The Library

All 78 cards of the tarot — their meanings, associations, and symbols.


78 cards
The Sun

The Sun

Major Arcana · Fire · Sun

joy vitality success clarity abundance

Upright

The Sun shines without reservation — a child rides a white horse beneath its beams, arms flung open. This is the card of radiant joy, of success and vitality, of clarity that dispels every shadow. Something is flourishing. Let yourself be seen and celebrated.

Reversed

Reversed, the Sun is temporarily clouded — optimism has dimmed, or joy has become pride or arrogance. There may be an inner child who needs attention and care, or a success that hasn't been acknowledged. The light is still there, even when you can't feel it.

Whatever is happening here is genuinely good and does not need to be examined for hidden problems before you are allowed to enjoy it. Let yourself be seen plainly by the person you care about — the unguarded, uncomplicated version of this is the one worth having.

Reversed

A real success in this relationship is going unacknowledged — you already have the good thing and have not let it register as such. Notice the light that is already there instead of waiting for a brighter one to arrive.

Recognition is arriving, or has already arrived, and it is deserved — take it without deflecting or immediately worrying about what comes next. This is a moment for visibility, not modesty; let your work be seen in full daylight.

Reversed

Success has come but you have not let yourself feel it, or you are taking more credit than the work actually earned. Either recalibrate your sense of your own achievement, or finally accept the praise that is already yours.

Vitality is genuinely on your side right now — energy, clarity, a body that wants to move rather than one that has to be coaxed into it. Say yes to the activity, the sunlight, the thing you have been too cautious to try; this is the season your body can meet it.

Reversed

Your energy is real, but you are spending it faster than your body can replace it, riding the momentum straight past the point where rest was due. Slow down enough to let the vitality actually settle into you instead of burning through it.

Clarity has arrived and it is not subtle — whatever question or confusion sat over you before, this card answers it plainly. Let the joy of that answer be simple; resist the urge to complicate a moment of genuine, uncomplicated understanding.

Reversed

A younger, more open part of you has gone quiet under adult caution, and it deserves attention rather than dismissal. Let a little unguarded delight back in before the seriousness becomes permanent.

Yes or no

Yes, plainly and without qualification.

Timing

Now, or close enough to now that waiting would only be habit.

Advice

Say yes openly. This is a moment to be seen and to enjoy what is actually good, without hedging it for fear of jinxing it.

Reversed

Find the light that is already available instead of waiting for a bigger, more dramatic version of it. The joy on offer right now is smaller than you want and real.

The child on the white horse

A naked child rides bareback, arms flung wide, no reins in hand. Joy here needs no control or justification — it simply moves forward, trusting the horse under it completely.

The four sunflowers

Tall blooms turned to face the light, growing over a low grey wall behind the child. Even what is rooted and stationary orients itself toward this much warmth.

The large radiant sun with a face

A wide, human-featured sun filling most of the upper sky, straight rays alternating with wavy ones. Warmth and clarity are given a personality here — this is not abstract good fortune, it is direct and aimed at you.

The grey wall

A low stone barrier the child rides past without slowing. Whatever limitation it represents has already been outgrown; it is background now, not an obstacle.

Element
Fire
Astrology
Sun
Hebrew letter
ר (Resh)
Path
30 — Hod to Yesod
Number
Nineteen collapses to one — a return to the Fool's beginning, but lit now instead of leapt blind. Simplicity earned rather than assumed.

On the Tree

The Sun is the thirtieth path, Resh, running from Hod to Yesod — intellect passing down into the foundation of personality, clarity that has finally reached a place solid enough to build on. Wherever it lands on the Tree, it marks a position lit clearly enough that nothing about it needs to be guessed at. High on the Tree it is understanding arrived at directly. Low on the Tree, in Yesod or Malkuth, it means the outcome or foundation is genuinely as good as it appears, without a hidden catch waiting underneath it.

Close

Major Arcana

The Fool
The Fool
The Magician
The Magician
The High Priestess
The High Priestess
The Empress
The Empress
The Emperor
The Emperor
The Hierophant
The Hierophant
The Lovers
The Lovers
The Chariot
The Chariot
Strength
Strength
The Hermit
The Hermit
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune
Justice
Justice
The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man
Death
Death
Temperance
Temperance
The Devil
The Devil
The Tower
The Tower
The Star
The Star
The Moon
The Moon
The Sun
The Sun
Judgement
Judgement
The World
The World

Wands

Ace of Wands
Ace of Wands
Two of Wands
Two of Wands
Three of Wands
Three of Wands
Four of Wands
Four of Wands
Five of Wands
Five of Wands
Six of Wands
Six of Wands
Seven of Wands
Seven of Wands
Eight of Wands
Eight of Wands
Nine of Wands
Nine of Wands
Ten of Wands
Ten of Wands
Page of Wands
Page of Wands
Knight of Wands
Knight of Wands
Queen of Wands
Queen of Wands
King of Wands
King of Wands

Cups

Ace of Cups
Ace of Cups
Two of Cups
Two of Cups
Three of Cups
Three of Cups
Four of Cups
Four of Cups
Five of Cups
Five of Cups
Six of Cups
Six of Cups
Seven of Cups
Seven of Cups
Eight of Cups
Eight of Cups
Nine of Cups
Nine of Cups
Ten of Cups
Ten of Cups
Page of Cups
Page of Cups
Knight of Cups
Knight of Cups
Queen of Cups
Queen of Cups
King of Cups
King of Cups

Swords

Ace of Swords
Ace of Swords
Two of Swords
Two of Swords
Three of Swords
Three of Swords
Four of Swords
Four of Swords
Five of Swords
Five of Swords
Six of Swords
Six of Swords
Seven of Swords
Seven of Swords
Eight of Swords
Eight of Swords
Nine of Swords
Nine of Swords
Ten of Swords
Ten of Swords
Page of Swords
Page of Swords
Knight of Swords
Knight of Swords
Queen of Swords
Queen of Swords
King of Swords
King of Swords

Pentacles

Ace of Pentacles
Ace of Pentacles
Two of Pentacles
Two of Pentacles
Three of Pentacles
Three of Pentacles
Four of Pentacles
Four of Pentacles
Five of Pentacles
Five of Pentacles
Six of Pentacles
Six of Pentacles
Seven of Pentacles
Seven of Pentacles
Eight of Pentacles
Eight of Pentacles
Nine of Pentacles
Nine of Pentacles
Ten of Pentacles
Ten of Pentacles
Page of Pentacles
Page of Pentacles
Knight of Pentacles
Knight of Pentacles
Queen of Pentacles
Queen of Pentacles
King of Pentacles
King of Pentacles