Hermetic Tarot: Esoteric Card Meanings

December 28, 2025

BY NICOLE LAU

The tarot, in Hermetic tradition, is far more than a divination tool—it is a complete book of wisdom, a visual representation of the Tree of Life, and a map of consciousness encoded in seventy-eight symbolic images. Each card corresponds to specific sephiroth, paths, planets, elements, and spiritual principles, creating a comprehensive system that integrates Qabalah, astrology, alchemy, and mythology. Understanding Hermetic tarot means grasping how these cards function as keys to unlock deeper layers of reality, as meditation objects for spiritual development, and as a language through which the divine communicates. This is tarot as sacred technology, not parlor game.

The Hermetic Foundation of Tarot

Historical Development

While tarot cards originated in 15th-century Italy as playing cards, their esoteric interpretation developed through several key figures:

Antoine Court de Gébelin (1781) – First proposed Egyptian origins and occult significance
Éliphas Lévi (1855) – Connected tarot to the Hebrew alphabet and Qabalah
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1888) – Systematized tarot-Qabalah correspondences
Arthur Edward Waite & Pamela Colman Smith (1909) – Created the Rider-Waite-Smith deck with esoteric symbolism
Aleister Crowley & Lady Frieda Harris (1944) – Produced the Thoth Tarot, the most explicitly Hermetic deck

The Golden Dawn's system, refined by Crowley and others, became the standard for Hermetic tarot interpretation.

The Structure: 78 Keys to Wisdom

The tarot consists of:

22 Major Arcana – Corresponding to the 22 paths on the Tree of Life, the 22 Hebrew letters, and major spiritual principles
56 Minor Arcana – Four suits of 14 cards each, corresponding to the four elements and four worlds
16 Court Cards – Representing personality types and elemental combinations
40 Pip Cards – Numbered cards showing the sephiroth in the four suits

The Major Arcana: The Fool's Journey

The 22 Major Arcana cards represent the soul's journey from ignorance to enlightenment, mapped onto the paths of the Tree of Life. Each card is a world unto itself, containing layers of meaning.

0. The Fool

Path: 11th path, connecting Kether to Chokmah

Hebrew Letter: Aleph (א)

Element: Air

Astrological: Uranus (in some systems)

Esoteric Meaning: The Fool represents the divine spark before manifestation, pure potential, the soul at the beginning of its journey. It is the zero point, the void pregnant with all possibilities. The Fool is holy innocence, divine madness, and the courage to step into the unknown. In Hermetic terms, it is the Ain Soph (infinite unmanifest) taking its first step toward manifestation.

Spiritual Lesson: Trust in the divine plan, embrace the unknown, release attachment to outcomes.

I. The Magician (The Magus)

Path: 12th path, connecting Kether to Binah

Hebrew Letter: Beth (ב)

Planet: Mercury

Esoteric Meaning: The Magician represents conscious will, the ability to channel divine power into manifestation. "As above, so below"—the Magician stands between heaven and earth, wielding the four elemental tools (wand, cup, sword, pentacle) to create reality. This is Thoth-Hermes, the divine intelligence that speaks the Word and brings form from formlessness.

Spiritual Lesson: Develop will, master the elements, understand that consciousness creates reality.

II. The High Priestess

Path: 13th path, connecting Kether to Tiphareth

Hebrew Letter: Gimel (ג)

Planet: Moon

Esoteric Meaning: The High Priestess represents the divine feminine, hidden knowledge, and the veil between worlds. She sits between the pillars of Severity and Mercy, guarding the mysteries. She is Isis, the keeper of secrets, the unconscious mind, and the lunar wisdom that complements the Magician's solar will.

Spiritual Lesson: Develop intuition, honor the feminine principle, seek hidden knowledge.

III. The Empress

Path: 14th path, connecting Chokmah to Binah

Hebrew Letter: Daleth (ד)

Planet: Venus

Esoteric Meaning: The Empress represents the Great Mother, fertility, abundance, and the creative power of nature. She is Binah in manifestation, the womb from which all forms emerge. The Empress is love, beauty, and the generative force that sustains life.

Spiritual Lesson: Embrace creativity, nurture growth, honor the body and nature.

