Do you see the Major Arcana as the Fool's Journey?

[Darrell]

Hey all,

 

I’ve been reflecting lately on how the Major Arcana can be read as a symbolic journey — not just a sequence of cards, but a narrative arc. The Fool’s Journey is often described this way: a soul’s evolution through encounters, from innocence to wisdom.

 

Personally, I like to tell the story in three phases:

 

• Awakening — where the Fool leaps into life and begins forming identity through will, desire, and structure
  (Cards 0–VII: The Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot)
• Surrender — where the Fool turns inward, confronting emotion, solitude, and transformation
  (Cards VIII–XIV: Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance)
• Transcendence — where the Fool faces shadow, illusion, and ultimately returns to wholeness
  (Cards XV–XXI: Devil, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Judgment, World)

 

It’s not a rigid framework, just a way I’ve found meaningful when reflecting. Each phase feels like a distinct passage — and together, they form a cycle of becoming. I’ve been journaling about Tarot for a long time, and this three-phase arc first appeared in my notes nearly twenty years ago. It’s evolved slowly, shaped more by reflection than expertise. I don’t claim to be an expert — just someone with a long-standing curiosity that’s helped me make sense of the cards over time.

 

I’m curious how others here see it. Do you read the Major Arcana as a journey? If so, how do you tell it? Do you break it into phases, or see it as one continuous arc? And if you don’t see it that way at all — what speaks to you instead?

 

Would love to hear how you approach it, whether in readings, teaching, or personal reflection.

 

Sincerely,

Darrell

[Misterei]

8 hours ago, Darrell said:

• Awakening — where the Fool leaps into life and begins forming identity through will, desire, and structure
  (Cards 0–VII: The Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot)
• Surrender — where the Fool turns inward, confronting emotion, solitude, and transformation
  (Cards VIII–XIV: Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance)
• Transcendence — where the Fool faces shadow, illusion, and ultimately returns to wholeness
  (Cards XV–XXI: Devil, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Judgment, World)

 

... Would love to hear how you approach it, whether in readings, teaching, or personal reflection.

The triunfi naturally fall into 3 groups of 7 cards. It originally followed neoplatonic symbolism back in the 1400s. The 3 states through which a developing soul evolves. Soul of Appetite [body] soul of courage [heart] soul of reason [higher mind].

Many different iterations since then.

I like your modern take on the 3 phases. 

[Darrell]

8 hours ago, Misterei said:

The triunfi naturally fall into 3 groups of 7 cards. It originally followed neoplatonic symbolism back in the 1400s. The 3 states through which a developing soul evolves. Soul of Appetite [body] soul of courage [heart] soul of reason [higher mind].

Many different iterations since then.

I like your modern take on the 3 phases. 

 

Wow, Misterei — thank you for taking the time to respond.

 

I had to look up the word triunfi — I didn’t realize it was the older Italian word for Triumphs/Trumps when I first saw it.

 

I realize I don’t have much historical background on the Tarot, so I feel a bit like I’ve been living in a vacuum. 

 

You mentioned you liked my modern take on the three phases — that feels like a huge compliment, so thank you for saying that. When I first encountered the idea of the cards as a story years ago, I immediately got my deck out and tried to tell it in my own words. I’ve been making small edits to that version ever since.

 

It’s fascinating to see how my personal reflections line up with ideas that were already circulating centuries ago. I’d love to learn more about how those Neoplatonic groupings were understood in their time, or what your take is on that journey.

 

Thanks again for sharing your perspective, it really gave me something to think about, especially the way you connected it to body, heart, and mind.

 

Sincerely,

Darrell

[Symph]

I can't remember EXACTLY what I was originally taught or believed about the 3 phases in the Tarot, but awakening, surrender, and transcendence and the way you described them is what resonates with me personally and fits my own journey.  It was learning about the story the cards tell that made me want to read Tarot.  I was still quite weary of anything that could be deemed occult at the time.  Some gaia TV special came on and a man was explaining his view on tarot and he just had so much passion and love in what he was saying, and then he explained the journey of the soul that the Tarot sort of "tells", and whatever he said I was like "omg that's ALL SO TRUE"  Something stirred inside me like I was feeling a calling or even a remembrance of something I used to know, and I ordered a deck the next day 😁

[Darrell]

Symph — I really appreciate you sharing that. The way you described that moment of recognition, like something stirred inside you, really came through. I had a similar experience myself the day I stumbled across a reader at a Renaissance fair when I was young. It’s striking how those first encounters can stay with us and shape the way we connect to the cards.

 

The three phases I described — Awakening, Surrender, and Transcendence — are just one way I’ve tried to make sense of the arc. Awakening feels like the Fool stepping into identity and will; Surrender feels like the turn inward, where solitude and transformation reshape us; and Transcendence feels like facing shadow and illusion on the way back to wholeness. It’s not rigid, just a lens I’ve found meaningful.

