combination of the Major and Minor Arcana in a spread allows the reader to interpret both the big picture and the specific details of a situation, offering a complete and profound vision.
The Fool’s Journey and His Spiritual Transformation
The Fool’s journey, represented by the 22 Major Arcana, is a metaphor for spiritual transformation. Each card symbolizes a key stage in the process of self-discovery, from initial innocence to full realization. This journey guides us through learning and challenges that reflect personal growth and connection with the divine.
The Fool: the beginning of a new adventure
The Fool marks the beginning of the spiritual journey, symbolizing the unlimited potential and the courage of the unknown. This card encourages us to take a leap of faith, with enthusiasm and confidence in the possibilities that await us. Although the direction is unclear, it represents the opportunity to explore and grow without fear of failure.
The Magician: skill and personal power
The Magician reflects the ability to transform ideas into reality using the tools available. This card symbolizes personal power and the connection between the spiritual and the material. It reminds us that, with confidence and focus, we can manifest our desires and take control of our lives.
The High Priestess: inner wisdom and secrets
The High Priestess represents introspection, intuition and hidden knowledge. She invites us to look within and trust our inner voice to discover deeper truths. This card teaches us that true power comes from self-knowledge and connection with the subconscious.
The Empress: creativity and abundance
The Empress symbolizes fertility, creativity and connection with nature. It represents the blossoming of ideas and abundance in the physical world. This card reminds us of the importance of nurturing our projects and enjoying the beauty and prosperity that surrounds us.
The Emperor: order and authority
The Emperor embodies stability, structure and leadership. It teaches us to set boundaries and organize our lives to achieve our goals. This card symbolizes responsibility and the balanced use of authority to create a solid and secure environment.
The Hierophant: teaching and tradition
The Hierophant symbolizes the knowledge transmitted through traditions, rituals and spiritual authority figures. This card invites us to seek guidance in the collective teachings and accumulated wisdom of generations. It represents learning through established structures and connection to the sacred.
The Lovers: choice and duality
The Lovers represent the important decisions that arise from the duality between desire and responsibility. This card symbolizes the balance between the impulses of the heart and reason. It reminds us that conscious choices, aligned with our values, are key to personal growth and authentic relationships.
The Chariot: determination and success
The Chariot is a symbol of control, discipline and the strength to overcome obstacles. It represents moving towards goals with confidence and focus, managing the tensions between opposing forces. This card encourages us to maintain control over our lives in order to achieve success and recognition.
Justice: balance and truth
Justice symbolizes the search for balance, righteousness and truth. It reminds us that our actions have consequences and that honesty is essential for internal and external well-being. This card invites us to act with integrity and to evaluate our decisions fairly.
The Hermit: inner search and reflection
The Hermit represents the retreat needed to connect with our inner wisdom. It is a call to step away from the external noise and reflect deeply on our experiences. This card teaches us that the answers we seek are found within ourselves, accessible through introspection.
The Wheel of Fortune: change and destiny
The Wheel of Fortune symbolizes the cycles of life and the inevitable changes that shape our path. It represents destiny in constant motion and the opportunity that arises with each unexpected turn. This card encourages us to accept the flow of life with adaptability and confidence in the process.
Strength: courage and personal mastery
Strength symbolizes courage, compassion and control over emotions. It represents the ability to overcome internal challenges with patience and balance, rather than aggression or brute force. This card reminds us that true power comes from personal mastery and confidence in our abilities.
The Hanged Man: sacrifice and perspective
The Hanged Man invites us to accept the sacrifices necessary to gain a new perspective. This card symbolizes the pause and willing surrender that allows us to see situations from a different angle. It teaches us that sometimes letting go of control is key to growth and clarity.
Death: transformation and rebirth
Death does not represent a definitive end, but the necessary transition to a new beginning. This card symbolizes the process of deep transformation as we leave behind what no longer serves us. It reminds us that every ending is an opportunity to be reborn with more strength and wisdom.