IV. The Emperor

Path: 15th path, connecting Chokmah to Tiphareth

Hebrew Letter: Heh (ה)

Sign: Aries

Esoteric Meaning: The Emperor represents authority, structure, and the ordering principle. He is the divine father, the lawgiver, the force that brings order from chaos. The Emperor is Chokmah's dynamic energy given form and direction.

Spiritual Lesson: Develop discipline, create structure, exercise rightful authority.

V. The Hierophant

Path: 16th path, connecting Chokmah to Chesed

Hebrew Letter: Vav (ו)

Sign: Taurus

Esoteric Meaning: The Hierophant represents spiritual authority, tradition, and the transmission of sacred knowledge. He is the bridge between divine and human, the teacher who initiates seekers into the mysteries. The Hierophant is the outer teacher who points toward the inner truth.

Spiritual Lesson: Seek authentic teaching, honor tradition while transcending dogma, become a bridge for others.

VI. The Lovers

Path: 17th path, connecting Binah to Tiphareth

Hebrew Letter: Zayin (ז)

Sign: Gemini

Esoteric Meaning: The Lovers represents the union of opposites, choice, and the alchemical marriage. This is the integration of masculine and feminine, conscious and unconscious, spirit and matter. The Lovers is the moment of choosing the spiritual path over the material.

Spiritual Lesson: Make conscious choices, integrate opposites, seek union with the divine.

VII. The Chariot

Path: 18th path, connecting Binah to Geburah

Hebrew Letter: Cheth (ח)

Sign: Cancer

Esoteric Meaning: The Chariot represents mastery, control, and the triumph of will over circumstance. The charioteer controls opposing forces (the black and white sphinxes) through focused intention. This is the soul that has gained control over its vehicles (body, emotions, mind).

Spiritual Lesson: Master the self, direct opposing forces, achieve victory through discipline.

VIII. Strength (Lust in Thoth deck)

Path: 19th path, connecting Chesed to Geburah

Hebrew Letter: Teth (ט)

Sign: Leo

Esoteric Meaning: Strength represents the taming of the beast, the integration of primal forces, and the power of love over force. The woman gently closes the lion's mouth—this is spiritual strength, not physical might. It is the higher self mastering the lower nature through compassion rather than violence.

Spiritual Lesson: Integrate the shadow, master passion through love, develop true strength.

IX. The Hermit

Path: 20th path, connecting Chesed to Tiphareth

Hebrew Letter: Yod (י)

Sign: Virgo

Esoteric Meaning: The Hermit represents solitude, introspection, and the inner light. He stands alone on the mountain, holding the lamp of wisdom that illuminates the path for others. The Hermit is the wise teacher who has withdrawn from the world to find truth within.

Spiritual Lesson: Seek solitude, develop inner wisdom, become a light for others.

X. Wheel of Fortune

Path: 21st path, connecting Chesed to Netzach

Hebrew Letter: Kaph (כ)

Planet: Jupiter

Esoteric Meaning: The Wheel represents cycles, fate, and the turning of fortune. What rises must fall; what falls will rise again. The Wheel is the principle of rhythm, the eternal return, and the understanding that all things are in flux. At the center is the still point—consciousness that observes the wheel without being caught in it.

Spiritual Lesson: Accept change, understand cycles, find the still center.

XI. Justice (Adjustment in Thoth deck)

Path: 22nd path, connecting Geburah to Tiphareth

Hebrew Letter: Lamed (ל)

Sign: Libra

Esoteric Meaning: Justice represents balance, karma, and the law of cause and effect. The scales weigh all actions; the sword cuts away illusion. Justice is cosmic law, the principle that every action produces consequences, and the necessity of balance in all things.

Spiritual Lesson: Accept responsibility, seek balance, understand karmic law.

XII. The Hanged Man

Path: 23rd path, connecting Geburah to Hod

Hebrew Letter: Mem (מ)

Element: Water

Esoteric Meaning: The Hanged Man represents surrender, sacrifice, and seeing from a new perspective. Suspended upside-down, he sees the world differently. This is the willing sacrifice of the ego, the death of the old self, and the gestation period before rebirth. The Hanged Man is Odin on the World Tree, Christ on the cross—the god who sacrifices himself for wisdom.

