Colors and Symbols in Tarot

The Visual Language of Tarot

The imagery on tarot cards is far from random. Every card is meticulously designed according to symbolic systems that have been passed down for centuries. The background colors, the figures' clothing, the objects in their hands, the flowers at their feet -- all of these function as a "language of meaning."

The most widely used deck today, the Rider-Waite (formally the Rider-Waite-Smith) deck, was painted by artist Pamela Colman Smith under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite in 1909. What made this deck revolutionary was that it included narrative scenes on all 56 Minor Arcana cards, not just the Major Arcana. Pamela Smith drew upon diverse traditions including astrology, Kabbalah, alchemy, and Christian mysticism, weaving layers of meaning into every single image.

Understanding this visual language significantly elevates the quality of your tarot readings. Rather than just memorizing "official meanings," you become able to receive intuitive messages directly from the imagery itself. Let's decode the pictorial language of tarot through two lenses: color and symbol.

The Symbolism of Color

Color in tarot cards is not mere decoration -- it is an essential element that reinforces card meanings. Even with the same card, which color catches your eye first can shift the impression you receive.

Red -- Passion and Vitality

Red is the color of life itself. Blood, flame, the beating heart -- red symbolizes passion, energy, action, desire, and vitality. Cards where red is prominent often signal the presence of strong emotion or impulsive force.

The Magician's red robe represents creative will and the drive to act. The Emperor's red garments signify the power of dominion and command. On the Strength card, the woman's red clothing depicts the ability to gracefully channel inner passion.

Blue -- Spirituality and Intuition

Blue is the color of sky and sea, symbolizing spirituality, intuition, peace, and wisdom. Deeply connected to the element of water, it points to emotional depth and the realm of the unconscious.

The High Priestess's blue robes symbolize deep intuition and inner wisdom. The blue night sky spreading across The Star card evokes spiritual tranquility and a connection to the cosmos. When a card with striking blue appears, it may be time to listen to your intuition rather than your rational mind.

Yellow and Gold -- Intellect and Illumination

Yellow and gold symbolize intellect, consciousness, solar energy, abundance, and revelation. The golden sky used as a background in many tarot cards represents spiritual awakening and the light of awareness.

The Sun card glows entirely in gold, embodying joy, success, and clarity of mind. The Fool's bright yellow background conveys optimism and innocent energy for new adventure. In the Pentacles suit, gold also serves as a symbol of material wealth.

White -- Purity and New Beginnings

White is the color of purity, truth, new beginnings, and spiritual clarity. Figures dressed in white are typically portrayed as beings of sincerity and elevated spiritual nature.

The Fool's white dog represents pure instinct and loyalty. The white horse on the Death card symbolizes the clean transformation that exists within endings. When white roses or white lilies appear, they indicate spiritual purity and high ideals.

Black -- The Unknown and Transformation

Black symbolizes the unknown, the unconscious, mystery, transformation, and endings. While it tends to be perceived as something fearsome, black in tarot is not necessarily negative. It is also the color of "possibilities not yet seen."

The dark night sky on The Tower card depicts the darkness of sudden collapse and change. The Moon card's dark tones express the depths of the unconscious and the realm of illusion. Black is best understood as the darkness before dawn -- the preliminary stage of transformation.

Green -- Growth and Healing

Green is the color of growth, healing, nature, fertility, and hope. It is the very life force of the earth, carrying the energy of recovery and renewal.

The Empress card is surrounded by lush green nature, symbolizing the nurturing power that cultivates life. Many cards in the Pentacles suit also feature green landscapes and trees in their backgrounds, representing material growth and stability.

Purple -- Spirituality and Higher Consciousness

Purple is a noble color symbolizing spirituality, higher consciousness, transformation, and royalty. As a blend of red (matter, passion) and blue (spirit, intellect), it holds the power to integrate both worlds.

The purple fabric seen in the Justice card and the purple used around the Wheel of Fortune suggest higher law and cosmic order. Cards where purple stands out often contain messages related to spiritual growth or shifts in consciousness.

Gray -- Neutrality and Wisdom

Gray is the color of neutrality, ambiguity, and the wisdom of experience. Positioned between white and black, it represents the complexity of things that cannot be reduced to simple either-or terms.

The Hermit's gray robes symbolize the wisdom gained from withdrawing from worldly affairs and the maturity born of long experience. When gray clouds or mist appear on a card, they may indicate that the situation is not yet clear and that patience -- rather than hasty judgment -- is called for.

A Dictionary of Common Symbols

Tarot features recurring symbols, each carrying its own distinct meaning. Here is an organized guide to the most representative ones, sorted by category.

Nature Symbols

• Water -- Symbolizes the unconscious, emotions, and fluidity. Calm flowing water represents emotional stability, while rough waves indicate emotional turmoil. Closely tied to the Cups suit.
• Mountains -- Represent trials, achievement, obstacles, and challenges to overcome. Distant mountains suggest long-term goals, while steep mountain paths hint at a difficult journey ahead. The mountains behind The Fool indicate the grandeur and difficulty of the adventure to come.
• Moon -- Symbolizes intuition, illusion, the unconscious, and hidden truths. A full moon indicates that intuitive power is at its peak, while a crescent moon signals a stage of growth still in progress.
• Sun -- Represents consciousness, vitality, clarity, and joy. In tarot, the sun functions as an almost universally positive symbol.
• Stars -- Signify hope, guidance, inspiration, and connection to the cosmos. The eight-pointed star on The Star card symbolizes the harmony between heaven and earth.
• Clouds -- Represent uncertainty, thought, and the spiritual realm. The hand emerging from clouds (a motif seen on the Ace cards) suggests a gift from above or the intervention of spiritual forces.

