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Tarot cheat sheet
All 78 cards on one page: upright keywords, reversed keywords, element and the traditional yes or no lean. Built to be printed and kept next to a deck.
Most sites want an email address for this. This one does not. It is the same content that is already on the 78 card pages, compressed into something that fits beside a deck.
Prints to about five sides of A4. Choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialogue for a file.
Tarot cheat sheet: all 78 cards
Memento Arcana · memento-arcana.netlify.app
Major Arcana
Twenty-two trumps, 0 to 21. Structural rather than situational.
| Card | Upright | Reversed | Element | Yes / No |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Fool | new beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, faith | recklessness, naivety, hesitation, poor judgement | Air | yes |
| The Magician | manifestation, willpower, resourcefulness, skill | manipulation, wasted talent, scattered focus, trickery | Air | yes |
| The High Priestess | intuition, the unconscious, secrets, stillness | ignored instinct, hidden agendas, disconnection, surface-level | Water | Not yet |
| The Empress | abundance, fertility, nurturing, sensuality | creative block, smothering, self-neglect, dependence | Earth | yes |
| The Emperor | authority, structure, discipline, protection | domination, rigidity, weak boundaries, tyranny | Fire | yes |
| The Hierophant | tradition, institutions, mentorship, conformity | dogma, rebellion, unorthodoxy, broken convention | Earth | Not yet |
| The Lovers | union, partnership, choice, values | misalignment, indecision, disharmony, avoidance | Air | yes |
| The Chariot | willpower, momentum, victory, determination | loss of direction, aggression, obstacles, scattered force | Water | yes |
| Strength | courage, compassion, patience, inner strength | self-doubt, raw force, impulsiveness, burnout | Fire | yes |
| The Hermit | solitude, introspection, guidance, inner light | isolation, loneliness, avoidance, lost | Earth | Not yet |
| Wheel of Fortune | cycles, fate, turning point, luck | bad timing, resistance, setback, repeating patterns | Fire | yes |
| Justice | fairness, truth, accountability, cause and effect | injustice, dishonesty, avoided accountability, bias | Air | Not yet |
| The Hanged Man | suspension, surrender, new perspective, pause | stalling, martyrdom, resistance, needless sacrifice | Water | no |
| Death | endings, transformation, transition, release | resisting change, stagnation, clinging, fear of endings | Water | no |
| Temperance | balance, moderation, patience, blending | excess, imbalance, impatience, overcorrection | Fire | yes |
| The Devil | attachment, compulsion, shadow, materialism | breaking free, awareness, reclaiming power, detachment | Earth | no |
| The Tower | upheaval, sudden change, revelation, collapse | delayed disaster, resisting collapse, fear of change, averted crisis | Fire | no |
| The Star | hope, renewal, healing, inspiration | discouragement, lost faith, depletion, disconnection | Air | yes |
| The Moon | illusion, uncertainty, fear, dreams | clarity returning, truth revealed, released fear, self-deception | Water | no |
| The Sun | joy, success, clarity, vitality | delayed success, dimmed joy, false optimism, clouded clarity | Fire | yes |
| Judgement | awakening, reckoning, calling, absolution | self-condemnation, ignored calling, refusing forgiveness, avoidance | Fire | yes |
| The World | completion, fulfilment, integration, wholeness | incompletion, loose ends, delayed closure, anticlimax | Earth | yes |
Wands · Fire
Will, drive and creativity
| Card | Upright | Reversed | Element | Yes / No |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace of Wands | inspiration, new venture, creative spark, initiative | false start, delay, lost momentum, hesitation | Fire | yes |
| Two of Wands | planning, ambition, decision, expansion | playing safe, indecision, poor planning, fear of change | Fire | Not yet |
| Three of Wands | expansion, foresight, progress, waiting well | delays, overreach, frustration, unrealistic expectation | Fire | yes |
