Ever wonder what the word “Arcana” actually means in tarot?
You hear it all the time: Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, arcana this, arcana that.
But “arcana” isn’t a tarot-only word. It’s an old word with a very specific meaning, and once you know it, those tarot labels suddenly make perfect sense.
Arcana comes from arcanum, tied to “secret” or “mystery”
“Arcana” traces back to the Latin root associated with secret, hidden, private, the same family as “arcane.”
A quick language nerd bonus: arcana is historically the plural form (plural of arcanum), and English usage often keeps it that way.
So when tarot people say “arcana,” they’re basically saying:
the mysteries / the hidden stuff / the secrets.
Simple, right? You don’t need robes or rituals, just a little Latin.
Major Arcana literally reads like “greater secrets”
Once you know the root, the tarot phrases translate pretty cleanly:
Major Arcana → “greater secrets”
Minor Arcana → “lesser secrets”
That doesn’t mean the deck is trying to be dramatic (okay… it might be a little dramatic). It’s mainly a naming convention that separates the tarot into two parts: the “big” set and the “everyday” set.
Major vs Minor, in plain terms
Here’s the practical split those labels are pointing to.
Major Arcana = the 22 trump cards
In a standard 78-card tarot deck, the Major Arcana are typically the 22 trump cards, the named, numbered cards running from The Fool (0) through The World (21).
Minor Arcana = the 56 suit cards
The Minor Arcana are the 56 suit cards (four suits, numbers, and court cards), the part of the deck that looks structurally closer to playing cards.
If you’re using the Rider–Waite–Smith deck as your reference point, it follows that standard structure: 78 total cards = 22 Major + 56 Minor.
Quick tarot history note: these terms are tied to occult-era tarot, not early card players
One detail people don’t always realize: “Major Arcana” and “Minor Arcana” are terms strongly associated with tarot’s occult/divinatory framing, not the original card-game context.
The Victoria and Albert Museum notes that Éliphas Lévi introduced the terms “Major” and “Minor Arcana” to refer to the trump cards and pip/suit cards.
And the Met’s overview on tarot history helps anchor the bigger point: tarot decks began as playing cards long before they became widely used for fortune-telling.
So: yes, the language sounds mystical, but it’s also historically situated.
FAQ
Does “arcana” mean tarot is literally secret knowledge?
Not necessarily. The word is tied to the idea of “secrets/mysteries,” but in modern tarot usage it mostly functions as a label for two sections of the deck.
Do Major Arcana cards always mean “big life events”?
They can point to larger themes, but nothing in tarot is one-size-fits-all. Without context (the question, the situation, and surrounding cards), any single card is mostly just a symbol.
Is the Rider–Waite deck a good reference deck for learning this stuff?
Yeah, because it’s a common standard reference and it uses the classic 78-card structure (22 Major, 56 Minor).
Sources and Further Reading
Etymonline — “arcana” / “arcanum” (Latin roots; arcana as plural; meaning “hidden things, mysteries”).
Merriam-Webster — “arcanum” (modern definition; plural “arcana”; “mysterious or specialized knowledge”).
Victoria and Albert Museum — “A history of tarot cards” (notes Lévi introducing “Major” and “Minor Arcana” terminology).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art — “Before Fortune-Telling: The History and Structure of Tarot Cards” (tarot’s historical context and structure).
Wikipedia — Rider–Waite Tarot overview (78-card structure: 22 Major, 56 Minor).
Links and disclosures
If you want a structured way to learn tarot that stays practical and skill-based, I recommend the Academy of Divination by Dusty White (I’m an affiliate and personally took the course 10 years ago):
If you want to study this specific imagery hands-on, these are the most relevant picks from your Amazon list for this topic:
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.