Knowledge Source · Dictionary
Tarot Dictionary
Every term you'll meet in tarot, clearly explained. Bookmark it as a reference and come back as often as you need.
- Arcana
- Latin for 'mysteries'. The tarot deck is split into Major (22 great mysteries) and Minor (56 everyday mysteries) Arcana.
- Major Arcana
- The 22 archetype cards, from the Fool (0) to the World (XXI). They describe great life lessons and spiritual turning points.
- Minor Arcana
- The 56 cards spread across four suits. They describe daily life, situations and the people around you.
- Suit
- One of the four series within the Minor Arcana: Wands (Fire), Cups (Water), Swords (Air), Pentacles (Earth).
- Court Cards
- The Page, Knight, Queen and King of each suit. They often stand for people in your life or aspects of yourself.
- Pip Cards
- The numbered Minor Arcana cards (Ace through Ten), without a court figure.
- Spread
- The way you lay out the cards. Every position has a meaning (past, advice, obstacle, etc.).
- Querent
- The person the reading is done for, usually yourself, sometimes someone else.
- Significator
- A card consciously chosen to represent the querent or a specific theme in the spread.
- Reversed
- A card drawn upside down. Sometimes an opposite meaning, more often an internal, blocked or more subtle version.
- Upright
- The normal position of a card, with the image clearly readable in front of you.
- Shuffle
- Mixing the cards, not only practical but also ritual. Many shuffle until a card falls out.
- Cut
- Splitting the deck in two after shuffling, with the non-dominant hand. Often followed by placing one half under the other.
- Daily Draw
- Drawing one card a day as a morning ritual, the basis of every good workbook.
- Cosmos Method
- Solara's own reading method where moon phase, planetary position and timestamp are an explicit part of the reading.
- Aspect
- Astrological angle between two planets (conjunction, opposition, square, trine). Colors the energy of a reading.
- Decan
- Ten degrees of a zodiac sign. Every Minor Arcana card (except the Aces) is tied to one decan.
- Numerology
- The meaning of numbers in tarot. Aces = beginning, Tens = completion, Fours = stability, etc.
- Archetype
- A universal pattern of human experience. The Major Arcana are nearly all archetypes in Jungian psychology.