Temperance: harmony and patience
Temperance symbolizes balance, moderation and the integration of opposites. It teaches us the importance of finding harmony in our lives through patience and reflection. This card encourages us to flow with natural processes and to seek the center in all things.
The Devil: temptations and attachments
The Devil represents the bondage to habits, desires or thoughts that limit our freedom. He challenges us to recognize these self-imposed chains and to free ourselves from them. This card reminds us that facing our shadows is necessary to regain our personal power.
The Tower: chaos and revelation
The Tower symbolizes the collapse of structures or beliefs that are no longer sustainable. It represents a sudden change that, although chaotic, brings with it a revealing truth. This card teaches us that crises are opportunities to rebuild with authenticity and a more solid foundation.
The Star: hope and guidance
The Star represents renewed faith, inspiration and connection with the divine. It is a card that invites us to look to the future with optimism, confident that we are on the right path. It reminds us that there is always a guiding light even in the darkest moments.
The Moon: intuition and confusion
The Moon symbolizes mystery, intuition and illusions that cloud our judgment. It represents a period of uncertainty where answers are not clear and deep emotions emerge. This card invites us to explore our subconscious and trust our intuition to overcome fear and confusion.
The Sun: clarity and vitality
The Sun represents enlightenment, joy and vitality. This card symbolizes the mental clarity and success achieved after overcoming challenges. It encourages us to celebrate our victories, enjoy life with optimism and embrace our authenticity with confidence.
Judgment: renewal and purpose
Judgment symbolizes spiritual awakening and deep reflection on our actions. It represents an opportunity to leave the past behind and begin anew with clarity and purpose. This card invites us to listen to the call of our soul and align ourselves with our true purpose in life.
The World: fullness and fulfillment
The World is the culmination of the Fool’s journey, symbolizing wholeness, unity and the achievement of our goals. It represents the integration of all the lessons learned along the way. This card reminds us that we have reached a moment of fulfillment and are ready to begin a new cycle.
How to Interpret the Major Arcana in a Tarot Spread
To interpret the Major Arcana in a spread, it is essential to understand that each card symbolizes great lessons or transformative events in the querent’s life. These cards often point to key moments, such as profound changes, important decisions or spiritual learnings. It is important to consider the context of the question and how the card relates to the querent’s current circumstances.
In addition, the Major Arcana cards tend to have a greater weight in a reading. If several appear in a spread, this suggests that the querent is going through a significant period of growth or change. The position of each card is also crucial: it indicates whether the message is related to the past, present or future, which helps to understand the moment of learning.
Finally, interpreting the Major Arcana requires combining the meaning of the card with the reader’s intuition. Each arcane is full of symbolism that can vary according to the situation and the emotions of the querent. By actively listening and connecting with the energy of the spread, the reader can offer an accurate and enriching interpretation that guides the querent toward understanding and empowerment.
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What Is the Dark Night of the Soul and How to Go Through It
The dark night of the soul is a profoundly transformative experience that many people go through at some point in their spiritual journey. It is an intense process of inner crisis, where everything known seems to lose meaning and a genuine search for truth and purpose begins. In this article we explore what it means to go through this stage, how to identify it and what practices can help you to go through it with greater awareness and clarity.
Table of Contents
- What Is the Dark Night of the Soul?
- Signs That You Are Going Through a Dark Night of the Soul
- Differences Between the Dark Night of the Soul and Depression
- Stages of the Dark Night of the Soul
- Spiritual Practices to Pass Through the Dark Night of the Soul
- Spiritual Awakening After the Dark Night of the Soul
- The Dark Night of the Soul in the Teachings of Carl Jung
What Is the Dark Night of the Soul?
The dark night of the soul is a critical stage of spiritual awakening characterized by deep inner turmoil, loss of meaning and confrontation with the most hidden aspects of the self. It often arises after painful events or moments of crisis that shake internal structures and force a rethinking of the direction of life. It is not a psychological disorder, but a spiritual crisis that pushes the individual to detach from previous identities and explore his or her true purpose.