| Four of Wands | celebration, homecoming, stability, community | hollow celebration, instability, family tension, transition | Fire | yes |
| Five of Wands | conflict, competition, friction, disagreement | avoided conflict, resolution, inner conflict, exhaustion | Fire | no |
| Six of Wands | victory, recognition, confidence, good news | lack of recognition, ego, private success, fall from grace | Fire | yes |
| Seven of Wands | defence, standing firm, conviction, challenge | overwhelmed, giving up, defensiveness, exhaustion | Fire | yes |
| Eight of Wands | speed, momentum, news, travel | delays, miscommunication, lost momentum, haste | Fire | yes |
| Nine of Wands | resilience, persistence, wariness, last stand | burnout, paranoia, refusing help, giving up | Fire | Not yet |
| Ten of Wands | burden, overwhelm, overcommitment, responsibility | delegating, release, collapse, shirking | Fire | no |
| Page of Wands | enthusiasm, exploration, news, free spirit | scattered, unfinished, all talk, lost interest | Fire | yes |
| Knight of Wands | action, passion, adventure, boldness | recklessness, burnout, arrogance, frustration | Fire | yes |
| Queen of Wands | confidence, warmth, charisma, courage | insecurity, jealousy, attention-seeking, withdrawn warmth | Fire | yes |
| King of Wands | leadership, vision, entrepreneurship, authority | domineering, impatience, overreach, all talk | Fire | yes |
Cups · Water
Emotion, relationship and intuition
| Card | Upright | Reversed | Element | Yes / No |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace of Cups | new love, compassion, emotional opening, intuition | blocked emotion, repression, closed heart, unrequited | Water | yes |
| Two of Cups | partnership, mutual attraction, union, reconciliation | imbalance, break-up, one-sidedness, disharmony | Water | yes |
| Three of Cups | friendship, celebration, community, reunion | overindulgence, third party, gossip, social exhaustion | Water | yes |
| Four of Cups | apathy, discontent, withdrawal, missed opportunity | re-engagement, acceptance, deeper retreat, new interest | Water | no |
| Five of Cups | grief, loss, regret, disappointment | acceptance, moving on, forgiveness, avoided grief | Water | no |
| Six of Cups | nostalgia, innocence, memory, reunion | stuck in the past, idealising, moving on, naivety | Water | yes |
| Seven of Cups | choices, illusion, fantasy, overwhelm | clarity, commitment, disillusion, escapism | Water | Not yet |
| Eight of Cups | walking away, searching, departure, disillusionment | staying too long, drifting, returning, avoidance | Water | no |
| Nine of Cups | satisfaction, wish fulfilled, contentment, comfort | complacency, smugness, hollow success, overindulgence | Water | yes |
| Ten of Cups | family, fulfilment, harmony, belonging | family tension, appearance over substance, misaligned values | Water | yes |
| Page of Cups | sensitivity, creative message, wonder, openness | immaturity, moodiness, creative block, bad news | Water | yes |
| Knight of Cups | romance, invitation, idealism, following the heart | moodiness, empty promises, unrealistic, inaction | Water | yes |
| Queen of Cups | empathy, intuition, emotional depth, compassion | overwhelm, codependency, emotional manipulation, depletion | Water | yes |
| King of Cups | emotional maturity, diplomacy, wise counsel, composure | suppression, coldness, volatility, manipulation | Water | yes |
Swords · Air
Mind, truth and conflict
| Card | Upright | Reversed | Element | Yes / No |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace of Swords | clarity, breakthrough, truth, decision | confusion, misinformation, cruel honesty, poor judgement | Air | yes |
| Two of Swords | stalemate, avoidance, blocked emotion, difficult choice | clarity, decision made, information revealed, overwhelm | Air | no |
| Three of Swords | heartbreak, painful truth, betrayal, grief | healing, forgiveness, held resentment, reopened wound | Air | no |
| Four of Swords | rest, recovery, retreat, stillness | burnout, restlessness, returning, resisted rest | Air | Not yet |
| Five of Swords | hollow victory, conflict, hostility, winning badly | making amends, resentment, walking away, reconciliation | Air | no |
