What is Tarot and how does it really work

Tarot is much more than a method of divination. It is a symbolic tool, a gateway to the unconscious, and a spiritual map that accompanies those who seek answers, self-knowledge, and personal evolution. Although its images evoke the mystical and the esoteric, its power lies in the deep connection between symbols, intuition, and the universal truths that dwell within each human being.

A bit of history: from mystery to symbol

The origin of the Tarot is surrounded by mystery. Although it became popular as a card game in Europe during the 15th century, many scholars suggest that its symbolic roots could be linked to ancient traditions such as Hermeticism, Jewish Kabbalah, alchemy, and even Egyptian thought.

Over time, Tarot was adopted by esoteric currents as a tool for spiritual exploration. From the 19th century onwards, and especially with figures like Eliphas Lévi, Arthur Edward Waite, and Aleister Crowley, it became a path of initiatory knowledge, deeply symbolic.

The structure of Tarot: 78 gateways to consciousness

Traditional Tarot, especially in its most well-known forms — the Marseille Tarot or the Rider-Waite-Smith — consists of 78 cards, organized in a rich and precise symbolic architecture. Each card can be considered a gateway to a specific dimension of consciousness, a reflection of the multiple layers of human experience. This structure is not arbitrary: it was carefully designed to represent the totality of the spiritual, emotional, mental, and material journey of the human being.

Major Arcana: The Journey of the Soul

The 22 Major Arcana are the most powerful cards in the deck. They not only illustrate great life themes such as love, death, justice, or transformation, but they also represent universal archetypes — psychological or spiritual figures that all human beings recognize internally. From a Jungian perspective, they are manifestations of the collective unconscious.

These cards follow a numerical order from 0 to 21 and narrate a symbolic journey known as The Fool’s Journey. This journey begins with The Fool (card 0), symbol of innocence, freedom, and pure potential. As the journey continues, the Fool (that is, the human soul) encounters various archetypes: the Mother (The Empress), the Father (The Emperor), the Teacher (The Hierophant), the Trial (Death), the Hope (The Star), and finally, synthesis and fulfillment in The World (card 21).

Each Major Arcana can be seen as a stage of spiritual evolution, a mirror of the great inner and outer transitions every person goes through.

Minor Arcana: The Everyday World

The 56 Minor Arcana bring us closer to the more concrete and everyday dimension of life. They are divided into four suits — Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands — which correspond respectively to the four classical elements: water, earth, air, and fire. Each suit addresses a different sphere of experience:

Cups (Water): emotions, relationships, love, intuition, emotional bonds.

Pentacles (Earth): matter, money, work, the body, security, and material achievements.

Swords (Air): mind, thought, conflict, decisions, justice.

Wands (Fire): action, will, desire, spirituality, creativity.

Each of these suits contains ten numbered cards (from Ace to 10), which show a progression or internal story within that element, and four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, and King), representing human energies or roles: from apprentice to leader, from receptive to active. These figures can be interpreted as aspects of personality, real people, or forces at play in a situation.

An integrated structure

Together, the Major and Minor Arcana form a coherent symbolic system, where the transcendent and the everyday constantly dialogue. Readings that include both levels allow for understanding a situation not only in its visible or immediate aspect but also in its hidden, spiritual, or psychological dimension.

For example, a spread that mixes cards from both groups may point to the emotional conflict a person is facing (Cups or Swords) and the deeper spiritual lesson they are going through (a Major Arcana).

This dual and complementary structure makes Tarot a powerful tool for both inner work and practical guidance, offering a symbolic map that accompanies the querent on their path of growth and decision-making.

Tarot and psychology: the language of the unconscious

Thanks to the work of Carl Gustav Jung, Tarot has been reclaimed as a tool of psychological exploration. Jung identified in the Major Arcana archetypal representations that resonate in the collective unconscious: universal figures that appear in myths, dreams, and stories shared by all humanity.

From this perspective, a Tarot reading does not predict a fixed destiny, but reflects the internal state of the querent — their blocks, desires, patterns, and potential. It is a mirror of the soul.

Intuition: bridge between cards and meaning

One of the keys to Tarot is its link with intuition. Beyond technical knowledge of the card meanings, the tarot reader develops the ability to "read between the lines," to feel what the images evoke in that specific moment. Each reading is unique because each consultation takes place in an emotional and energetic context that cannot be repeated.

The tarot reader acts as a channel: interpreting symbols, picking up the whispers of the unconscious, and translating into words what needs to be heard. It is not about guessing but about accompanying and revealing.

So, how does Tarot work?

