How to memorize all 78 tarot card meanings without rote learning
Learn tarot card meanings by understanding the deck: suits, numbers, court cards and the Major Arcana journey, plus picture cues and spaced review.
5 min read
Memorizing 78 tarot card meanings sounds like a lot, but once you understand how the deck is built you do not have to learn them one by one. The 56 Minor Arcana cards are four suits combined with fourteen ranks, and the 22 Major Arcana tell a single story. This guide shows how to learn the meanings by understanding them.
How to memorize tarot meanings using the structure of the deck
- Learn the four suits first: Wands (fire) want to act, Cups (water) feel, Swords (air) think and speak, Pentacles (earth) are tangible.
- Learn what the numbers mean: Ace beginning, 2 choice or pairing, 3 growth, 4 stability, 5 conflict, 6 recovery, 7 testing, 8 movement, 9 nearly there, 10 the end point of the story.
- Combine the two: Five of Cups is conflict (5) in matters of the heart (water), so it means grief. Eight of Wands is movement (8) in action (fire), so it means things moving fast.
- Court cards are four stages of a person: Page the learner, Knight the doer, Queen who leads from within, King who leads from outside.
- Read the Major Arcana as The Fool's journey through 21 life lessons, ending at The World.
Use the pictures to remember
The Rider-Waite-Smith deck and Redar's line-art deck both paint a scene on every card, so the pictures are your best memory aid. The Three of Swords shows three swords through a heart, and you will remember it is about heartbreak after seeing it once. Try telling the picture in a short sentence before you look up the meaning.
Read the picture before the meaning
Question: How is my work going lately?
Cards: Eight of Wands, position Answer to the question
Sample answer: The Eight of Wands shows eight wands flying across the sky, with no people in the picture at all. Work is moving fast right now. News is arriving quickly, and you may need to reply to several things at once. Decide which one needs an answer first, then take them one at a time.
The number 8 (movement) + the suit of Wands (fire, action) + the picture of wands flying = things moving fast.
Spaced review makes it stick
- On day one learn 5 to 7 cards. The next day review the old ones before adding new ones.
- Any card you got wrong in the game, look at again the next day.
- Write each meaning in your own words. You will remember it better than if you copy from a book.
- Draw the daily card and guess the meaning before you look it up, every time.
Tip: You do not need every keyword. If you can state the core of a card in one sentence, that is enough. When you read for real, you will pick the meaning that fits the question.
Summary
- A Minor Arcana card = the suit's element + the number's meaning.
- Court cards = four stages of a person. Major Arcana = The Fool's journey.
- Look at the picture first, review at spaced intervals and play memory games.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to learn reversed meanings separately?
- Not all of them. Use the rule that a reversed card is energy that is blocked, internal, or too much or too little, and check the card library when you need to.
- How long until I know all of them?
- It varies from person to person. If you review every day with the daily card and short games, the meanings start to stick without sitting down to memorize.
- What is the difference between multiple choice and Mystery Card?
- Multiple choice has 10 questions covering meanings in a reading, keywords and guessing a card from a clue. Mystery Card is guessing the card from a clue against the clock. Both are free.
- Books disagree on the meanings. Which one should I trust?
- The core of a card is usually the same, and the details differ. Pick one main source to start with, then pay attention to the artwork.