This section contains information about every card in the tarot deck. Here are the features you will find:
Name and Picture
The name of the card with a small picture of its image from the Rider-Waite deck.
Keywords
Keywords are three to five words or phrases that capture the main themes of the card. They are listed at the top of each card's page. There is a keyword summary chart for all the major arcana cards (page 61) and two charts for the minor arcana cards (pages 128–129).
Actions
Actions are phrases describing some ways the energy of each keyword manifests. Two sample actions for the High Priestess are “looking beyond the obvious” and “sensing the secret and hidden.” These are ways to experience mystery. The active form is used to emphasize how a card represents dynamic energy.
Reversed
A card's energy is conveyed by its keywords and actions. When a card is reversed, that same energy is present, but at a low level. It's not expressing strongly and freely. It is blocked, restricted, incomplete, or otherwise reduced in some way. The energy may be just beginning (early phase) or losing power (ending phase). As a rule of thumb, an energy is in the early phase if it hasn't been noticeably present as yet. It's in the late phase if it has been present and is now fading.
For each keyword, some examples are given of how that energy might express if the card is reversed. There are examples for early and late phases. Think of these examples as applying to whatever a reversed card represents in a reading.
Description
The description offers a few paragraphs of extra information about a card and what it implies in a reading. The major arcana descriptions tend to be more general and philosophical. The minor arcana descriptions are more concrete and everyday.
Opposing Cards
Some cards are listed that might form an opposing pair with the given card when it appears in a reading. See Chapters Three and Five for more about opposing pairs. Some suit and court card rank pair combinations are listed in Part Five, page 336.
Reinforcing Cards
Some cards are listed that might form a reinforcing pair with the given card when it appears in a reading. See Chapter Three for more on reinforcing cards.
Court Card Pairs
Court cards form natural pairs because of their distinctive personalities. The pairs are based on the ranks and suits of the two court cards. See Chapters Three and Five. Some suit pair combinations and court card rank pair combinations are listed in Part Five.
Ace-Ace Pairs
An Ace-Ace pair indicates a unique chance to grow in a new direction that taps the energy of both suits.
Fool's Journey
You can discover more about the major arcana cards in Appendix A: The Fool's Journey.