Queen of Tarot

The ancient wisdom of the cards

Tarot Reading What lies in my future?

Reading Performed 09/21/2025 at 11:01 AM

Click or scroll down for the meaning of each position and the interpretation of its card.

Visual Layout

The Meanings of these Tarot Cards

Card One

The Devil from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Ravage, violence, vehemence, extraordinary efforts, force, fatality; matters predestined but not necessarily evil.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

The Devil. In the eighteenth century this card seems to have been rather a symbol of merely animal impudicity. Except for a fantastic head-dress, the chief figure is entirely naked; it has bat-like wings, and the hands and feet are represented by the claws of a bird. In the right hand there is a sceptre terminating in a sign which has been thought to represent fire. The figure as a whole is not particularly evil; it has no tail, and the commentators who have said that the claws are those of a harpy have spoken at random. There is no better ground for the alternative suggestion that they are eagle's claws. Attached, by a cord depending from their collars, to the pedestal on which the figure is mounted, are two small demons, presumably male and female. These are tailed, but not winged. Since 1856 the influence of Eliphas Levi and his doctrine of occultism has changed the face of this card, and it now appears as a pseudo-Baphometic figure with the head of a goat and a great torch between the horns; it is seated instead of erect, and in place of the generative organs there is the Hermetic caduceus. In Le Tarot Divinatoire of Papus the small demons are replaced by naked human beings, male and female who are yoked only to each other. The author may be felicitated on this improved symbolism.

Card Description

The main figure is entirely naked; he has bat-like wings, and his feet have the claws of a bird. His right hand is upraised and extended, which is the reverse of the blessing given by the Hierophant. In his left hand there is a great flaming torch, inverted toward the earth. A reversed pentagram is on his forehead. There is a ring in front of the altar, from which two chains are attached to the necks of two figures, male and female. These are analogous to The Lovers, like Adam and Eve after the Fall. They represent the chains and fatality of the material life.

Card Two

Ace of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Reversed

The same, but the results are disastrous; also conception, childbirth, development, plurality.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

Marriage broken off, for a woman, through her own imprudence.

Card Description

A hand extends from a cloud, grasping a sword, the point of which is encircled by a crown.

Card Three

Five of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Deterioration, destruction, revocation, disgrace, dishonor, loss.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

An attack on the fortune of the Querent.

Card Description

A scornful man watches two retreating and dejected figures, whose swords lie on the ground. He carries two others on his left shoulder. A third sword in his right hand points to earth. He is the master in possession of the field.

Card Four

Queen of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Reversed

Malice, bigotry, conspiracies, prudishness, antagonism, deceit.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

A bad woman, with ill-will towards the Querent.

Card Description

Her right hand holds her weapon vertical, and the hilt rests on an arm of her throne. Her left hand is extended, the arm raised. Her expression is stern but humble; it suggests familiarity with sorrow. It does not represent mercy, and despite her sword, she is not a symbol of power.

Card Five

Two of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Reversed

Passion.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

Passion.

Card Description

A young man and woman pledge themselves to one another. Above their cups rises the Caduceus of Hermes, with a lion's head between its spread wings. It represents our desire to find a soul mate, by which desire Nature is sanctified.

Card Six

Temperance from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Thrift, moderation, frugality, management, settlement.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

Temperance. The winged figure of a female--who, in opposition to all doctrine concerning the hierarchy of angels, is usually allocated to this order of ministering spirits--is pouring liquid from one pitcher to another. In his last work on the Tarot, Dr. Papus abandons the traditional form and depicts a woman wearing an Egyptian head-dress. The first thing which seems clear on the surface is that the entire symbol has no especial connexion with Temperance, and the fact that this designation has always obtained for the card offers a very obvious instance of a meaning behind meaning, which is the title in chief to consideration in respect of the Tarot as a whole.

