Reference
Tarot Cheat Sheet
All 78 tarot cards with their upright and reversed keywords, grouped by Major Arcana and suit — built to be scanned, printed, and written on.
The structure
22 Major Arcana for the big themes, then four suits of 14 for everyday life. Learn the numbers and the suits and you can read most of the deck without looking anything up — which is what this sheet is really for.
Major Arcana (22 cards)
| Card | Upright | Reversed |
|---|---|---|
| The Fool | new beginnings · spontaneity · trust | recklessness · hesitation · naivety |
| The Magician | manifestation · resourcefulness · focus | manipulation · scattered energy · untapped potential |
| The High Priestess | intuition · mystery · inner knowing | disconnection · secrets · confusion |
| The Empress | abundance · nurturing · creativity | creative block · overdependence · neglect |
| The Emperor | structure · authority · discipline | rigidity · control · instability |
| The Hierophant | tradition · guidance · belonging | nonconformity · restriction · questioning |
| The Lovers | connection · values · choice | misalignment · avoidance · disharmony |
| The Chariot | willpower · drive · victory | lack of direction · aggression · self-doubt |
| Strength | courage · patience · compassion | self-doubt · insecurity · impatience |
| The Hermit | introspection · solitude · guidance | isolation · withdrawal · avoidance |
| Wheel of Fortune | change · cycles · turning point | resistance · bad timing · stagnation |
| Justice | fairness · truth · accountability | dishonesty · imbalance · avoidance |
| The Hanged Man | surrender · new perspective · pause | stalling · resistance · indecision |
| Death | transformation · release · transition | resistance · stagnation · fear of change |
| Temperance | balance · moderation · harmony | excess · imbalance · impatience |
| The Devil | attachment · restriction · temptation | release · reclaiming power · awareness |
| The Tower | upheaval · revelation · awakening | avoidance · delayed collapse · fear |
| The Star | hope · renewal · inspiration | despair · disconnection · doubt |
| The Moon | uncertainty · illusion · intuition | clarity emerging · releasing fear · confusion lifting |
| The Sun | joy · vitality · clarity | temporary setback · clouded joy · low energy |
| Judgement | awakening · reckoning · renewal | self-doubt · harsh judgment · avoidance |
| The World | completion · wholeness · accomplishment | incompletion · delay · unresolved |
Wands (14 cards)
| Card | Upright | Reversed |
|---|---|---|
| Ace of Wands | inspiration · new venture · potential | delay · lack of direction · hesitation |
| Two of Wands | planning · foresight · first step | fear of the unknown · poor planning · playing it safe |
| Three of Wands | expansion · foresight · anticipation | delays · obstacles · lack of foresight |
| Four of Wands | celebration · homecoming · stability | lack of support · conflict · delayed joy |
| Five of Wands | competition · friction · conflict | avoidance · inner tension · unresolved rivalry |
| Six of Wands | recognition · victory · confidence | self-doubt · delayed recognition · fall from grace |
| Seven of Wands | perseverance · defense · standing firm | overwhelm · giving ground · exhaustion |
| Eight of Wands | momentum · speed · fast movement | delays · frustration · stalled progress |
| Nine of Wands | resilience · persistence · guardedness | burnout · defensiveness · exhaustion |
| Ten of Wands | burden · responsibility · overload | releasing burden · delegation · overcommitment |
| Page of Wands | enthusiasm · exploration · new idea | scattered energy · delayed start · impulsiveness |
| Knight of Wands | boldness · passion · action | recklessness · impatience · impulsiveness |
| Queen of Wands | confidence · independence · warmth | insecurity · jealousy · demanding attention |
| King of Wands | vision · leadership · boldness | impulsive leadership · overreach · unrealistic expectation |
Cups (14 cards)
| Card | Upright | Reversed |
|---|---|---|
| Ace of Cups | new feeling · openness · emotional beginning | emotional block · holding back · missed connection |
| Two of Cups | mutual connection · partnership · union | imbalance · miscommunication · strain |
| Three of Cups | celebration · friendship · community | overindulgence · gossip · tension |
| Four of Cups | apathy · contemplation · missed opportunity | renewed interest · awakening · reengagement |
| Five of Cups | loss · disappointment · regret | acceptance · moving forward · healing |
| Six of Cups | nostalgia · reconnection · innocence | living in the past · unrealistic nostalgia · stagnation |
| Seven of Cups | imagination · options · daydreaming | clarity · real choice · cutting through illusion |
| Eight of Cups | walking away · seeking depth · release | fear of moving on · staying too long · stagnation |
| Nine of Cups | satisfaction · fulfillment · contentment | overindulgence · misplaced happiness · unmet expectation |
| Ten of Cups | fulfillment · harmony · lasting happiness | disconnection · broken harmony · unmet expectations |
| Page of Cups | curiosity · emotional openness · new idea | emotional immaturity · escapism · misread message |
| Knight of Cups | romance · idealism · genuine offer | unrealistic idealism · moodiness · insincerity |
| Queen of Cups | intuition · compassion · emotional depth | overwhelm · insecurity · emotional withdrawal |
