AuLun
Tarot Cards

Tarot Cards

A tarot deck has two halves. The 22 cards of the Major Arcana carry the big, archetypal weather — the forces a life moves through. The 56 cards of the Minor Arcana fill in the texture of daily life across four suits.

Most modern decks descend from the 1909 Rider–Waite–Smith deck, whose illustrated scenes made the Minor Arcana readable at a glance. AuLun's default deck is its own art, but the structure is the same one every reader shares.

Major Arcana

The FoolThe FoolThe MagicianThe MagicianThe High PriestessThe High PriestessThe EmpressThe EmpressThe EmperorThe EmperorThe HierophantThe HierophantThe LoversThe LoversThe ChariotThe ChariotStrengthStrengthThe HermitThe HermitWheel of FortuneWheel of FortuneJusticeJusticeThe Hanged ManThe Hanged ManDeathDeathTemperanceTemperanceThe DevilThe DevilThe TowerThe TowerThe StarThe StarThe MoonThe MoonThe SunThe SunJudgementJudgementThe WorldThe World

Wands

Ace of WandsAce of WandsTwo of WandsTwo of WandsThree of WandsThree of WandsFour of WandsFour of WandsFive of WandsFive of WandsSix of WandsSix of WandsSeven of WandsSeven of WandsEight of WandsEight of WandsNine of WandsNine of WandsTen of WandsTen of WandsPage of WandsPage of WandsKnight of WandsKnight of WandsQueen of WandsQueen of WandsKing of WandsKing of Wands

Cups

Ace of CupsAce of CupsTwo of CupsTwo of CupsThree of CupsThree of CupsFour of CupsFour of CupsFive of CupsFive of CupsSix of CupsSix of CupsSeven of CupsSeven of CupsEight of CupsEight of CupsNine of CupsNine of CupsTen of CupsTen of CupsPage of CupsPage of CupsKnight of CupsKnight of CupsQueen of CupsQueen of CupsKing of CupsKing of Cups

Swords

Ace of SwordsAce of SwordsTwo of SwordsTwo of SwordsThree of SwordsThree of SwordsFour of SwordsFour of SwordsFive of SwordsFive of SwordsSix of SwordsSix of SwordsSeven of SwordsSeven of SwordsEight of SwordsEight of SwordsNine of SwordsNine of SwordsTen of SwordsTen of SwordsPage of SwordsPage of SwordsKnight of SwordsKnight of SwordsQueen of SwordsQueen of SwordsKing of SwordsKing of Swords

Pentacles

Ace of PentaclesAce of PentaclesTwo of PentaclesTwo of PentaclesThree of PentaclesThree of PentaclesFour of PentaclesFour of PentaclesFive of PentaclesFive of PentaclesSix of PentaclesSix of PentaclesSeven of PentaclesSeven of PentaclesEight of PentaclesEight of PentaclesNine of PentaclesNine of PentaclesTen of PentaclesTen of PentaclesPage of PentaclesPage of PentaclesKnight of PentaclesKnight of PentaclesQueen of PentaclesQueen of PentaclesKing of PentaclesKing of Pentacles

The Major Arcana

The Majors run from the Fool (0) to the World (21) — often read as a single arc, the journey of becoming. When several turn up in a spread, the reading is about something structural, not a passing mood.

Cards like Death, the Tower, and the Devil sound ominous and aren't: Death reads transformation, the Tower sudden upheaval, the Devil attachment. AuLun reads them as patterns, never as predictions of literal events.

Suits & the Minor Arcana

The four suits each speak to a register of experience. Wands are drive, will, and creative fire. Cups are feeling, intimacy, and the inner life. Swords are thought, conflict, and clarity. Pentacles are work, body, and the material world.

Each suit runs Ace through Ten, a small narrative from first spark to full expression. Where the suits fall in a spread tells you which part of life the reading is really about.

Court cards

Each suit has four court cards. They can stand for people in your life, for a way of carrying yourself, or for a part of you stepping forward — a Page learning, a Knight pursuing, a Queen holding, a King directing.

Reading the court is less about "who" and more about "what posture." The same King of Swords can be a person, a tone you're taking, or one you're up against.

Reversals

A reversed card is one that lands upside down. Many readers treat it as the card's energy turned inward, blocked, or still forming rather than as a simple opposite.

Reversals are a choice, not a rule. Plenty of skilled readers don't use them at all. What matters is that you read consistently, so the cards keep their meaning across a reading.

Tarot Cards — AuLun Library