 

They’ve become a kind of road map I keep returning to, refining little by little over the years. When one of these cards comes up in a reading, it often grabs my attention in a particular way. I’ll have a quick internal dialogue with myself — oh, this is important; what position did it fall into, where might the seeker be on their path, and how does this card make me feel in relation to the spread as a whole? That moment of pause helps me listen more closely to what the card is pointing toward.

 

I’m curious how you carry that sense of the journey now — does it come through when you read for others, or more as a personal lens you hold in the background?
 

Sincerely,

[Symph]

Well unfortunately I can't actually read Tarot right now, I recently lost my place of living and had to move back in with my parents who are STAUNCHLY christian, and they won't even allow my cards in their house, I'm lucky they even let me keep them in the garage actually.  I hate it too because I'm at a place where my intuition is rising, my fear is leaving, and I could really use some incite into where I'm at and how close I am to being done with the "turning inward" phase as you call it.  But at the end of the day I'm not going to sneak the cards in or anything out of respect, I suppose I could ask some of my questions to the readers on here though!  Hadn't thought about that haha.  

 

And yeah I mean, when I say I used to fear the Tarot I really mean it!  Along with all the occult stuff I really did one hell of a shift, and that's why hearing about the fool's journey was so important for me.  It was like, suddenly these cards weren't some spooky witchy means of spying on others or trying to figure out the future out of I dunno... ego or something, I was shocked to find that so many real life lessons that I knew in my heart were true were being taught through the cards.  I had no idea the Tarot had such meaning and depth, and nothing about it seemed evil once I grasped what the cards meant.  And when I realized you could use them for inner work, not just trying to know about the outside world, but trying to figure out your own inner world, these types of things drew me to it.  

 

As far as how I see the fool's journey now, I mean I haven't studied this stuff in ages, I have books that were gifted to me by a member here that I would be reading if they were allowed in the house!  But the way you say it sounds right, it's like... you begin your journey innocent and naive, you ignorantly fall off the cliff so to speak, you then become sort of aware of your place in society, you brush up against uncomfortable systems, you realize you are powerless, so you turn within (hermit) then sort of.. the next level of true awakening happens, then once you are on the verge of self realization you are tested again to see if the lessons have stuck, and then you became a naked lady dancing on top of the world of course!  (Ok I got a little sidetracked there at the end)

 

So yeah that was my clunky ass way of remembering it lol

[DanielJUK]

The Fool's Journey (which some people don't follow at all) is really a method of learning and remembering the Majors. It's useful for learning the progress of the cards when you are starting out. I think it was first published as an idea in a book by Eden Gray in the 70's. It was interesting to link the cards that way, Waite had also connected the major before that.

 

I think it is something to think about though as it's a metaphor for the spiritual and archetypical journey we go through life. I do think we go through cycles like the majors and one completes and we are back at The Fool.

I like the idea of the 3 phases of the journey, the cards do fit. I would only use it loosely in actual readings, because any of the cards could be an awakening at some point in our lives or a transformation. 

 

It's always interesting to think about which Major card you currently feel you are at that stage of life. I find that exercise quite helpful for self-work and you can see which phase you are in.

 

 

[DanielJUK]

@Symph could you use a tarot phone app? There are many apps for both iOS and Android.

[Barleywine]

I spent over four decades trying to accept the Major Arcana as representing the significant life-events proposed by Eden Gray, only to realize that, in my own experience, they almost never did. So now I read them as showing the environmental backdrop or overarching theme for the events and circumstances indicated by the Minor Arcana. They may still create an atmosphere conducive to "something big," but I haven't seen it materialize in practice. (The Tower is an excellent example, usually indicating only mild annoyances.) Rather than continuing to struggle with it, I changed my perspective.

[Darrell]

Morning everyone,

 

@Symph I understand about needing to keep peace at home. Maybe when you are out and about you can visit online resources like this one to keep in touch. I also like your reflections about The Fool, Hermit, and the World. 😀 In the end, I believe whatever the Tarot is, we carry it with us where ever we go. It's never locked away. Something must have spoke to you in order to get you to respond to this thread.

 

@DanielJUK Yes! I agree "the story as a whole" is not the basis of what ever your working on in the moment. Overall, what I like about it is the journey, or the story that it reminds me of when I see one of them. And in how far back in time you can actually trace the story itself. I have two books by Eden Gray. Mastering the Tarot, and A Complete Guide to the Tarot. The pages are falling out of  the first one. I typically keep a rubber band around it. lol They have highlighting and notes throughout Beyond that, maybe three or four others and that's my entire collection.

 

Sincerely,

[Darrell]

@Barleywine Understood! I like them as "Major" indicators. I have a lot of time with the cards, but not a lot of time reading for others. I read more for myself and internal reflection than actually sitting down with someone else. I'd guess it's been around 15 years since I pulled a card for someone I didn't know. I have in the last few months begun studying again. It still calls to me.

 

Sincerely,

[Symph]

2 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

@Symph could you use a tarot phone app? There are many apps for both iOS and Android.

yeeeeeah, cause then there's no "evil object" in the house, I'll look into that!