Animal Symbols

• Dog -- Symbolizes loyalty, instinct, and protection. The dog at The Fool's feet indicates that faithful intuition is a companion on the journey.
• Lion -- Represents strength, courage, passion, and pride. On the Strength card, a woman tames the lion, depicting the gentle mastery of one's inner wildness.
• Eagle -- Symbolizes spirituality, freedom, elevated perspective, and transformation. As an elemental symbol, it is also considered the transcended form of the scorpion, and appears in the four corners of The World card.
• Snake -- Represents transformation, wisdom, the cycle of life and death, and temptation. The shedding snake is a symbol of rebirth, and the snake on The Lovers card evokes the temptation of the Tree of Knowledge.
• Horse -- Symbolizes energy in action, journey, and forward momentum. The color and posture of the horse on each Knight card reflects the action style of that suit.

Plant Symbols

• Rose -- Symbolizes love, passion, desire, and beauty. Red roses represent passionate love, while white roses signify pure love and spiritual clarity. The roses blooming before The Magician's table indicate that creation through will produces love and beauty.
• Lily -- Represents purity, spirituality, and high ideals. When roses and lilies appear together, they symbolize the integration of passion and purity.
• Wheat -- Represents fertility, harvest, and the fruits of labor. The wheat depicted on The Empress card symbolizes the blessings of the earth and the fruits of creative power.
• Trees -- Represent life, growth, putting down roots, and knowledge. The Tree of Life (a symbol from the Kabbalistic tradition) is a key concept that runs throughout the entire tarot.

Human-Made Symbols

• Crown -- Symbolizes authority, achievement, dominion, and completion. The crown's shape and design also carry meaning: a laurel crown signifies victory, while a gold crown signifies worldly power.
• Sword -- Represents intellect, decision-making, the power to cut through to truth, and sometimes suffering. It is the central symbol of the Swords suit.
• Cup -- Symbolizes emotion, love, relationships, and spiritual receptivity. Connected to the Holy Grail tradition, it is the core symbol of the Cups suit.
• Wand -- Represents will, creativity, passion, and action. A wand with sprouting buds indicates that latent potential is beginning to blossom. It corresponds to the Wands suit.
• Coin (Pentacle) -- Represents the material, the physical, the bodily, and the financial. Coins inscribed with a pentagram signify the integration of spirit and matter.
• Castle/Tower -- Symbolizes structure, stability, or collapse. A solid castle represents safety and established order, while a crumbling tower signifies the destruction of old structures and liberation.

Human Figure Symbols

• Angel -- Symbolizes messages, higher guidance, and divine intervention. The angel on the Judgement card represents a call to awakening, while the angel on The Lovers represents blessing and guidance.
• King and Queen -- Represent mature power, governance, and the fully realized expression of each element's energy. Each suit's King and Queen are depicted as beings who have thoroughly mastered their element and wield it with ease.

Numbers and Geometry

Various geometric shapes are embedded within tarot cards. These, too, are important symbols that deepen card meanings.

• Circle -- Symbolizes wholeness, unity, and the eternal cycle. The Wheel of Fortune's circle represents the eternal cycle of life's ups and downs. The round shape of Pentacles (coins) is also a symbol of completeness.
• Triangle -- Represents the trinity of spirit, matter, and intellect, as well as the principle of creation. An upward-pointing triangle signifies ascending energy (fire, the masculine principle), while a downward-pointing triangle signifies receptive energy (water, the feminine principle).
• Square -- Symbolizes stability, the material world, order, and foundation. The square structure of The Emperor's throne expresses solid order and the stability of rule. It also corresponds to the four elements and four suits.
• Infinity (Lemniscate) -- The figure-eight on its side represents eternity, cycles, and infinite possibility. It appears above The Magician's head and above the figure on the Strength card, indicating that spiritual energy flows without end.

Deepening Your Readings with Symbols

How can knowledge of colors and symbols be applied in actual readings? Here are some practical approaches for reading cards more deeply.

A Checklist for Observing Cards

When you draw a card, observe its imagery carefully in the following order.

1. Overall color tone -- First, notice which colors jump out from the card as a whole. Is it predominantly light or dark? This first impression tells you the card's fundamental tone.
2. Figures' posture and expression -- What is the depicted figure doing? Where are they looking? Body orientation and hand placement carry meaning too.
3. Background landscape -- What are the sky's color, the terrain, and the weather like? Is it a peaceful scene or a stormy one? The background sets the scene for the card's situation.
4. Props and possessions -- What is the figure holding or wearing? Each item connects to the symbolic systems described above.
5. Fine details -- Patterns on clothing, architectural decoration, objects on the ground. Easily overlooked details often hide the deepest meanings.

Integrating Intuition and Knowledge

Learning the meanings of symbols is important, but you don't need to rely on that knowledge alone. The true joy of tarot reading lies in integrating symbolic knowledge with intuitive feeling.

First, honor what you feel when you look at a card. "Something about this color draws me in." "That figure's gaze catches my attention." These intuitive reactions may be messages from your own unconscious. Then, layering symbolic knowledge on top gives your intuition concrete language and context.

For example, if you draw The Tower and find yourself drawn more to the falling figures than to the lightning, that may be a sign that "letting go" and "release" are more relevant to your situation than the "shock of destruction." The same card communicates different messages depending on what catches the reader's eye.

Acquiring the language of color and symbol will make your dialogue with tarot richer and more profound. You don't need to learn everything at once. Become a little more familiar with the world of tarot imagery each time you engage with the cards. In time, you'll naturally begin to feel that the cards are "speaking to you."