More on the Major Arcana
Taken from the Persona 3 game script, the lecture for August 11, 2009:
The modern 78-card tarot deck is divided into two parts. There are 22 Major Arcana--the face cards--and 56 Minor Arcana, or number cards... The Minor Arcana are also sometimes called pips. The Major Arcana feature a variety of illustrations on their faces. Beginning with "The Fool" and ending with "The World"... they tell a story in numerical order that is a metaphor of an individual's journey through life. Each Major Arcana represents a stage on that journey... an experience that the individual must incorporate to realize his oneness. They are all important, so let's take a look at each of the 22 cards, one by one.
The first card, numbered 0, is The Fool. It represents the beginning and suggests infinite possibilities.
The next card, The Magician, represents action and initiative... but also immaturity.
The Priestess represents contemplation and inner knowledge.
The Empress represents motherhood and the life it brings forth.
The Emperor is an opposing card. It represents fathering and relates to leadership and decision-making skills.
The Hierophant represents formality and knowledge, and stands for religion.
The Lovers card represents choice. Here, the individual's consciousness has finally surfaced.
The Chariot represents victory for the individual, but only a momentary one.
Justice represents the knowledge of what is right, and what is wrong.
The Hermit represents the individual's search for answers by looking inward, deep inside his heart.
Fortune represents fate, and the opportunities that come with it.
Strength represents both passion and self-control. It is depicted as power with reason.
The Hanged Man reflects the individual's inability to take action.
Spiritual death awaits the individual with the 13th card, which is aptly named Death. Death is considered a transitional card... The old ends, and the new begins. Now, let us continue along the path, following the transition.
Temperance is the balancing of opposites. Opening his eyes to the world allows the individual to grow...
And as the Devil represents, he then faces temptation...
At The Tower, his values collapse on him. It seems as if he no longer has anything to believe in, but...
...he then finds a glimmer of hope, represented by The Star; and he is suffused with a serene calm.
This bliss makes him vulnerable to the illusions of The Moon. Fears arise, and he follows the dim path in his heart with trepidation...
But he is rewarded with a bright future, represented by The Sun, which signifies true achievement.
Judgement awaits the individual at the end of his journey, as he looks back on the path he has traveled.
The final card is The World, which represents the individual's full awareness of his place in the world.
That is the growth of an individual as explained by the tarot cards.