major arcana cards in readings

Today on CARD TALK, I’ll cover:
-the reality that major arcana cards can feel scary
-why majors show up in our readings
-what majors can offer us in readings
-resources for building relationships with these cards
-questions to ask yourself when majors show up in readings

Recommended resources:
-Archetype Medicine lecture: work with an individual archetype for the kind of support you need, right now
-Next Level Tarot: learn to connect cards together in your readings and spreads
-Devils & Digits (tarot numerology) AND Card Connections (building personal relationships with all 78 tarot cards) through the 3am.tarot conservatory
-devils & fools newsletter: free essays on all 22 majors

For more on Meg, check out 3amtarot.com, and order your copy of Finding the Fool through Bookshop.org or your favorite local bookstore.

Find episode transcripts and more over on the CARD TALK website. And as a special thank you for CARD TALK listeners, click here to download a completely free, exclusive workbook for building your best personal tarot practice.

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Chapters

• 0:11 Understanding Major Arcana Tarot Cards
• 6:37 Exploring Major Arcana in Tarot
• 15:46 Interpreting Major Arcana Tarot Cards
• 21:19 Engaging Tarot Podcast Discussion

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:11

I'm Meg Jones-Wall and this is Card Talk, a mini podcast for tarot basics and evergreen insights. I'm here to help you build a tarot practice that works for you. Glad you're here. In today's episode, we are going to be talking about how to approach major arcana cards when they show up in your tarot readings. Last time I offered a introduction to major arcana cards, so to speak. I talked about how they fit into the tarot as a whole, different ways to work with them individually, different ways that we can understand them on a broad level, and what they can offer to us as medicine outside of our readings, in other words, why it can be valuable to build relationships with the major arcana cards through study. But in this episode, we're going to talk about some different ways to interpret and work with major arcana cards when they show up in your personal tarot readings. I wanted to start with the majors in this pair of episodes because I know that when major arcana cards show up in your personal tarot readings. I wanted to start with the majors in this pair of episodes because I know that when major arcana cards show up in your readings, sometimes it can feel really intense, really emotional or even really scary, and so I wanted to have this available to you as soon as possible so that if you are someone who pulls a lot of majors in your readings, or you've been pulling the same card in your readings, or you just generally panic when you see major arcana archetypes, I want to offer you some general support and comfort and advice for moving through those readings with a little bit more ease and confidence. And don't worry, I will be doing pairs of episodes just like this for the minor arcana pips as well as the minor arcana court cards. Now, because I'm a tarot teacher, I do have a number of resources that have already been written that are available to you anytime that can help you understand how to work with the archetypes outside of readings as well as within readings. So make sure you check the show notes, because I'm going to include links to all of those resources right there for easy access.

Speaker 1: 2:02

First, I want to just acknowledge that majors can feel really, really scary when they show up in your readings. They can feel big, they can feel intense, they can feel overwhelming, and so if this is you, I just want to affirm and assure you that you're not weird or a bad tarot reader or doing something wrong If flipping a major arcana card over in your reading, or even multiple major arcana cards over in your reading, makes you kind of panic or worry that you're going to have to sift through this giant reading. Now, I think there's a number of reasons that these cards can feel so intimidating, and part of it is just the language that we use to talk about them and look, I'm guilty of this too. We call them the major arcana. That automatically seems to kind of elevate them or separate them or make them feel distinct from the rest of the deck in a way. That's really special, and I think that that is really emphasized in the ways that we talk about these cards as trumps and as archetypes. We frame them as huge transformational events or moments, as really rare special cards that indicate a big shift or a massive change or an important lesson. It's a lot to put on these cards and I'm going to be real with you.

Speaker 1: 3:12

I do think that the majors are special cards. Okay, I do think that they are significant and powerful and important, but I think that when that's, what we focus on is the bigness of these cards, the overwhelming intensity of these cards. It can create a lot of distance in how we connect with the cards. It can make it harder for us to see ourselves in the cards or to see the energy of those cards in our lives, which can make it harder for us to work with them, especially when they come up in a reading on something that feels important or tender or really personal. But if you haven't gone back and listened to the episode that I released prior to this, the intro to major arcana archetypes, please go listen to it, because I talk about how these cards can be teachers and mentors, how they can represent moments in a story or a broader narrative, how they can show up as opportunities or advice, and also how we can start to work with them outside of readings as forms of medicine that can really show up for support. Part of the reason that I talk so much about having a study practice besides your reading practice is for this very reason, because then, when a major arcana archetype shows up in your reading, you have not just the keywords and definitions that tarot teachers or your tarot guidebook might offer. You also have your own notes and experiences and emotions. You already have your own kind of set of information and knowledge and reflections around this card, which means that it can be a little bit less intimidating because you already have a relationship with this card, right. It means that it's a little easier to listen thoughtfully and openly instead of just drowning in panic. But anyway, I promise I'll stop talking about studying.