Spiritual Lesson: Surrender the ego, embrace sacrifice, gain new perspective.

XIII. Death

Path: 24th path, connecting Tiphareth to Netzach

Hebrew Letter: Nun (נ)

Sign: Scorpio

Esoteric Meaning: Death represents transformation, endings, and the dissolution necessary for rebirth. This is not physical death but the death of the false self, the shedding of what no longer serves. Death is the alchemical putrefaction, the nigredo, the necessary destruction that precedes creation.

Spiritual Lesson: Embrace transformation, release the past, trust the process of death and rebirth.

XIV. Temperance (Art in Thoth deck)

Path: 25th path, connecting Tiphareth to Yesod

Hebrew Letter: Samekh (ס)

Sign: Sagittarius

Esoteric Meaning: Temperance represents alchemy, balance, and the mixing of opposites to create something new. The angel pours water between vessels, blending fire and water, sun and moon, conscious and unconscious. This is the alchemical marriage, the creation of the philosopher's stone through the union of opposites.

Spiritual Lesson: Practice moderation, blend opposites, engage in alchemical transformation.

XV. The Devil

Path: 26th path, connecting Tiphareth to Hod

Hebrew Letter: Ayin (ע)

Sign: Capricorn

Esoteric Meaning: The Devil represents bondage, materialism, and the shadow self. The chained figures could free themselves but don't realize it—this is the illusion of limitation, the belief that we are only material beings. The Devil is Pan, the god of nature and instinct, reminding us that we are animals as well as spirits. The lesson is not to reject the material but to recognize we are not bound by it.

Spiritual Lesson: Recognize illusions, integrate the shadow, transcend material bondage.

XVI. The Tower

Path: 27th path, connecting Netzach to Hod

Hebrew Letter: Peh (פ)

Planet: Mars

Esoteric Meaning: The Tower represents sudden upheaval, the destruction of false structures, and the lightning bolt of revelation. The tower of ego and illusion is struck down, forcing a confrontation with truth. This is the dark night of the soul, the necessary destruction that clears space for authentic rebuilding.

Spiritual Lesson: Accept necessary destruction, release false structures, embrace revelation.

XVII. The Star

Path: 28th path, connecting Netzach to Yesod

Hebrew Letter: Tzaddi (צ)

Sign: Aquarius

Esoteric Meaning: The Star represents hope, inspiration, and divine guidance. After the destruction of the Tower, the Star offers healing and renewal. The naked woman pours water onto land and into water—this is the flow of divine grace, the connection to higher consciousness, and the promise that guidance is always available.

Spiritual Lesson: Maintain hope, trust divine guidance, allow healing.

XVIII. The Moon

Path: 29th path, connecting Netzach to Malkuth

Hebrew Letter: Qoph (ק)

Planet: Pisces

Esoteric Meaning: The Moon represents illusion, the unconscious, and the journey through the dark night. The path between the towers leads into the unknown, guarded by the dog and wolf (tamed and wild nature). This is the descent into the unconscious, the confrontation with fears and illusions, and the navigation of the astral realm.

Spiritual Lesson: Navigate illusion, explore the unconscious, trust intuition in darkness.

XIX. The Sun

Path: 30th path, connecting Hod to Yesod

Hebrew Letter: Resh (ר)

Planet: Sun

Esoteric Meaning: The Sun represents clarity, joy, and the light of consciousness. After the Moon's darkness, the Sun brings illumination and celebration. The child on the white horse is the reborn self, innocent yet wise, having integrated the journey's lessons. This is enlightenment, the solar consciousness that sees all clearly.

Spiritual Lesson: Embrace joy, celebrate consciousness, shine your light.

XX. Judgement (The Aeon in Thoth deck)

Path: 31st path, connecting Hod to Malkuth

Hebrew Letter: Shin (ש)

Element: Fire

Esoteric Meaning: Judgement represents resurrection, renewal, and the call to higher consciousness. The angel's trumpet awakens the dead—this is the awakening of the soul to its true nature, the final judgment where all is revealed, and the transition to a new level of being. In Crowley's Aeon, this is the birth of the new age, the Horus child emerging.

Spiritual Lesson: Answer the call, embrace renewal, step into higher consciousness.