Card Description

A winged angel, with the sign of the sun on its forehead, and on its breast the square and triangle of the septenary (symbolism of the number seven). The androgynous figure pours the essences of life from chalice to chalice. It has one foot on the earth and one on water, illustrating the nature of the essences being poured. A direct path leads to heights on the horizon, and above shines a great light, through which a crown can be vaguely seen. Here is some part of the Secret of Eternal Life, as available to man in this existence.

Card Seven

Page of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Reversed

Stories, announcements, evil news. Also indecision and the instability that accompanies it.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

Bad news.

Card Description

A young man stands as if making a proclamation. He is unknown but faithful, and his tidings are strange.

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Card Eight

The Lovers from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

The Lovers or Marriage. This symbol has undergone many variations, as might be expected from its subject. In the eighteenth century form, by which it first became known to the world of archaeological research, it is really a card of married life, shewing father and mother, with their child placed between them; and the pagan Cupid above, in the act of flying his shaft, is, of course, a misapplied emblem. The Cupid is of love beginning rather than of love in its fulness, guarding the fruit thereof. The card is said to have been entitled Simulacyum fidei, the symbol of conjugal faith, for which the rainbow as a sign of the covenant would have been a more appropriate concomitant. The figures are also held to have signified Truth, Honour and Love, but I suspect that this was, so to speak, the gloss of a commentator moralizing. It has these, but it has other and higher aspects.

Card Description

The sun shines above, and beneath is a great winged figure with arms extended, pouring down mystical influences. In the foreground are two human figures, male and female. They are naked before each other, like Adam and Eve when they first occupied Paradise. Behind the man is the Tree of Life, bearing twelve fruits. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is behind the woman, with the serpent wrapped around it. The figures suggest youth, virginity, innocence, and love before it is contaminated by gross material desire. This is the card of human love; part of the Way, the Truth and the Life. In a very high sense, the card is a depiction of the Covenant and the Sabbath.

Card Nine

Strength from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Reversed

Tyranny, abuse of power, weakness, discord, sometimes even disgrace.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings (When Upright)

Fortitude. This is one of the cardinal virtues, of which I shall speak later. The female figure is usually represented as closing the mouth of a lion. In the earlier form which is printed by Court de Gebelin, she is obviously opening it. The first alternative is better symbolically, but either is an instance of strength in its conventional understanding, and conveys the idea of mastery. It has been said that the figure represents organic force, moral force and the principle of all force.

Card Description

A woman, over whose head is the same symbol of life seen in the Magician card, closes the jaws of a lion. Her benevolent strength has already subdued the lion, which is being led by a leash of flowers. Fortitude, in one of its most exalted aspects, is connected with the Divine Mystery of Union. It connects also with untouched innocence, and with the strength that resides in contemplation. These higher meanings are hinted at in a concealed manner by the leash of flowers, which signifies the sweet yoke and the light burden of Divine Law, when it has been taken into the heart of hearts. The card has nothing to do with ordinary self-confidence—it concerns the confidence of those whose strength is God and have found their refuge in Him. In one sense, the lion signifies the animal passions, and the lady called Strength signifies the higher nature of Man in his liberation. The higher nature of Man has walked upon the asp and the basilisk and has trodden down the lion and the dragon (see Psalm 91:13).

Card Ten

King of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Reversed

Vice, weakness, ugliness, perversity, corruption, peril.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

An old and vicious man.

Card Description

The face is rather grim, suggesting courage, but is also somewhat lethargic. The bull's head should be noted as a recurrent symbol on the throne.

Card Eleven

King of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Reversed

Cruelty, perversity, barbarity, duplicity, evil intention.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

A bad man; also a caution to put an end to a ruinous lawsuit.

Card Description

He sits in judgement, holding the sign of his suit. He recalls the Justice card from the Major Arcana, and he may represent this virtue, but he possesses earthly power over life and death, because he is King.

Card Twelve

Four of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Country life, safe haven, domestic harvest; home, rest, tranquility, harmony, prosperity, peace, and the perfection of these.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

Unexpected good fortune.

