With in a tarot deck there are two major types of cards, one is the major arcana and the other is the minor arcana.  In this brief out line we will go over all of these tarot and the tarot meanings associated with them.  

There are 22 major arcana cards that are numbered 0-21.  These are some of the most important cards in the deck and they will really set the tone for the other cards and their tarot meanings.  

0 - The Fool - unrealized potential
1 - The Magician -  self-confidence
2 - The High Priestess - hidden meanings
3 - The Empress - creativity
4 - The Emperor - leadership
5 - The Hierophant - bonded to conventions of society
6 - The Lovers Love - influenced by love
7 - The Chariot - achievement
8 - Strength - bravery facing incredible odds
9 - The Hermit - finding a teacher
10 - Wheel of Fortune - luck
11 - Justice - legal dealings
12 - The Hanged Man -  sacrifice for a higher good
13 - Death - transformation
14 - Temperance - blending of opposites
15 - The Devil - obsession
16 - The Tower - leading to personal transformation
17 - The Star - courage
18 - The Moon - intuition  
19 - The Sun - material happiness or a successful marriage, or birth of a child
20 - Judgment - change of position in life or outlook
21 - The World - successful undertakings

When performing a tarot card reading it is important to remember that the tarot meanings of the cards can be influenced by other cards as well as the position that the cards are sitting in.

There are far too many of the minor arcana to go over here but I will leave you with the basics.  Know just this little amount of information can help you under stand the tarot meanings.  Some of the suits of the tarot are different from deck to deck but the meanings are the same.  Also, if you look closely you will find the tarot meanings to a regular deck of playing cards as well!

• Wands/Rods/Staves/Batons/Clubs     -     energy, growth, enterprise
• Swords/Spades                                  -     intellect, courage, aggression -
• Pentacles/Disks/Coins/Diamonds       -     material wealth, money, practicality
• Cups/Bowls/Hearts                            -     emotions, love, beauty

• Ace - beginnings
• Two - balance, choices, duality
• Three - growth or expression
• Four - containment, no outlet
• Five - minor conflict, uncertainties
• Six - formation of certainties
• Seven - achievement, abilities developed  
• Eight - movement towards goal
• Nine - culmination, reckoning  
• Ten - completion, end of cycle

Although this is no where near a complete guide to tarot meaning it is a place to start and a good tool to use if you are starting to learn to read the tarot or if you are just wanting to understand what the reader is looking at.  There is much more to the tarot meanings than just this but this quick outline should help!