Tarot operates as a symbolic connection and translation tool of internal realities. Its functioning is not based solely on chance, but on synchronicity — that principle formulated by Carl Gustav Jung — which points out how seemingly unrelated events can coincide in a meaningful way. Thus, when asking a clear question and selecting cards "at random," a deep connection is made between the querent’s unconscious and the symbolic language of the Tarot.

Cards as mirrors of the soul

Each Tarot card acts as an archetypal symbol, a mirror that reflects hidden aspects of our psyche. According to Jung, archetypes are universal patterns that dwell in the collective unconscious: The Fool, Death, The Empress, among others, are figures that resonate with all human beings because they represent fundamental human experiences.

When a spread is laid, those symbols emerge not only as answers but as images that awaken internal associations. The tarot reader then does not just interpret static meanings but reads the symbols in light of the question, the emotional and energetic context of the moment, and the interaction between the cards.

The role of the tarot reader: mediator between realms

The tarot reader is not simply a technical interpreter. They are someone sensitive to symbolic language, trained to connect with their intuition and the energy of the querent. Their role is that of a mediator between the visible and the invisible, between the conscious mind and the messages that emerge from the unconscious or from more subtle dimensions, depending on the practitioner’s beliefs.

In this sense, Tarot can function on multiple levels:

Psychological-therapeutic: The cards help explore repressed emotions, behavioral patterns, past wounds, and possibilities for transformation. The reading can act as a session of reflection and awareness, oriented toward self-knowledge.

Esoteric and energetic: For many people, Tarot channels information through the querent’s energy, the intervention of spiritual guides, the Higher Self, or the quantum field of consciousness. It is not about fixed prediction, but about opening up to possibilities that resonate with the vibration of the present moment.

Symbolic-intuitive: In this approach, the unconscious mind uses the symbols of the cards to create a coherent narrative that gives shape to diffuse emotions or internal conflicts. It is like dreaming with open eyes — the cards help to "see" what is already latent.

Tarot as mirror and compass

More than a tool to “predict the future,” Tarot reveals itself as a mirror that reflects the querent’s internal reality and a compass that points toward possible paths. It offers an expanded reading of the present, where active forces — conscious or unconscious — influencing a situation can be detected, and possible outcomes if the current direction is maintained.

This is why many people return to Tarot not seeking closed answers but spaces of openness, clarity, and guidance.

Synchronicity, intuition, and mystery

One of the most fascinating aspects of Tarot is that it does not need to justify its effectiveness through conventional logic. It operates beyond ordinary laws of cause and effect, and that is precisely what makes it such a powerful tool. Tarot operates in the territory of mystery, where symbolic, emotional, and energetic connections intertwine to give rise to what Carl Gustav Jung called “synchronicity”: the appearance of meaningful coincidences that cannot be explained by a direct causal relationship but hold deep subjective value.

When a person asks a question and chooses cards at random, they are not simply selecting images by chance. They are participating — consciously or unconsciously — in an act of symbolic resonance. The cards that appear are not chosen randomly but by affinity with the querent’s internal state. It is as if the Tarot captures an “energetic climate” or a particular emotional disposition and translates it into a visual and archetypal language. This is synchronicity in action — a symbolic mirror that reflects something hidden, but deeply true.

In this process, the tarot reader’s intuition is fundamental. It is not just about interpreting learned meanings but reading between the lines, between images, between emotions. The reading is a dance between the visible and the invisible, between what the card shows and what it suggests. The tarot reader must fine-tune their sensitivity to detect subtle nuances — a gesture, an expression, a vibration in the querent’s voice… everything can be a key to unlocking the message.

Moreover, many Tarot practitioners affirm that during a reading, they access an expanded state of consciousness — a kind of "inner listening" — where intuition acts as a compass, guiding the interpretation beyond logic or technique. Some esoteric currents consider that in this moment the reader connects with higher planes of consciousness, spiritual guides, or the querent’s own Higher Self, allowing for a deeper connection with the essential truth behind the consultation.

That is why Tarot is not simply a tool to predict futures, but a channel to reveal what is already latent, waiting to be recognized. Sometimes, an image or a word is enough to bring forth a forgotten truth, a repressed emotion, or an unseen possibility. That is the alchemy of Tarot: its ability to unite the symbolic with the real, the invisible with the evident, in a form of knowledge that can only be described as experiential.

Conclusion

Tarot is not just an oracle or a future recipe. It is a sacred tool for self-discovery. Whoever approaches it with respect and depth discovers not only answers but new questions that invite growth.

Whether from an esoteric, symbolic, or therapeutic perspective, Tarot reminds us that true power does not lie in the cards, but in the heart and consciousness of the one who consults and the one who interprets.