Card Description

From four staves planted in the foreground, a great garland hangs. Two female figures hold up bouquets. To one side is a bridge over a moat, leading to an old mansion.

Card Thirteen

Ten of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Oppression, especially that of fortune, gain, or any kind of success. Success will be mocked if the Nine of Swords follows. If it is a question of a lawsuit, loss is certain.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

Difficulties and contradictions, if near a good card.

Card Description

A man carries ten staves, burdened down by their weight. It represents the burden of material wealth. It may also represent false-seeming, disguise, corruption, as if the place the man approaches will suffer beatings from the rods he carries.

Card Fourteen

The Star from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Loss, theft, deprivation, abandonment.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

The Star, Dog-Star, or Sirius, also called fantastically the Star of the Magi. Grouped about it are seven minor luminaries, and beneath it is a naked female figure, with her left knee upon the earth and her right foot upon the water. She is in the act of pouring fluids from two vessels. A bird is perched on a tree near her; for this a butterfly on a rose has been substituted in some later cards. So also the Star has been called that of Hope. This is one of the cards which Court de Gebelin describes as wholly Egyptian-that is to say, in his own reverie.

Card Description

A large, radiant star of eight points, surrounded by seven lesser stars—also of eight points. The female figure in the foreground is entirely naked. Her left knee is on the land and her right foot on the water. She pours the Water of Life from two great pitchers, irrigating sea and land. Behind her is rising ground, and on the right a shrub on which a bird perches. The figure expresses eternal youth and beauty. The star is l'etoile flamboyante, a symbol of Freemasonry. The figure communicates to the earth around her the substance of the heavens and the elements.

Card Fifteen

Six of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Journey by water, route, travel, messenger, assistance.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

The voyage will be pleasant.

Card Description

A ferryman carries passengers in his raft to the far shore. The course is smooth, and the freight is light; the work is not beyond his strength.

Card Sixteen

Ten of Cups from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Whole-hearted peace and contentment; also perfection of human love and friendship; a person who is taking charge of the Querent's interests; also the town, village or country inhabited by the Querent.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

For a male Querent, a good marriage and one beyond his expectations.

Card Description

Above are ten cups in a rainbow. This vision is contemplated in wonder and awe by a husband and wife below. His right arm is around her, his left raised upward. She raises her right arm. Two children dancing near them have not observed the miracle, but are happy in their own play. There is a home on the horizon.

Card Seventeen

Page of Pentacles from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Application, study, scholarship, reflection; also command, management.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

A dark youth; a young officer or soldier; a child.

Card Description

A youthful figure looks intently at the pentacle that hovers over his raised hands. He moves slowly, ignoring what is around him.

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Card Eighteen

Seven of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Plan, attempt, wish, hope, confidence; also arguments, a plan that may fail, annoyance.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

Dark girl; a good card; it promises a country life after a competence has been secured.

Card Description

A man quickly carries away five swords. Two others remain stuck in the ground. A camp is close at hand.

Card Nineteen

King of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Reversed

Good, but severe; solemn, yet tolerant.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

Advice that should be followed.

Card Description

The physical and emotional nature of this card is dark, avid, agile, and noble. The King holds a flowering wand, and wears a cap beneath his crown. He is symbolized by the lion engraved on the back of his throne.

Card Twenty

Eight of Swords from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Reversed

Anxiety, difficulty, opposition, accident, treachery; surprises; fatality.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

Departure of a relative.

Card Description

A woman stands bound and blindfolded, with the swords of the card around her. It is a card of temporary imprisonment rather than permanent bondage.

Card Twenty One

Ace of Wands from the Vivid Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Card Meaning When Upright

Creation, invention, enterprise, and the powers producing these; guiding principles, beginning, source; birth, family, origin, and perhaps the virility behind them; the starting point of enterprises; possibly money, fortune, inheritance.

A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings

Calamities of all kinds.

Card Description

A hand extending from a cloud grasps a stout wand or club.

Details of this Tarot Reading

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