Tarot de Marseille Suggested interpretations

for use with CBD TAROT DE MARSEILLE and other versions

Dr. Yoav Ben-Dov
www.bendov.info
1. The Magician: Start of something. Beginner's luck. An event or a coincidence that suggests supernatural influence.
Creating reality with mind power. Tools and means at our disposal. Training and acquisition of practical skills.
Improvisation. Near miss due to inexperience or inaccuracy. Tricks, sleight of hand, cheating. Display or show for
other people. Lack of self-awareness about body, sexuality or basic motives. origin and identity, existence as an
individual. Message: create a new reality.
2. The Popess: Wisdom combining intellect and intuition. A spiritual mother. Modesty. Conservative approach to sex
and body. A woman hiding her strengths in a world of men. Need to hide our true nature under the conventions of
normal society. Emotional blockage. Secrets, something hidden. Mystery, spirituality. What is impossible to know
explicitly, only by a hint. Message: know to set boundaries.
3. The Empress: Abundance, growth and productivity in practical matters. Expression of natural desires and impulses
while adapting to external conditions. Something natural within an artificial framework. Impulsive act without losing
control. Emotional intelligence. A powerful mother figure. Protective contact, expression of warmth and emotion.
Strong feminine identity. Combining career and family. Message: act from the guts.
4. The Emperor: Practical and material achievements. Matters relating to workplace or source of income. Authority
and control, a senior and commanding position. A protective father figure, patron or sponsor. Tough masculinity, a
tendency to solve things by force, dictatorship. Military affairs and war. Assertiveness. Restraint and self-discipline.
Denial and hiding of internal weaknesses. Message: show leadership and responsibility.
5. The Pope: Teacher, instructor or counselor. Spiritual father. Matters relating to organized religion or institutions of
education and knowledge. Academic expertise. Conventional medicine or psychology. Consultation or treatment by a
competent person. Regulation of marriage or divorce. Identification with the norms and values of an establishment,
organization or company. Rewarding the obedient and punishing the deviant. Conservative and conformist values.
Message: respect knowledge and education.
6. The Lover: Love, amorous relationship. Emotional entanglement. Complex relationship between several people,
e.g. a romantic triangle or a tension between mother and wife. Need to choose between intellect and passions, or
between past influences and future promises. Choice that has far-reaching consequences. Inclination of the heart
corresponds to the will of heaven. Small practical steps indicate the inner desire. Message: follow the path of the heart.
7. The Chariot: Victory or achievement put the querent in a strong and protected position. Ambition, arrogance. Will
to go out and conquer the world. Public honor. Symbols of power and high status, but they may cover a weak
personality and an unclear base. Reliance on external and material means. Over-protection. Emotional closure, fear of
vulnerability. The querent is secure and has means to go far, but maybe he doesn't know what he wants. Message: dare
and win.
8. The Justice: Law and order, legal and court issues. A fair and balanced act. Developed conscience or guilt feelings.
Sharp judgment and criticism. Petty accountability. Rational approach and reasoning by clear rules and accepted
norms. Tight control of the mind over body and desires. Touch of grace and humanity beyond the objective
considerations. Conclusive decision after a period of deliberation. Message: act with reason and by the accepted rules.
9. The Hermit: Effort to reach the truth. Spiritual quest. Concentration and purpose. Giving up momentary pleasures
to find something more meaningful. Loyalty to principles, strong faith. Examination of the past and trying to
understand it. Monasticism and asceticism, self-privation. Ideological or religious close-mindedness. Caution and
suspicion. Closed and reclusive personality, loneliness. A critical approach looking for defects. Independence of
thought and living according to your own values. Message: look for the essence of things.
10. The Wheel of Fortune: Change in circumstances and position. A rise after a fall. Danger lurks for those at the
summit. The querent perceives his condition as dependent on external factors, not on his own choices. Gambling,
putting faith in capricious luck. Life cycles, closure of circles. Adapting to the routine of everyday life. The machinery
of an establishment. Repeating patterns, moving in a circle with no real progress. Periodical and capricious mood
changes. A hint of previous incarnations. life repeating itself with no feeling of sense and purpose. Message: accept
life's ups and downs.
11. The Force: Power and courage to face difficulties. Mastery of reason over passion and desire. Detachment of
thought from emotion and passion while still maintaining their drive. Mobilization of various inner resources towards a
common goal. Authority and control not by suppression but through encouragement and collaboration. Controlled
expression of creative urges. Taking a risk. Need to keep things in place implies a constant tension. Message: take
control of yourself.

