Find what 2 to 5 tarot cards mean together: pick each card, upright or reversed, to see its traditional meaning and what repeated ranks signify.

Reversed means the card came out upside down. Leave it upright if you do not read reversals.

Optional settings

Calculator Functions

The calculator shows what two to five tarot cards mean when they are drawn together. It gives one keyword for each card, the full traditional meaning of each card in the position it was drawn, and what it signifies when several cards of the same rank appear [1].

FunctionUse it whenYou enter
Combination meaningYou drew two to five cards and want their meanings side by sideThe number of cards, then each card and whether it was upright or reversed
Repeated ranksTwo or more of your cards share a rank, such as two Kings or three NinesNothing more: it is added to the result automatically

All 78 cards are in each list: the 22 Major Arcana first, then Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles from King down to Ace. A card can be used only once, as in a real spread. To count how many different spreads are possible, use the Tarot Combinations Calculator.

Tarot Combination Formulas

R = M₁ + M₂ + … + Mₙ [1]
RThe combined reading
MThe meaning of one card, upright or reversed as drawn
nThe number of cards, from 2 to 5

A combination is read card by card, in the order drawn, so the result lists each meaning in that order. The headline joins one keyword per card. The Lovers, the Ten of Cups and The Tower reversed give Attraction + Contentment + Misery in a lesser degree. Some meanings also name a second card that changes them, such as the Ten of Wands followed by the Nine of Swords, so read each one in full.

Repeated ranks

When two, three or four cards of one rank turn up together, they carry an extra meaning of their own [1]. With the cards upright:

RankFourThreeTwo
KingsGreat honorConsultationMinor counsel
QueensGreat debateDeception by womenSincere friends
KnightsSerious mattersLively debateIntimacy
PagesDangerous illnessDisputeDisquiet
TensCondemnationNew conditionChange
NinesA good friendSuccessReceipt
EightsReverseMarriageNew knowledge
SevensIntrigueInfirmityNews
SixesAbundanceSuccessIrritability
FivesRegularityDeterminationVigils
FoursJourney near at handA subject of reflectionInsomnia
ThreesProgressUnityCalm
TwosContentionSecurityAccord
AcesFavorable chanceSmall successTrickery

When all of the matching cards are reversed, the calculator uses the reversed column of the same table instead: two Kings reversed mean projects, and four Aces reversed mean dishonor. When some are upright and some reversed, it shows both readings.

Upright and reversed

Each card has one meaning when it is drawn upright and another when it comes out upside down. The Wheel of Fortune upright is destiny, fortune, success, elevation, luck and felicity; reversed it is increase, abundance and superfluity [1]. If you do not read reversals, leave every card upright.

Limits of This Estimate

  • The meanings come from one book [1]. Other books, decks and readers give different meanings. The card listed here as Fortitude is also called Strength.
  • The calculator sets the meanings side by side. It does not weave them into one story, weigh them against your question or use the positions of a named spread such as past, present and future.
  • The repeated-rank table covers the four suits only. The Major Arcana have no such table.
  • The book’s author himself called the fortune-telling meanings of the Major Arcana “artificial and arbitrary” [1]. Treat a reading as a prompt for reflection or as entertainment, not as a prediction.

Sources

  1. Arthur Edward Waite, The Illustrated Key to the Tarot (1918), Part III, Project Gutenberg eBook 43548: the upright and reversed divinatory meaning of every card, and the table for the recurrence of cards