Raven's Tarot Card Explanations

Explanation for the complete 78-cards-deck of Tarot

This part of the site gives a view on all 78 cards of the Tarot deck, taking the Thoth Crowley Tarot as the primary example. It is designed to give the reader a look on the card's meaning while browing this site and using the Raven's Online Spreads.

Below is a short overview of the contents of this site, just click on the name of a card to go to the extended description.

The Major Arkana

Trump 0 - The Fool

The Fool is the symbol of true innocence, a perfect state of joy and freedom, the sure feeling to be one with the spirit of life, at any time...

Trump 1 - The Magician

The Magician represents consciousness, action and creation. He's the symbol for the idea of manifestation...

Trump 2 - The High Priestess

The High Priestess represents the deeper, more subtile aspect of the female archetype...

Trump 3 - The Empress

The Empress is the friendlier, more approachable aspect of the female archetype. She stands for maternity, love and mercy...

Trump 4 - The Emperor

The Emperor is the social word, the structure of civilization, a symbol for its law and order...

Trump 5 - The Hierophant

The Hierophant is a symbol for a world of belief and confession, may it be a church, a sect or an occult society...

Trump 6 - The Lovers

The Lovers are one of the most complex cards in the Major Arcana, standing for the love in common and the alchemy of the universe...

Trump 7 - The Chariot

The Chariot stands for combined powers, ready to move forward. It represents the dynamic principle and the...

Trump 8 - Adjustment

The adjustment is a symbol for the balance of contrasts, complementing one another and also building up room and time...

Trump 9 - The Hermit

The Hermit represents retirement from the outside world, introversion into the inner self...

Trump 10 - The Wheel of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune is a symbol of destiny and destination, of good luck and bad luck...

Trump 11 - Lust (The Passion)

The Passion is the step into the second decade of the Major Arcana, the point where the journey into the inner depth begins...

Trump 12 - The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man is a symbol for the turning points in life, showing up a need to stop and assess a situation...

Trump 13 - The Death

The Death represents the neverending circle of death and rebirth as the precondition for new life and creation...

Trump 14 - The Art

The Art represents the art of alchemy, the ability to solve and combine, to turn something plain into something precious...

Trump 15 - The Devil

In the Tree of Life the Devil goes from consciousness and harmony to intellect and logic...

Trump 16 - The Tower

The Tower is a symbol of endurance and its destruction, an allusion to sudden...

Trump 17 - The Star

The Star is the trump of hope and trust, for the sensitive understanding of cosmic coherence, the intuition that everything is in balance and harmony...

Trump 18 - The Moon

The Moon will lead us into the blackest depths of our soul, into the world of the subconscious...

Trump 19 - The Sun

The Sun is the symbol of life and light...

Trump 20 - The Aeon (Judgement)

The Aeon is the trump of time and the changes dictated by the times, it addresses finality and destruction as well as liberation, hope and redemption...

Trump 21 - The Universe (World)

The Universe as the end and completion of the Major Arcana is the symbol for the zenith of development...

The Minor Arkana

The Wands represent the element of Fire, the world of Atziluth and Chiah of the soul. Atziluth is the world of pure emanation, the world which flows...

Ace of Wands - The roots of the power of fire

Two of Wands - Dominion

Three of Wands - Virtue

Four of Wands - Completion

Five of Wands - Strife

Six of Wands - Victory

Seven of Wands - Valour

Eight of Wands - Swiftness

Nine of Wands - Strength

Ten of Wands - Oppression

Knight of Wands - Lord of Flame and Lightning

Queen of Wands - Queen of the thrones of flame

Prince of Wands - Prince of the chariot of fire

Princess of Wands - Princess of the shining flame

The Swords represent the element of Air, the world of Yetzirah, Ruach in soul. Yetzirah is the world of formation, of synthesis and analysis...

Ace of Swords - The roots of the powers of Air

Two of Swords - Peace

Three of Swords - Sorrow

Four of Swords - Truce

Five of Swords - Defeat

Six of Swords - Science

Seven of Swords - Futility

Eight of Swords - Interference

Nine of Swords - Cruelty

Ten of Swords - Ruin

Knight of Swords - Lord of the Winds and Breezes

Queen of Swords - Queen of the thrones of Air

Prince of Swords - Prince of the chariot of the winds

Princess of Swords - Princess of the rushing winds

The Cups represent the element of Water, the world of Briah, Neshamah of the soul. Briah translates as "creation", and like Neshamah...

Ace of Cups - The root of the powers of water

Two of Cups - Love

Three of Cups - Abundance

Four of Cups - Luxury

Five of Cups - Disappointment

Six of Cups - Pleasure

Seven of Cups - Debauch

Eight of Cups - Indolence

Nine of Cups - Happiness

Ten of Cups - Satiety

Knight of Cups - Lord of waves and waters

Queen of Cups - Queen of the thrones of water

Prince of Cups - Prince of the chariot of waters

Princess of Cups - Princess of the palace of the floods

The Disks represent the element of the Earth, the world of Assiah, Nefesh in soul. Assiah is the world of making, literally translated as 'action', the actual material area...

Ace of Disks - The root of the powers of Earth

Two of Disks - Change

Three of Disks - Works

Four of Disks - Power

Five of Disks - Worry

Six of Disks - Success

Seven of Disks - Failure

Eight of Disks - Prudence

Nine of Disks - Gain

Ten of Disks - Wealth

Knight of Disks - Lord of the wild and fertile land

Queen of Disks - Queen of the thrones of Earth

Prince of Disks - Prince of the chariot of the Earth

Princess of Disks - Princess of the echoing hills