| Six of Swords | transition, moving on, passage, gradual recovery | stuck, unresolved baggage, unable to leave, delayed departure | Air | yes |
| Seven of Swords | deception, cunning, strategy, acting alone | exposure, confession, returning, getting away with it | Air | no |
| Eight of Swords | feeling trapped, powerlessness, restriction, self-limiting belief | self-liberation, new perspective, deepening helplessness | Air | no |
| Nine of Swords | anxiety, insomnia, dread, guilt | relief, speaking it aloud, buried anguish, recovery | Air | no |
| Ten of Swords | rock bottom, betrayal, ruin, painful ending | recovery, survival, reliving defeat, slow healing | Air | no |
| Page of Swords | curiosity, vigilance, new ideas, questioning | gossip, cynicism, scattered thinking, careless words | Air | Not yet |
| Knight of Swords | decisive action, directness, conviction, speed | aggression, tactlessness, haste, argumentative | Air | yes |
| Queen of Swords | clear judgement, honesty, independence, boundaries | bitterness, coldness, cruelty, clouded judgement | Air | yes |
| King of Swords | authority, impartial judgement, ethics, clarity | coldness, manipulation, harsh judgement, rationalising | Air | yes |
Pentacles · Earth
Work, money and the body
| Card | Upright | Reversed | Element | Yes / No |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace of Pentacles | opportunity, prosperity, new venture, manifestation | missed opportunity, delay, poor planning, greed | Earth | yes |
| Two of Pentacles | balance, juggling, adaptability, prioritising | overcommitment, disorganisation, dropped ball, imbalance | Earth | Not yet |
| Three of Pentacles | collaboration, craftsmanship, recognition, teamwork | poor teamwork, unrecognised work, mediocrity, working alone | Earth | yes |
| Four of Pentacles | saving, control, security, possessiveness | letting go, generosity, financial loss, release | Earth | Not yet |
| Five of Pentacles | hardship, insecurity, exclusion, lack | recovery, accepting help, deepening isolation, improvement | Earth | no |
| Six of Pentacles | generosity, charity, fair exchange, support | strings attached, debt, one-sided giving, power imbalance | Earth | yes |
| Seven of Pentacles | patience, assessment, long-term investment, perseverance | impatience, poor return, sunk cost, wasted effort | Earth | Not yet |
| Eight of Pentacles | diligence, practice, skill-building, craftsmanship | perfectionism, going through motions, neglected skill | Earth | yes |
| Nine of Pentacles | independence, self-sufficiency, earned comfort, refinement | dependence, isolation, overspending, hollow success | Earth | yes |
| Ten of Pentacles | legacy, family wealth, lasting security, inheritance | family conflict, instability, constraining legacy, lost wealth | Earth | yes |
| Page of Pentacles | study, diligence, new opportunity, practicality | procrastination, unapplied learning, missed chance, carelessness | Earth | yes |
| Knight of Pentacles | reliability, routine, thoroughness, follow-through | stagnation, stubbornness, perfectionism, inertia | Earth | yes |
| Queen of Pentacles | practical care, groundedness, resourcefulness, nurturing | self-neglect, martyrdom, smothering, materialism | Earth | yes |
| King of Pentacles | prosperity, security, business acumen, provision | greed, materialism, controlling, overextension | Earth | yes |
Yes/no leans are a traditional convention, not a measurement. 48 of the 78 cards lean yes, which makes a yes weaker evidence than a no.
How to actually use a cheat sheet
Keywords are scaffolding. They get you reading on day one and they will hold you back by month three, because a keyword list cannot tell you which part of a card matters in the position it landed in. Use this to stop looking things up mid-reading, then stop using it.
The faster route is one card a day with the sheet beside you: you meet the card, read the keywords, and then find out over the following hours what it actually meant. How to learn the card meanings covers why memorising 78 lists does not work.
The version with the reasoning in it
One card a week, by email
Not a condition of the cheat sheet, which is yours either way. Just one card, its meaning and a prompt, once a week.