What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the Major Arcana of the tarot? You may believe that each of the 22 cards in the Major Arcana represents significant circumstances that happen in life. In contrast, the Minor Arcana represents the mundane things that happen in life daily. However, there is another thing that you can associate with the Major Arcana of the tarot.
Before I elaborate any further at this point, when you think of people who you know, do you at times compare their personalities to tarot cards in the Major Arcana? If you are not overly into tarot, then perhaps that is not something you may do. However, if you are an avid tarot hobbyist or a professional reader, you might very well do that. That is because you can compare the personalities of those you know to each of the 22 tarot cards of the Major Arcana. Let’s go over each of those personalities right now, and then you will likely think of someone in your life who matches a card!
The Fool – A Free Spirit Always Ready to Try Something New
Do you know of someone in your life who is a free spirit and does not allow fear to get into their way when it comes to trying new experiences? If so, that individual is just like the Fool in the tarot. You can imagine a vagabond who loves to travel the world and will not hesitate to travel to unknown places. These individuals are ready to gain some new experiences and believe that they will handle any challenging ones just fine. They are the types that enjoy backpacking across the world or will ride in their RVs to different territories within the same continent. They welcome anything new.
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The Magician – The Entrepreneur
The Magician is the one who knows how to manifest what they want and uses their resources and skills to do that. You can immediately think of someone who is an entrepreneur like the Magician. Think about someone who started their company from scratch and turned it into a success matches this type. That one depicts this card. They have a wise, clever, and cunning side and know how to be resourceful. You need those qualities to become a successful entrepreneur.
High Priestess – A Psychic or Tarot Reader
It is not hard to imagine someone who is a psychic or a tarot reader as someone who matches the meaning of the High Priestess card. The High Priestess unravels secrets and mysteries and uses their intuition. That is what a legitimate psychic or tarot reader does. You consult them to provide you the insight you need, and they use their intuition and psychic abilities to provide you what they see. By the way, the High Priestess does not necessarily have to associate with someone who works as a tarot reader or a psychic for a living. That can represent a friend or a family member or a co-worker who has gifted psychic skills and has a high accuracy rate of predicting the future.
The Empress – A Mom
The Empress is the tarot’s maternal figure, and the card represents anything to do with nurturing, feminity, creativity, and child-rearing. Therefore, it is easy to see a mom as this type. The Empress can also represent a single dad who is playing the role of mother and father. Think about it, the mom, whether she is a stay-at-home-mom or a work-at-home-mom, possesses these traits because that is what she does. You can also imagine someone who you know who is caring and nurturing by nature.
The Emperor – Your Boss
The Emperor is known as the father figure of the tarot, and it is a masculine card. However, when people think of the Emperor, the person who comes to mind is the boss. The boss keeps tabs on the productivity of the employees and maintains order. Your boss expects that everyone follows the company’s policies and rules. Perhaps you can think of your father as the Emperor if he has those traits, as the Emperor needs to control what others do, but not in a cruel way. He is more of a leader than anything.
The Hierophant – Anyone Who Has Plenty of Wisdom to Share
When you think of the Hierophant, you immediately think of traditions and conformity. You will associate teachers, professors, clergymen and clergywomen, and counselors with the Hierophant. Sure, they are known to conform, but they are also there to provide you with advice that you need because they have more experience in an area of life than you do.
Therefore, when you think of the Hierophant as a person, you don’t necessarily have to think about the minister at your church or the memorable teacher you had when you were in high school. You can imagine anyone you know has plenty of wisdom to share because of having plenty of experience with something you are facing now. The Hierophant wants you to follow their advice, and this individual wants you to do that too. They have your best interest at heart.
Lovers – Someone Who Follows Through with Commitments
When you think of the Lovers, you think of having to make choices and committing to the choices you make. It does not only involve relationships, but it represents commitments in general. Therefore, you know of someone who is loyal by nature and sticks to their promises no matter what; that is someone you can associate with the Lovers tarot card. Think of someone who makes a commitment to work on a project with you and does their share of it. They also deliver by the date they say they would do so. Therefore, someone you associate with the Lovers tarot card is trustworthy and follows through with what they say.