During this phase, there is an apparent disconnection from the outside world and a confrontation with repressed emotions, unhealed wounds and limiting patterns. This experience can be overwhelming, but it is precisely this crumbling that allows for a more authentic reconstruction. Far from being a sign of failure, it is an invitation to let go of what no longer serves to make way for a more integrated version of oneself.
In the series Sacred Power, available on Gaia, Caroline Myss explores this process in depth in the episode “The Dark Night of the Soul”. Through her guidance, you will learn to identify this stage as an essential part of spiritual development, differentiating it from a common emotional crisis, and discover how to transform it into an opportunity for inner growth.
Signs That You Are Going Through a Dark Night of the Soul
Going through a dark night of the soul can seem confusing at first, especially because its symptoms are often mistaken for common emotional or psychological states. However, there are clear signs that indicate a deep spiritual transformation. Here are some of the most common ones:
- Loss of purpose: You feel that nothing that used to motivate you makes sense and you struggle to find direction. The goals that used to drive you no longer represent you.
- Spiritual disconnection: You are overcome with the feeling that you are disconnected from the divine, the universe or any form of spirituality that used to sustain you.
- Constant introspection: You spend a lot of time questioning your beliefs, your personal history and the pillars on which you built your identity.
- Intense and contradictory emotions: You experience deep sadness, anxiety, anger or despair without a clear cause. These emotions seem to arise from a very internal place.
- Voluntary isolation: You prefer to be alone and avoid social contact. Solitude becomes necessary to process what you are experiencing.
- Desire to free yourself from old versions of yourself: There is an urge to let go of roles, masks or expectations that no longer align with who you really are.
- Attraction to the spiritual or mystical: Despite suffering, you feel a growing need to find answers in spiritual teachings, books, therapies or introspective practices.
Differences Between the Dark Night of the Soul and Depression
Although they share certain emotional symptoms, such as deep sadness or inner emptiness, dark night of the soul and depression are not the same. Depression is a clinical condition that may require medical or therapeutic treatment, while the dark night of the soul is a spiritual crisis that acts as a catalyst for deep inner transformation. In depression, there is a sense of stagnation; in the dark night, the pain has an evolutionary meaning, although it may not be evident at first.
During a depression, vital energy tends to decrease drastically, and it is common to feel apathy, total disconnection from the environment and lack of motivation even for basic tasks. On the other hand, those going through a dark night of the soul are often immersed in an existential quest: suffering is accompanied by deep questions about purpose, truth and the meaning of life. Emotional turmoil coexists with a longing for spiritual awakening.
Another key aspect is that depression is usually a closed state, where the person feels trapped, with no way out and no clear direction. The dark night of the soul, on the other hand, although painful, is a dynamic process that pushes toward transformation. As one goes through it, glimmers of clarity, inner realizations and a new connection to the essential begin to emerge.
Stages of the Dark Night of the Soul
The dark night of the soul does not occur suddenly or evenly; it unfolds in distinct stages that reflect the soul’s inner movement toward a new consciousness. It usually begins with an ego-break, followed by a phase of deep emptiness and loneliness, and culminates in surrender, acceptance and a spiritual rebirth that brings with it greater authenticity, connection and inner clarity.
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Ego Rupture and Loss of Meaning
The first stage is usually marked by a crisis that dismantles the personal structures with which the ego identified: roles, achievements, beliefs or relationships. What once gave meaning no longer holds, and the sense of disorientation can be overwhelming. This destabilization is not accidental: it is the way in which the soul begins to free itself from constructs that are no longer coherent with its deepest truth.
At this point, many people feel that they “hit bottom” because life as they knew it is no longer valuable. Certainties fade away and an internal process is triggered that invites a letting go of control. Although painful, this break is necessary to allow an identity to emerge that is more aligned with the soul’s purpose, rather than with external expectations or previous conditioning.
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Existential Emptiness and Inner Loneliness
After the rupture, a deep inner emptiness is experienced. This emptiness is not simply the absence of something, but a pause that interrupts the usual noise of the external world. Life feels directionless and old desires lose strength, giving way to a forced but fertile introspection. The soul enters silence, and that silence can seem unbearable if its purpose is not understood.