Speaker 1: 4:51

This is the episode about reading. I want you to really remember that the major arcana is part of the tarot. There's 78 cards, the majors are 22 of them and so, just like majors are part of the entire deck, majors are another part of the language of tarot. They are just one portion, which means that they are one of the tools that the cards are going to use to communicate with you. They are one set of ideas or keywords or meanings that the deck is going to use to communicate whatever they want to communicate with you.

Speaker 1: 5:25

Regardless of whether you like the majors feeling like really big cards or you'd prefer to make them feel a little bit more approachable and manageable, I want to emphasize that major arcana cards showing up in your personal tarot readings do not mean that the world is ending or that your entire life is going to blow up, or that whatever you're reading about is in for huge, catastrophic change or huge, incredible success, right? Major arcana cards are simply indicators that there is substantial energy within or around the reading or the topic that you're reading about. This can mean that there are opportunities for something major to happen or shift or settle, but sometimes it can also just be the cards acknowledging that you are in a big, pivotal moment or that you are wrestling with intense emotions or making a big choice or moving through a big crossroads. Right, sometimes the cards just want to acknowledge where we already are rather than indicating what's going to happen. This is also why I talk so much about tarot beliefs. It's important to know what you think the cards are communicating with you and where that's coming from when you're reading. That can also really help soothe any frayed nerves or rough edges when it comes to pulling major arcana cards.

Speaker 1: 6:37

All right, let's get into some of the nitty gritty here. First, let's talk about why major arcana cards might be showing up in your reading. Okay, why are they there? What's the point? Remember that majors can represent pretty much anything, which includes transitional moments or new opportunities. They can indicate that we're thinking about something significant or working through a big revelation. Majors are simply indicating that you were in a big moment, whatever that might mean, whatever that might look like, I like to think of majors as showing us that something matters, or that we're having an impact, or that something is as big as it might feel that it is.

Speaker 1: 7:14

If it feels like you're making a really big deal out of something that you think shouldn't be a big deal, sometimes having a major show up in your reading can indicate hey, this actually gets to be important because it's important to you. Okay, so this can be a really reassuring thing in telling you that what you're thinking about, what you're working through, what you're wrestling with, what you're looking for clarity around or looking for advice around or looking for support around, gets to be important. It gets to take up space. But I also want to acknowledge that when we're trying to make something be small, when we want to just move through it quickly, when we're trying to get something over with or figure out how to move through a decision or a challenge or a crossroads as efficiently and quickly as possible, sometimes majors can indicate that this is a bigger deal than we're letting it be and that we need to let that take up more space, which I just want to acknowledge can be a little bit frustrating sometimes. Right, I think majors really do indicate that there is something happening that is worthy of our energy and attention.

Speaker 1: 8:13

But I think the other major reason, I think the other big reason that majors can show up in our readings is that the major arcana is often the simplest, most direct way to communicate a piece of advice and insight, a truth or a warning that the cards want to make sure we hear, an insight, a truth or a warning that the cards want to make sure we hear. I know we'd all love to imagine that every single tarot reading we do is deeply magical, that we're super tuned in, that we make it this really beautiful ritual experience where we're deeply in touch with our intuition and our magic and our spirit and our flow. But sometimes we just are like pulling cards in a really mundane way, in just an everyday way. Sometimes we might be distracted when we're pulling cards, sometimes we might be kind of pissed off when we're pulling our cards, and so I think the major arcana can be really useful in a way that they kind of wake us up right. They demand that we look at what's going on, they pull our focus and they kind of snap their fingers and wave their hands in front of our eyes and say, hey, hey, listen up, I've got a message for you.