12. The Hanged: Difficulty and distress, possibly as punishment or self-punishment. Feeling like everything is upside
down. Isolation. Renouncement or inability to act. Emotional stance of a victim. A unique viewpoint or an exceptional
personality who sees things differently. Voluntary self sacrifice. Period of convergence and examining things in depth.
Acceptance of reality even if it is the inverse of what we expected. Message: look at things from the opposite
perspective.
13. : Abrupt termination of a period or a process. Cutting off from past influences or parental figures. Coping with
personal loss, a period of mourning. Difficulty adapting to change. Giving up the non-essential and keeping what
matters most. A crisis gives new perspective to life. Courage to face reality even as it reveals painful aspects.
Decomposition of old structures enables something new to begin. Message: give up what is over.
14. Temperance: Integration of opposites. Reconciliation, compromise, relaxation of tensions. Ability to do the
seemingly impossible, e.g. to resolve a desperate conflict. A slow process of distillation and improvement. Patience,
perseverance. Going back and forth without making real progress. Inner flow and harmony, holistic medicine or mindbody healing. Working on self-improvement. Emotional preoccupation with your own self. Message: find the golden
mean.
15. The Devil: Chaos, anarchy, breaking frames of common logic. Paradoxes and contradictions revealed in plain
sight. Irony and mocking of common conventions. A burst of creativity. Acting from desires, passions and impulses.
Temptation, attraction to the dark and forbidden. Growing from a past family trauma. Stormy, passionate and binding
relationship. Exploitation, egotism, domination. Compulsive physical or sexual gratification. Senseless behavior has its
price. Message: express passion and desire.
16. The God House: Earthquake, breaking up of solid structures. A transforming insight or idea coming like a
lightning strike. Getting free from confinement. Punishment for vanity. Sparkling sexual encounter. Sudden
breakthrough after a long preparation. The old laws have collapsed, and now it is unclear what is possible and what is
not. Turning a crisis into an opportunity for growth. Success in dealing with the simple and modest. Message: return to
the solid ground of reality.
17. The Star: Openness, simplicity, return to nature. Purity, innocence, honesty, truthfulness. Showing yourself "as
you are" without hiding imperfections. Relaxed and easy relationship with the body and desires. Cleansing and
purifying oneself. Doing the right thing from natural gut feelings rather than from sophisticated considerations.
Generous or unrestrained and wasteful behavior. Difficulty to set boundaries for yourself or for others. Hazardous
exposure. Luck from heaven. Message: flow from a clean source.
18. The Moon: Vague and disturbing feelings. Coping with emotional difficulties, a period of depression. Occupation
with or influences of the past. Danger. retreat, going back to advance later. Subconscious contents rising to the surface.
Deep emotions, perhaps related to a mother or feminine figure. Sense of an enchanted world, a different experience of
reality. Longing for the unreachable. The querent finds his hidden strengths at the bottom. Message: don't be afraid to
go deep down.
19. The Sun: Light and warmth, Abundance and blessings from above. Pleasant feeling, emotional healing. An ideal
father figure. Matters relating to children or childish attitudes. Living in a protected space, difficulty to face reality "in
the open". Putting limits, but not absolute. Trust, sharing between equals. Friendship and emotional intimacy.
Assistance and guidance from a peer position. A compromise between security and freedom. Message: find suitable
partners.
20. The Judgment: Revelation, enlightenment, a new understanding. A magical moment, the gates of heaven open. A
turning point in an emotional healing process. Repair of ancient sorrows, recovery from pain and distress. Connection
between psychology and spirituality. Healing the relationship of mother, father and child. Disclosure, revealing of
secrets, publicity. Birth of a baby or of a new thing, not knowing yet what will become of it. Message: awaken to
spiritual reality.
21. The World: Completion of a process. Balanced activity and achievements in many domains. Contact with far
places. Contradictions and tensions find a dynamic equilibrium. An idealistic vision of perfection. Life in a bubble,
difficulty to share your world with others, disconnection between interior and exterior. Internal motion within a stable
framework. Feeling of correspondence between personal conduct and world dynamics or cosmic laws. Pregnancy,
something new is about to be born. The Dance of Life. Message: everything is perfect as it is.
The Fool: Freedom, detachment, disregard of conventions and norms. Something or someone unique and exceptional.
Being part of a group but not really in it. Unwillingness to choose and commit oneself to a constant structure. Options
kept open. Restlessness drives the querent forward. Giving up control, uncertainty. Spontaneity, moving without plans.
Attention to the present moment of the here and now. Going on a trip. Message: be on the move.