The Chariot – Someone Who Won’t Accept Failure
The Chariot represents pushing through difficulty and determination no matter what obstacles are presenting themselves. You can imagine those participating in the Olympics, racecar drivers, those who play high-impact sports, and anyone who has the determination to win regardless of what stands in their way.
Chances are you know of someone who finds a way to overcome any obstacle that goes their way. That is because they will not accept failure as the final result. These individuals have the determination to succeed no matter what. Maybe they can be hard on themselves if they don’t get it right the first time. These are intense people. However, their tenacity is something that others may envy. They’ll keep going during times of adversity.
Strength – Someone You See as Strong
The Strength tarot card is self-explanatory because it means finding the inner strength to heal, or it literally means physical strength. You can think of a bodybuilder when it comes to this tarot card. However, more importantly, when you look at someone who has been through many tragedies or someone who battles chronic illnesses and remains to stand, that is strength. These individuals will deny they are strong because they may feel they are not. Someone who has been through a difficult time in life finds a reason to keep getting up and making something of themselves; that is strength.
The Hermit – An Introverted Person
The Hermit is known to be a loner, and the tarot card’s meaning is to be self-reflective as you spend time alone. However, when you associate the Hermit with someone who you know, you will think of someone who prefers to stay by themselves. Someone who does not want to interact or needs to remain alone to meditate and recharge. Perhaps a good definition of the Hermit is an introvert or an empath. They cannot be around too many people, or else that can drain them energetically. That does not necessarily mean the individual would be the type to live up in the mountains where no one else lives. However, they cannot interact with others for long periods because they find it draining otherwise.
The Wheel of Fortune – Someone Who Keeps Changing Directions In Life
The Wheel of Fortune represents a change in luck or a change in direction. It is not the most straightforward card to express a personality or an aspect of an individual. The best way to make the comparison is by thinking of someone who constantly changes their direction with their life. For instance, they may choose to go into a career for a while and then go back to school to gain skills for another, quit, and do something new. You would think of someone who does not stick to one thing, and you could not trust when it comes to honoring their commitments for that reason. They’ll change their minds often. Therefore, that individual is very changeable.
Justice – Someone Who Goes by the Book
Justice is quite self-explanatory as that is the card that represents karma, justice, the law, and anything right from wrong. Therefore, it is easy to think of a judge when you see this card. However, what about someone’s personality? You can think of someone who goes by the book, someone who follows the rules and has a powerful sense of what is right from wrong. Therefore, this individual will never be the type to rebel. They may be perfectionists even. That means if you ask this type of individual to do something that may seem somewhat illegal or goes against the rules, don’t count on them to help you.
Hanged Man – The Martyr Type
The Hanged Man is about putting things on hold, suspension, surrender, and sacrifice. Does this tarot card remind you of someone? How about that individual who is known to be the martyr, as they take care of others’ needs before taking care of their needs? These are in the individuals who are known to be incredibly selfless. They will go to the ends of the earth to help you or anyone in need before they even take a bath! You worry about these people. They will burn out quickly and feel resentment because they are unfamiliar with self-care.
When you associate the Death card with anyone, you will think of them as a mortician or the morbid type. However, don’t forget that the Death tarot card is about a radical transformation. Death represents someone who is not just changed but radically transformed. Maybe they went through the trauma of some kind, or they had a significant wake-up call. Either way, you can think of someone who isn’t the same anymore because of something that changed them. Their old self died, which can make them better or worse.
Temperance – A Spiritual and Patient Person
Temperance is all about moderation and spirituality, and that represents patience and having faith. You can think of someone who has those traits. Someone who relies on spiritual meanings to things and has a patient and serene nature describes Temperance. You can think of your yoga teacher or life coach who has these qualities. Perhaps your extremely patient neighbor or friend has these qualities as well. They manage to calm you down and remind you to keep faith when things are stressful, and they remind you to remain patient. However, when you are incredibly irritable, this type can annoy you, and they will know to walk away based on that.
