Discover Your Destiny with Tarot Card Tattoos

Tarot cards have been used for divination for centuries and today, many individuals continue to look to them for insight. Tattoo collectors from around the world have found an affinity to tarot reading and have developed special connections with specific cards. Take a look at our break down of the Major and Minor Arcana illustrated through tattoos in the gallery below, then let us know your favorite tarot card in the comments section on social media.

Major Arcana

The Major Arcana consists of 22 cards that are the foundation of the deck. They tell a story of human enlightenment, beginning with the naive Fool and ending with the fulfilled World. Each card has a distinctive meaning, which changes depending on if the card is drawn upright or in reverse.

The Fool

Upright: New beginnings, adventures, opportunities and possibilities.

Reversed: A bad decision, thoughtlessness and hesitation.

The Magician

Upright: Creativity, originality and skill.

Reversed: Insecurity and lack of creativity.

The High Priestess

Upright: Knowledge, wisdom and learning.

Reversed: Ignorance, lack of understanding and repression of intuition.

The Empress

Upright: Development, accomplishment and motherhood.

Reversed: Indecision, dependence and inaction.

The Emperor

Upright: Authority, aggression and fatherhood.

Reversed: Tyranny, immaturity and lack of stability.

The Hierophant

Upright: Tradition, conformity and compassion.

Reversed: Unconventionality, rebellion and vulnerability.

The Lovers

Upright: Love, harmony and duality.

Reversed: Imbalance, unreliability and disharmony.

The Chariot

Upright: Perseverance, willpower and journey.

Reversed: Lack of control, failure and aggression.

Strength

Upright: Strength, courage and bravery.

Reversed: Weakness, insecurity and pettiness.

The Hermit

Upright: Search for truth, concentration and patience.

Reversed: Rashness, foolishness and immaturity.

The Wheel of Fortune

Upright: Destiny, change and fate.

Reversed: No control, loss and bad luck.

Justice

Upright: Truth, reason and balance.

Reversed: Dishonesty, bias and unfairness.

The Hanged Man

Upright: Sacrifice, release and rebirth.

Reversed: Stalling, resistance and false prophecies.

Death

Upright: Transformation, ends and new beginnings.

Reversed: Immobility, fear of change and decay.

Temperance

Upright: Patience, harmony and fusion.

Reversed: Extremes, imbalance and conflict.

The Devil

Upright: Addiction, temptation and ambitions.

Reversed: Freedom, release and enlightenment.

The Tower

Upright: Disaster, massive change and chaos.

Reversed: Fear of change and personal transformation.

The Star

Upright: Faith, optimism and hope.

Reversed: Disappointment, bad luck and insecurity.

The Moon

Upright: Unconsciousness, illusion and intuition.

Reversed: Confusion, fear and repressed emotion.

The Sun

Upright: Success, positivity and joy.

Reversed: Unhappiness, doubt and negativity.

Judgement

Upright: Reflection, renewal and reckoning.

Reversed: Doubt, self-loathing and lack of awareness.

The World

Upright: Completion, harmony and accomplishment.

Reversed: Lack of closure and imperfection.

Minor Arcana

While the Major Arcana teach us big picture lessons, the 56 Minor Arcana cards shed light on our daily experiences. They’re split into four suits: wands, cups, swords and pentacles. Each suit has 14 cards (the same as a standard deck of playing cards) and each suit relates to a different life experience.

Wands

These cards represent energy, motivation, passion, creativity and inspiration.

Cups

These cards represent emotions, relationships, intuition and connections.

Swords

These cards represent action, power, truth and thoughts.

Pentacles

These cards represent material possessions, money, work and career.