Ace of coins: A good start in material things. Financial and physical stability. Practical perspective. Utilitarian
approach. Greed. Something basic and unsophisticated.
Ace of wands: Creative momentum. Sexuality. Strong impulses. Beginning of growth. Scattering in different
directions. Life force. Inverse: reduction and restraint.
Ace of cups: The beginning of a love relationship. Expression of warm feelings. Romantic desire for something
extraordinary, beyond mundane reality. Emotional and spiritual growth. Inverse: negative emotion, heartbreak.
Ace of Swords: A planned initiative. Clear thinking, sharpness of spirit. Conclusive decision. Readiness to fight.
Ambition, competitiveness. Cold and logical considerations. Inverse: misconceptions and negative thoughts, injury.

Page of Coins: hesitation, focusing on partial achievements, unused resources are within reach.
Knight of Coins: pursuit of a goal which is not reached, acting for gain and practical advantage.
Queen of Coins: tangible assets, occupation with keeping the existing assets, fear of change and new things.
King of Coins: security in what is already achieved, cautious and sober perspective, reserved willingness to advance
towards something new.
Page of Wands: difficulty to control desires and urges, creativity that still needs more processing.
Knight of Wands: occupation with satisfying desires or in self-expression, a temporary halt, urge to change direction.
Queen of Wands: a strong personality, suspicious and defensive perspective, self-preservation, fear of the unexpected.
King of Wands: desire to move forward, taking advantage of past achievements to make progress, self-defeating.
Page of Cups: preoccupation with feelings and internal processes, a slight complication in practical matters.
Knight of Cups: readiness to help and serve, emotional openness, romantic motives, superficial feelings.
Queen of Cups: rich inner world, a closed and defensive attitude, rational criticism.
King of Cups: emotional maturity, ability to overcome past injuries and look ahead.
Page of Swords: confusion, negative and inhibiting thoughts, mental capacities have not yet found a useful expression.
Knight of Swords: insisting on the wrong direction, doubts that should be listened to, tension between reason and
passion.
Queen of Swords: inflexibility, protecting one's own territory, hard and uncompromising logic, protection of
something that is still in formation.
King of Swords: a determination to cut off from the past, strong will, ability to deal with uncertainty.

NUMBER CARDS
Coins

Wands

Cups

Swords

options

junction

alliance

limits

productivity

motion

birth

breakthrough

stability

achievements

family

blocking

innovation

resistance

links

control

6
7

abundance

growth

continuity

adaptability

help

struggle

singularity

focusing

work

structure

integration

reduction

ambition

halt

group

difficulty

10

richness

loyalty

responsibility

exhaustion

note: as i see it, these are not the "correct" meanings of the cards, but they can be used as starting points. the meaning
of the card is what you see in the image while reading it. my suggestion: look at the cards as they appear together,
have in the back of your mind the stories and interpretations that you have learned, but use intuition and creative
imagination to connect the scene that emerges from the card images with the querent's story. this i call "open reading".
usually, you can do a complete reading with only 3 cards from the 22 majors that you put side by side, left to right.
yoav ben-dov
www.bendov.info