The Devil – Someone Who Becomes Too Attached Easily
The Devil is the card that represents luxury, obsession, addiction, and decadence. Therefore, it is not hard to compare someone who you know to this card because everyone knows someone who can be pretty obsessive by nature. You can think of a friend who has to text you or call you every minute of the day, and they don’t care if you are busy or at work. They are very attached to you, and that can be draining. Maybe you don’t have someone like that in your life now. And perhaps there was a time in the past you knew of someone who had those traits. You can also compare this card to someone living a high life and who wants to keep living a high life.
The Tower – Someone Who Has a Volatile Temper
The Tower is all about volatility, upheavals, unpleasant surprises, and shock. You can easily imagine someone having those traits if you associate them with the Tower. That is someone who has a volatile temper, becomes angry quickly, and becomes mad at predictable times. You never know what can set the individual off, which is why you find yourself walking on eggshells when you are around this person. Chances are you know someone who fits the description of the Tower because they are hard to forget.
The Star – Someone Who Knows How to Give You Hope
The Star comes after the Tower as, after the upheavals crash on you, you need to find a reason to become hopeful that things will improve. The Star represents hope, faith, and finding the silver lining in every crisis. Therefore, if you compare someone to the Star, you will likely be the one to call that individual to give you some hope. The individual knows how to calm you down and helps you look for the silver lining in a tricky situation. If you are struggling, you need this individual in your life to help you keep going because they are the light you need.
The Moon – Someone Who Is Secretive and Not Trustworthy
The Moon is a confusing card as it represents anything hidden, secrets, and something too good to be true – because that is the case. Do you know someone who appears to look good, but the truth is that they are hiding something? That would be someone who goes out of their way to pretend that they are someone who they are not. You can think of a scammer, or catfisher, or someone who appears to be happy and positive on the outside – but battles demons deep down. You can also compare someone to the Moon who is known not to tell the truth, and because of that, you cannot trust them. They always keep the fact hidden until you are the one to uncover it.
The Sun – An Overly Positive Person
The Sun is the most positive card in the Major Arcana, and it is not hard to imagine that someone you associate with this card is the most positive and upbeat person imaginable. Maybe the individual also has a sunny disposition, but they can be overly optimistic as well to the point that it may steer far from reality. It is better to be around a positive individual than someone who is known to be overly pessimistic. However, when you are going through a rough time, you may be better off being around someone representing the Star than the Sun.
Judgment – Someone Who Redeemed Themselves
Judgment is the card that represents renewal, awakening, reaching higher consciousness, or even reincarnation. If you compare the card to a person, you would immediately think of someone who really did change after ‘seeing the light.’ Therefore, you would imagine someone who could redeem themselves after having a shady past because something helped them awaken. For instance, think about a former gang member who committed many crimes who is now a peaceful individual that promotes love and acceptance. Many people don’t change to that degree, but some do, and those are the ones who Judgment represents.
The World – An Over-Achiever or a Perpetual Student
The World represents the completion of the Fool’s Journey, which means completing a cycle and moving onto the next one. You can think of graduation when you see this card. When you compare the World to a person, you can think of an over-achiever, reach their goals before they move onto their next ones, and successfully reach those. Maybe someone who flips businesses and then goes onto work on something else. Perhaps you can think of a perpetual student. Either way, this card represents someone who is highly determined, has many lofty goals, and finds a way to conquer them all step-by-step.
You likely know people in real life or online, representing all of Major Arcana’s tarot cards. You may even know people in your nuclear and extended family who represents each one as well. If you happen to be a writer and are planning to write a novel or nonfiction, you could use this article as a guide to help you develop characters in your story. That way, you can find an easy way to create different personalities. If you know the meanings behind the tarot cards well, are there other associations you would have traits of people that weren’t covered in this article?
