symbols in Tarot cards
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Common Symbols and Their Meanings:
The Four Elements:
Fire (Wands): Symbolises action, energy, willpower, and passion. It is linked to creativity, ambition, and motivation.
Water (Cups): Represents emotions, intuition, relationships, and the subconscious. Water is fluid and reflects emotional depth and connection.
Air (Swords): Symbolises intellect, thoughts, communication, and conflict. It is linked to the mind, mental clarity, and decision-making.
Earth (Pentacles): Represents material world matters like money, career, health, and stability. It is grounded and represents practicality, security, and physical reality.
Colours:
Red: Associated with energy, passion, action, and vitality. Often found in Wands and the suit of Cups, red can also signify urgency or warning.
Blue: Symbolises calm, intuition, communication, and spiritual depth. Often seen in the suits of Cups and Swords, blue connects to wisdom and emotional understanding.
Yellow: Represents intellect, clarity, and insight. Common in Swords and the Sun card, it denotes enlightenment and clarity of mind.
Green: Linked to growth, fertility, balance, and healing. Found in Pentacles, it relates to abundance, nature, and physical health.
White: Purity, innocence, new beginnings, and spiritual enlightenment. Often seen in The Fool and The High Priestess.
Black: Mystery, the unknown, endings, and protection. It can signify fear, unconscious forces, or potential.
Animals:
The Lion: Strength, courage, leadership, and determination. It often appears in The Strength card or in the suit of Wands.
The Eagle: Spiritual vision, intellect, freedom, and higher perspective. It can be found in cards like The Fool, The Empress, and The Star.
The Snake: Transformation, healing, wisdom, and temptation. Snakes appear in The Magician (as the symbol of the kundalini energy) and The Devil card.
The Wolf: Loyalty, instinct, inner strength, and the wild. Seen in the Moon card and in various depictions across the suits of Pentacles and Swords.
The Horse: Movement, progress, freedom, and power. Horses appear in several Court Cards, such as the Knights, symbolising action and momentum.
Numerology:
The Number 1: Beginnings, creation, independence. Found in cards like The Magician and Ace cards, symbolising fresh starts and potential.
The Number 3: Growth, harmony, creativity, and completion. This number often appears in cards like The Empress and the Three of Cups.
The Number 7: Reflection, introspection, challenges, and inner wisdom. Seen in cards like The Chariot and Seven of Pentacles.
The Number 10: Completion, cycles, fulfilment, and endings. Found in the Ten of all suits, indicating an end to a cycle or stage.
The Number 21: Completion, enlightenment, and the final stages of a journey. Found in The World card, symbolising the end of one phase and the beginning of another.
Celestial Bodies:
The Sun: Vitality, success, clarity, and truth. The Sun represents positivity, joy, and enlightenment, often appearing in The Sun card and in the suit of Pentacles.
The Moon: Intuition, the unconscious, illusions, and hidden truths. Found in The Moon card, it represents emotional depth and what lies beneath the surface.
The Stars: Hope, guidance, dreams, and inspiration. Often symbolised in The Star card, it indicates divine guidance or wish fulfillment.
The Planets: Each planet has specific associations, such as Venus representing love, Mars representing action, and Jupiter representing expansion and luck. They can be referenced in cards like The Empress (Venus) or The Wheel of Fortune (Jupiter).
Natural Elements:
Mountains: Stability, strength, challenges, and obstacles. Mountains often appear in cards like The Fool and The Hierophant, representing spiritual or personal trials.
Water: Emotions, the subconscious, and purification. In the Suit of Cups, water is a constant theme, reflecting emotional depth and the flow of feelings.
The Trees: Growth, wisdom, rootedness, and longevity. They can be seen in cards like The Fool and The Empress, symbolising life and nurturing.
The Forest: Mystery, the unknown, potential, and journey. It can be found in cards like The Hermit or The Moon, indicating personal or spiritual exploration.
Other Symbols:
The Crown: Authority, power, spiritual attainment, and leadership. Found on the heads of kings and queens, like in The Emperor and the Court Cards, it represents mastery and control.
The Sword: Intellect, conflict, truth, and protection. Swords are used to cut through illusion and represent clarity and mental force, present in the suit of Swords and in The Ace of Swords.
The Cup: Emotions, love, spiritual receptivity, and healing. Cups are central to the suit of Cups and represent emotional fulfilment and the offering of love.
The Pentacle: Material wealth, stability, and groundedness. Representing Earth, it appears in Pentacles, symbolising financial and physical security, as well as personal growth.
The Wheel: Fate, cycles, change, and fortune. Found in The Wheel of Fortune, it represents the ebb and flow of life and the constant change of circumstances.
The Cross: Sacrifice, spirituality, and faith. Often seen in The Hanged Man, representing surrender and spiritual growth through challenging situations.
These symbols help convey a range of messages in the tarot, often giving nuanced insight into a situation, challenge, or potential outcome. Each symbol can have varying interpretations depending on the context of the card in a reading, contributing to the richness and depth of tarot symbolism.