Speaker 1: 9:16

In my own practice, I find that majors sometimes come forward when the cards just want to make sure I'm not missing something, especially if I'm asking about something that I have talked about with my cards before or just something that's been on my mind a lot lately, even if I haven't brought it to the tarot. Let me give you an example. It's possible, of course, that the seven of swords could come up as a card that asks me to consider my motivations in a particular situation, that wants me to slow down, that wants me to be careful, interrogate where information is coming from, be critical of what truths are being shared with me, pay attention to my own sense of truth and purpose, to the information I'm putting out there. The seven of swords has a lot of potential, but those are some of the most common meetings that we see for this card. But if it's really important for me to do that right, if the tarot really wants me to pay attention to my motivations, to dig into and explore my sense of purpose, to honor my intuition and sense of authenticity instead of getting caught up in the noise, there are a couple of major arcana cards they could give to me instead, right, the priestess, for example, or the chariot, or the hermit, or even the moon. Any of those cards could push me to interrogate what I'm working towards, how I'm choosing the path that I want to take towards that destination, what I'm trusting in, how I trust myself and what is really motivating and inspiring my efforts. Any of those cards, including the seven of swords, depending on the question that I'm asking and the context of the reading and the other cards that come forward, could push me in that direction. But if I'm kind of distracted, if I haven't been really listening to the cards in previous readings or my focus is elsewhere, pulling a major, the cards, giving me one of those major arcana archetypes, might be more likely to get me to set up and pay attention. Majors can come up for lots of different reasons in your readings, but I find that those are two of the most prominent ones, at least in my own practice. Now, what can the majors offer to us in readings?

Speaker 1: 11:18

I've talked about this a little bit in the previous episode, but I want you to remember that every archetype has its own medicine and its own motivations. That goes for both personal study, things that we can really interrogate when we work with a card one-on-one, but it also applies to your individual readings with these cards. Remember that when we're looking at the tarot through the lens of story, especially in the major arcana, we see every archetype sitting at a particular point in the narrative. Every one of these cards is living and breathing in between two other parts of the journey, and so by thinking critically about what each archetype is interested in, what they're motivated by, what they're trying to accomplish, what their purpose is, as well as where they're coming from or what they're reacting to, as well as where they're going and how they're changing or adapting, in thinking about all of those different things, we can get a much clearer perspective on why this archetype cares about, what they care about, what matters to them, and in thinking about that, we can start to understand why they might be showing up in a particular reading and what they might be literally trying to offer to us as medicine.

Speaker 1: 12:26

This story aspect is part of why I love numerology so much in working with Tarot, because numerology can really help us to recognize what each card is directly trying to accomplish, as well as where they're situated in the larger narrative and cycle, not just of the numerological cycle of one through nine, but also the broader cycles of the major arcana. Now, if you're interested in incorporating numerology into the tarot, digging more into the narratives of every card in the deck, check out my monthly membership, the 3DM Tarot Conservatory, because it does include my flagship tarot numerology course, devils in Digits. It's one of the most beloved things I've ever made. It's self-paced, it's really accessible and it's a great way to anchor into individual archetypes as well as look at the entire story of the major arcana as a whole. It's incredibly practically helpful for your tarot readings.

Speaker 1: 13:19

Now, another thing that the major arcana cards can offer to us in readings is literal companionship and teachings. Remember that these archetypes are figures and energies that you can actively tap into or explore or get to know whenever you want, and so sometimes a major arcana card might be emerging in your reading as a path forward or even as like a hand extended to you. In terms of care, if you think about these archetypes as being these scary things that exist outside of you, it might be really hard to connect with them. But if you start to learn how to see yourself in each archetype, or learn how to see the version of an archetype within yourself. By working with them closely, by studying with them, by building relationships with them, it makes them a lot easier to get to know and it might mean that you're even delighted when they pop up or excited to see these cards come forward in your readings.

Speaker 1: 14:14

My best and quickest example is that I was raised evangelical. I was raised to fear Satan. I attended like a fire and brimstone John Edwards style church growing up and I was taught to fear Satan and the devil. I was taught that sin was the worst possible thing about me. I was taught all kinds of things that we don't have time to get into now. But now, because I've spent so much time with the tarot and with the devil archetype in particular, a figure that used to be really scary and frightening and deeply upsetting, now it feels like an old friend. When I pull the devil out in my readings, I laugh because it means so many beautiful things to me and I have such a rich and robust relationship with this specific archetype. Part of the reason I feel so strongly about working with archetypes in particular is because those kinds of experiences are really beautiful and really nourishing and if you want to. I want you to be able to also have those kinds of experiences with different archetypes, even if it's not with the devil. Now you can certainly work with archetypes in whatever ways you like on your own, to kind of get to this place and be able to more easily hear what the majors might have to offer you in readings. But if you'd like support, I have a brand new lecture called archetype medicine that is going to walk you through my own process of identifying an archetype to work with in a particular moment and learning how to build a personal practice around it that really resonates with you. So again, if this is of interest of you, check out the show notes. It's available for download right now.

Speaker 1: 15:46

Now the last thing I want to cover in this little mini episode is how to interpret major arcana cards when they show up in your readings. The first thing I want you to do when you're doing a reading and a major arcana card comes up is take a breath and slow down. It's just a card. It's not here to hurt you. It's actively here to help you, to offer you something. So resist the urge to panic and instead give yourself a beat to note that the card is there and start learning to listen Now, just as a general note, with all readings I find it helpful to start just by sitting quietly and observing what comes forward for me immediately and instinctively when I see the cards I've pulled.