| King of Cups | emotional maturity · calm authority · balance | moodiness · manipulation · suppressed feeling |
Swords (14 cards)
| Card | Upright | Reversed |
|---|---|---|
| Ace of Swords | clarity · breakthrough · truth | confusion · clouded judgment · misused truth |
| Two of Swords | difficult choice · stalemate · avoidance | indecision resolved · unsustainable avoidance · forced choice |
| Three of Swords | heartbreak · painful truth · grief | healing · release · recovery |
| Four of Swords | rest · recovery · pause | burnout · forced return · refused rest |
| Five of Swords | conflict · hollow victory · tension | reconciliation · lingering cost · resentment |
| Six of Swords | transition · moving on · calmer waters | resistance to change · feeling stuck · unresolved trouble |
| Seven of Swords | strategy · secrecy · acting alone | exposure · getting caught · surfacing guilt |
| Eight of Swords | feeling trapped · self-imposed limits · restriction | release · regained agency · clarity |
| Nine of Swords | anxiety · overthinking · worry | relief · overwhelming anxiety · releasing fear |
| Ten of Swords | painful ending · defeat · rock bottom | recovery beginning · resisting the inevitable · renewal |
| Page of Swords | curiosity · new information · alertness | gossip · scattered thinking · all talk |
| Knight of Swords | decisive action · directness · intensity | recklessness · impatience · rash speech |
| Queen of Swords | honesty · independence · clear judgment | coldness · isolation · cutting words |
| King of Swords | intellectual authority · clarity · reason | rigidity · coldness · domination |
Pentacles (14 cards)
| Card | Upright | Reversed |
|---|---|---|
| Ace of Pentacles | new opportunity · tangible potential · fresh start | missed opportunity · poor planning · instability |
| Two of Pentacles | balance · adaptability · juggling priorities | overextension · disorganization · dropped priorities |
| Three of Pentacles | collaboration · skill · recognition | poor teamwork · misalignment · unrecognized effort |
| Four of Pentacles | security · saving · control | overattachment · rigidity · fear of loss |
| Five of Pentacles | hardship · isolation · financial worry | recovery · refused help · improving circumstances |
| Six of Pentacles | generosity · balance · giving and receiving | imbalance of power · strings attached · unreturned generosity |
| Seven of Pentacles | patience · assessment · long-term investment | impatience · wasted effort · reassessment |
| Eight of Pentacles | dedication · craftsmanship · mastery | perfectionism · going through the motions · stagnant growth |
| Nine of Pentacles | self-sufficiency · reward · independence | overwork · isolation · imbalance |
| Ten of Pentacles | legacy · long-term security · wealth | instability · family conflict · broken legacy |
| Page of Pentacles | practical opportunity · studiousness · grounded beginning | procrastination · missed opportunity · poor planning |
| Knight of Pentacles | reliability · steady progress · methodical effort | stagnation · excessive caution · routine |
| Queen of Pentacles | practical nurturing · resourcefulness · comfort | overextension · self-neglect · imbalance |
| King of Pentacles | material mastery · security · grounded leadership | materialism · stubbornness · overwork |
How to actually use this sheet
Learn the number, not the card
Aces begin, Tens complete, Fives bring conflict, and so on across all four suits. Reading down a column here teaches the pattern far faster than memorising 78 separate entries.
Read the suit as the arena
Wands are energy and drive, Cups emotion, Swords thought and conflict, Pentacles the material world. Number plus suit gets you most of the way to a meaning without a reference at all.
Treat keywords as a starting point
A keyword is a doorway, not a definition. When one does not fit the question you asked, follow the card through to its full page, the position it landed in usually explains the mismatch.
Print it and mark it up
The most useful copy of this sheet is the one with your own notes in the margin. Print it, and write what a card actually meant the last time it turned up for you.
Tarot cheat sheet: frequently asked questions
Is there a printable tarot cheat sheet?
Yes. This page is formatted to print cleanly. Use the print button or your browser's print command and the navigation, buttons, and colours drop away, leaving all 78 cards with their upright and reversed keywords on plain paper.
How many tarot cards are there?
78: the 22 Major Arcana, numbered 0 to 21, plus 56 Minor Arcana split across four suits of 14: Ace through Ten, then Page, Knight, Queen, and King.
What is the fastest way to learn tarot card meanings?
Learn the numbers and the suits rather than 78 individual cards. Every Ace is a beginning and every Ten a completion, and the suit tells you which area of life it applies to. That structure covers most of a reading before you look anything up.
Do I need to memorise reversed meanings separately?
No. A reversed card is usually the same energy blocked, delayed, or turned inward rather than a separate meaning to learn. The reversed keywords here are shortcuts to that friction, not a second deck.
What do the four tarot suits mean?
Wands are fire (energy, drive, and action. Cups are water) emotion and relationships. Swords are air (thought, truth, and conflict. Pentacles are earth) work, money, and the material world.
Go deeper than keywords
A keyword gets you started. These take it further.