How Tarot Works
Understanding tarot
How Tarot Works
Cards drawn at random – shuffled by chance, laid by chance. How can they say anything about your life? A look at what happens inside you during a tarot reading.
Chance – or what comes your way
The German word for chance, “Zufall”, originally meant what falls to a person: the unexpected that comes to you like a gift or a message. For a long time it was seen as a sign of something greater. Only later did chance become a synonym for randomness. When we read the cards, we return to the old meaning: the card you draw is what comes your way in this moment.
Your inner self knows more
What you consciously think is only a small part of you. Beneath it lies a vast inner knowing – feelings, hunches, memories, longings. It speaks in images: in dreams, in sudden insights, in encounters. The cards give it a visual language you can read.
A conversation with yourself
This turns a card reading into an inner dialogue. You ask a question, the cards answer in images, and you recognize something of yourself in them. Above the temple at Delphi it already said: “Know thyself.” Those who ask the cards in this spirit find their own path. Those who want lottery numbers from them usually find disappointment.
The great journey in 22 images
Together, the 22 Major Arcana tell an ancient story: a person’s journey to themselves. Fairy tales and myths in every culture tell the same journey. Here it is – card by card.
Chapter one · Setting out
The FoolThe Fool
At the beginning stands someone who knows little and dares everything. The Fool ties up his bundle, whistles a tune and sets off – eyes on the sky, a little dog at his side. Where the road leads is open. That’s exactly why he can find anything.
Chapter two · The forces that shape us
The MagicianThe Magician
Soon he meets the Magician, who shows him that the world holds tools ready – and that he himself can make things happen. For the first time, the Fool feels his own will.
The High PriestessThe High Priestess
Then he meets the High Priestess. She says little, but in her silence he learns to listen to an inner voice that reaches deeper than any knowledge.
The EmpressThe Empress
With the Empress he experiences warmth, abundance and a sense of safety. Here he grows, is nourished and learns to enjoy life.
The EmperorThe Emperor
The Emperor shows him the other side: order, boundaries, responsibility. From him the Fool learns that dreams need a solid form.
The HierophantThe Hierophant
Finally, the Hierophant gives him values for the road – the wisdom of the elders and the question of meaning.
Chapter three · Your own choice
The LoversThe Lovers
Equipped with everything he has been given, the Fool faces his first great decision. With the Lovers he has to choose – with his heart. He chooses his own path.
The ChariotThe Chariot
And he sets out. In the Chariot he rides out into the world, full of strength and confidence, reins firmly in hand. He wants to conquer, to experience, to arrive.
Chapter four · Growing up
StrengthStrength
Along the way he meets his wild side, the lion within. With Strength he learns to tame it with love instead of force.
The HermitThe Hermit
The noise of the world becomes too loud. As the Hermit he withdraws, climbs the mountain and searches with his lantern for what truly matters.
Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune
At the top he recognizes the Wheel of Fortune: everything turns, and every person has their task within it. For the first time, he senses his own.
JusticeJustice
Justice teaches him to take responsibility. He understands: what he sows, he will reap. He weighs things up and decides clearly.
Chapter five · The way through the depths
The Hanged ManThe Hanged Man
Then, suddenly, everything stands still. The Fool is stuck, upside down, caught between everything he wanted. As the Hanged Man, only one thing is left to him: to see the world from a completely different side.
DeathDeath
What has carried him so far dies. Death takes from him what he was holding on to – and he has to say goodbye to who he was.
TemperanceTemperance
In the midst of the darkness he meets Temperance, an angel pouring water between two cups. He learns what healing needs: patience and the right measure.
The DevilThe Devil
But he has to go deeper still. With the Devil he looks at his shadow – his greed, his fears, his chains. And he notices that they sit loosely.
The TowerThe Tower
Then lightning strikes. The Tower he has built for himself collapses. Everything false falls away from him. It’s shattering – and it sets him free.
Chapter six · The return to the light
The StarThe Star
In the stillness after the storm, the Star appears. For the first time in a long while, the Fool feels hope again. He draws fresh water and new strength.
The MoonThe Moon
The way home leads through one last night. Under the Moon, shapes blur and fears howl like dogs by the roadside. He keeps going, step by step, following his inner light.
The SunThe Sun
And then the Sun rises. Like a child he rides into the brightness, light, joyful and as if newly born.
Chapter seven · Homecoming
JudgementJudgement
A trumpet calls. At Judgement, everything that seemed lost awakens in him to new life. He is redeemed and now knows what he was called for.
The WorldThe World
In the end he dances in the World, in a laurel wreath, whole and arrived. He is at home in himself. And as the circle closes, it is already opening – for everyone who arrives is also a Fool at the start of a new journey.
At the reading table you can experience this journey yourself: in “Your Journey”, the Fool shows where you currently stand on your path. To the reading table →
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