XXI. The World (The Universe in Thoth deck)

Path: 32nd path, connecting Yesod to Malkuth

Hebrew Letter: Tav (ת)

Planet: Saturn

Esoteric Meaning: The World represents completion, integration, and cosmic consciousness. The dancing figure within the wreath has completed the journey, integrated all lessons, and achieved wholeness. This is the realization that the self and the cosmos are one, that Malkuth and Kether are united, that the journey ends where it began—but transformed.

Spiritual Lesson: Achieve integration, recognize completion, dance in cosmic consciousness.

The Minor Arcana: The Sephiroth in Four Worlds

The 40 numbered cards (Ace through Ten in four suits) represent the ten sephiroth manifesting in the four elements/worlds:

The Four Suits

Wands (Fire/Atziluth) – Will, creativity, spirit, enterprise
Cups (Water/Briah) – Emotion, intuition, relationships, the soul
Swords (Air/Yetzirah) – Intellect, conflict, communication, the mind
Pentacles/Disks (Earth/Assiah) – Material, body, resources, manifestation

The Numbered Cards

Each number corresponds to a sephirah:

Aces – Kether: Pure potential, root of the element
Twos – Chokmah: Initial manifestation, duality
Threes – Binah: Form, understanding, initial completion
Fours – Chesed: Stability, structure, foundation
Fives – Geburah: Conflict, disruption, necessary destruction
Sixes – Tiphareth: Harmony, balance, beauty
Sevens – Netzach: Perseverance, challenge, partial success
Eights – Hod: Intellect, skill, communication
Nines – Yesod: Culmination, foundation for manifestation
Tens – Malkuth: Completion, manifestation, material result

Example: The Five of Swords is Geburah (conflict, severity) in the suit of Swords (intellect, air), representing mental conflict, defeat, or the harsh cutting away of illusions.

The Court Cards: Elemental Personalities

The 16 court cards represent combinations of elements and levels of consciousness:

Kings – Fire of the element (active, initiating)
Queens – Water of the element (receptive, nurturing)
Knights – Air of the element (dynamic, moving)
Pages – Earth of the element (grounded, learning)

Example: The Queen of Cups is Water of Water—pure emotional receptivity, intuition, and psychic sensitivity.

Tarot as Meditation and Pathworking

Beyond divination, Hermetic tarot serves as a meditation tool:

Single Card Meditation

Select a card (or draw one randomly)
Study the imagery in detail
Close your eyes and recreate the card mentally
Step into the card—become part of the scene
Interact with the symbols and figures
Receive insights or teachings
Return and record your experience

Pathworking the Tree

Use the Major Arcana to journey through the paths of the Tree of Life, experiencing each transition between sephiroth as a stage of spiritual development.

Tarot Divination: Reading the Language of the Soul

Hermetic tarot divination is not fortune-telling but soul-reading—revealing the spiritual forces at work in a situation:

Preparation

Cleanse and consecrate your deck
Create sacred space (LBRP or similar)
Center and ground yourself
Invoke divine guidance (Thoth, your HGA, etc.)
Formulate a clear question

Interpretation Principles

Consider the card's Qabalistic position
Note astrological and elemental correspondences
Observe relationships between cards
Trust intuition alongside knowledge
Look for patterns and themes
Consider reversals as blocked or internalized energy

Integrating Tarot into Hermetic Practice

Daily draw – Pull one card each morning for guidance
Study program – Meditate on one card per day, cycling through the deck
Magical timing – Use tarot to determine optimal timing for workings
Ritual incorporation – Place relevant cards on altars during magical operations
Journaling – Record insights and experiences with each card

The Living Book

The tarot is a living book that reveals new meanings at each level of understanding. What begins as simple divination becomes a comprehensive spiritual technology—a map of consciousness, a meditation system, and a direct line of communication with the divine.

Each card is a world, each spread a story, each reading a conversation with the soul. The Fool's journey is your journey, the Tree of Life is your structure, and the seventy-eight keys unlock the doors of perception.

As above, so below—and the tarot stands between, the pictorial language through which heaven speaks to earth, through which the unconscious communicates with the conscious, through which the divine reveals its mysteries to those who have eyes to see.