Loneliness becomes a constant companion, even when surrounded by other people. It is a loneliness that has nothing to do with social isolation, but with the disconnection from the superficial identity. Through this emotional retreat, an inner purification begins, where the soul is reunited with its essence and learns to sustain itself without depending on external validations.
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Surrender, Acceptance and Spiritual Rebirth
The final stage of the dark night of the soul begins when the person stops resisting the process and surrenders completely to what he or she is experiencing. This surrender is not resignation, but a sincere openness to transformation. Acceptance allows one to see suffering in a different light: no longer as punishment, but as part of the path to a deeper consciousness.
From this surrender, a spiritual rebirth emerges. A new sensitivity is awakened, a more genuine connection with life, and a clearer understanding of who one really is. This transformation does not eliminate the pain experienced, but integrates it as part of a greater wisdom. What once seemed like a crisis with no way out is revealed as an opportunity to begin again, from a truer place.
Spiritual Practices to Pass Through the Dark Night of the Soul
During the dark night of the soul, spiritual practices not only provide emotional containment, but also act as guides to understand the purpose behind the pain. Through concrete tools, it is possible to access states of greater clarity, sustain introspection and strengthen the connection with the spiritual dimension of the process.
- Meditation and contemplation: These practices help quiet the mind and observe thoughts without identifying with them. Through conscious silence, an inner presence is cultivated that brings stability in the midst of emotional chaos.
- Akashic Records: Consulting with an Akashic Records reader allows access to information about the soul’s lessons and the deeper causes behind the current process. This guidance provides a clearer understanding of the spiritual purpose behind what is being experienced.
- Writing and silence: Keeping a journal allows for the release of repressed thoughts and clarification of emotions. Combined with spaces of voluntary silence, it enhances the connection with the inner voice and promotes deep self-exploration.
- Connection with nature: Being in contact with natural environments favors energetic and mental balance. Nature acts as a mirror and support during moments of greater inner disconnection.
- Retreats and sacred spaces: Getting away temporarily from the daily environment allows us to observe life with a greater perspective. These spaces foster a reconnection with the essential and with practices that nourish the soul.
Spiritual Awakening After the Dark Night of the Soul
Overcoming the dark night of the soul marks a before and after in the spiritual experience. What emerges after this journey is not an idealized version of the person, but a more authentic identity, free of conditioning. Awakening is not about feeling happy all the time, but about living with greater awareness, coherence and connection with the transcendent.
This inner rebirth is often accompanied by a deep gratitude for life, a heightened sensitivity to the subtle and an expanded compassion for oneself and others. Perceptions of time, relationships and life purposes change: the essential is prioritized and that which no longer makes sense from the soul is released.
Many people, after going through this transformation, experience a renewal of their faith, an openness to new forms of spirituality and a need to share their experience in order to accompany others. The awakening that follows the dark night is not a final destination, but the beginning of a life more aligned with the inner truth.
The Dark Night of the Soul in the Teachings of Carl Jung
Carl Jung, a pioneer of depth psychology, recognized the dark night of the soul as an inevitable stage on the path to individuation. For Jung, the human soul must confront and reconcile with its “shadow“-the repressed or denied aspects of the self-in order to achieve true spiritual and psychological maturity. This confrontation can generate great suffering, but it is also the gateway to a more integral consciousness.
Jung understood that inner darkness should not be avoided, but integrated. He affirmed that “there is no awakening of consciousness without pain”, and considered that existential crises were opportunities for the unconscious to bring transforming messages. In this sense, the dark night of the soul is not a collapse, but an archetypal process of disintegration and reconstruction of the self.
The Jungian legacy offers valuable tools to go through this period, such as dream work, active imagination and the observation of personal archetypes. Together, these practices allow us to dialogue with the unconscious, recognize repressed contents and move towards a more complete and authentic version of ourselves.