Speaker 1: 16:28

But I find this an especially helpful practice when there's a major arcana card or multiple major arcana cards present in the reading, asking what's coming up for me immediately when I see this card. This isn't about like rattling off every keyword or meaning you could name. It's actually about really listening to the card, looking at the imagery and paying attention to the insights and definitions and understandings that bubble up within you first. Now, we're all different, so it's okay If, looking at the card, you feel nothing, your mind goes blank, you're nothing but panic, blue screen of death, whatever. That's completely fine. But I always like to give my gut a chance to speak before I start actively, like working my way through the reading in a more deliberate way, after kind of taking that initial pause.

Speaker 1: 17:14

Pay attention to the context and remember the context of your reading. Remember that you asked a question and this card is showing up as the answer or as part of the answer. So what did you ask, your cards and how does this card is showing up as the answer or as part of the answer. So what did you ask your cards and how does this card serve as a response? If you're using a spread, how does this card address the prompt for this particular position? How does it fit into the broader reading? Additionally, if you pulled other cards along with this archetype, what are they and what are the relationships between the archetype and these cards? How are they all connected?

Speaker 1: 17:46

I also like to explore if the major arcana card that shows up is highlighting themes that show up in the other cards, really emphasizing an idea or a question that's been coming up in your life or in the arena of your question specifically. Sometimes the majors can be really forcing you to think about something that you've been avoiding or have been afraid to think about or admit or address. So is that something that feels relevant? Another thing to think about when you're interpreting a major arcana card in your reading is what is your personal relationship with this archetype? When has this card shown up for you in readings in the past and how might those readings be relevant or those experiences or lessons be relevant? Remember always that your experience with the tarot, and with these cards specifically is just as important as any definition you're going to find in a book or in a course, or the things that you hear teachers like me sharing.

Speaker 1: 18:39

Okay, what do you think about this card? What is your relationship with this card? What is your understanding of this card? How does this card matter to you? Now, I know those are a lot of questions to work through in terms of interpreting a card in a reading and, honestly, there are a million other questions I could rattle off here, but I think that this is a good place to start Now. Some of those questions are going to feel more relevant or useful for you in general than others, and some questions might be more helpful in some readings than others, but I really do believe that letting yourself slow down and really process and listen to these archetypes, especially in a really personal way, can help them feel a lot less overwhelming when they show up in your readings.

Speaker 1: 19:20

I always like to end these episodes with a little tip or a trick, and this one might not come as a surprise, but this process of not panicking when major arcana archetypes show up in your readings it really does take time. Okay, the major arcana cards feel big because they are big. They are big but they don't have to be everything and they don't have to derail your readings or be the only cards that you pay attention to in your readings. The major arcana archetypes should not be eclipsing every other card that shows up. They are part of your readings, they are not the entire reading.

Speaker 1: 19:53

I really encourage you to work with your cards in a way that helps you. Maybe this is a weird way to say it, but, like build up your tolerance for the majors or build a relationship with the majors that doesn't feel combative or panicky. Okay, if you find in your work that specific cards are consistently bringing up really intense reactions for you, I want to encourage you to generally just give yourself extra space and compassion in all of your readings, but also, to you know, take a lap or walk away from a reading If you pull up a card that feels really intense and you're panicking or really struggling to process it. Terror readings don't have to happen with a stopwatch in your head. There's no rush and it's not a race and really sometimes readings take a while to clarify or click into place. So don't rush this process and try not to get too impatient with yourself, especially if panic is present.

Speaker 1: 20:45

And, of course, I did mention a number of resources throughout this episode that you can utilize if you want to have some resources to help you be intentional about spending time studying and bonding with these archetypes. But whether you choose to use these resources or not, you can certainly do self-study and build relationships with these cards on your own. I really do recommend being intentional about spending time with these cards outside of your readings. I promise you it's going to make such a difference and really help these cards feel less intimidating when they do show up with a specific message for you.

Speaker 1: 21:19

That's all I have for you today, but, as always, thank you so much for spending this time with me. I really hope you've gotten a lot out of these episodes so far, and there are many more to come, so I will see you soon for another episode of Card Talk. Card Talk episodes are always free for everyone to enjoy, so if you love what you hear, please consider supporting the podcast by subscribing, recommending Card Talk to a friend or two or donating to help with production costs. You can find episode transcripts, learn more about me and join my signature Tarot Conservatory membership program through my website, 3amtarotcom. Thanks for listening and see you next time.