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The World Tarot Meaning

The final Major Arcana Tarot card, The World is a culmination of endings, completions, and lessons learnt. It is also a reminder of the inherent cyclicality of life and that in every ending there is a beginning (as we start right back again at The Fool).

Read on for more interpretations and correspondences of The World card, including what it can mean reversed and in a career, love, and general reading:

The World Tarot Card Meanings

The World Major Arcana card finishes out The Fool’s Journey, here we have completed our cycle and are tying up loose ends. As such, The World card typically represents endings, culminations, completions, and major life lessons being learnt. Once we have discerned and revisited a cycle or dynamic in Judgement, here we are being asked to integrate.

When we are in a World moment, it is often a big life lesson that we will not return to- we can integrate it and then move on to the next one.

Acting as inspiration for most other Tarot decks, the Smith Rider Waite World card shows a dancing naked figure enshrined in a wreath, a symbol of purity and celebration. The four figures in the corners are depictions of the Fixed Signs of the Zodiac, the most quintessential of their Element. They are Aquarius in the upper left (Fixed Air), Scorpio in the top right (Fixed Water)- the eagle/phoenix is another representation of it along with the snake; Leo in the bottom right (Fixed Fire), and Taurus in the bottom left (Fixed Earth).

They hold two wands, reminiscent of The Magicians, but this time they are double. We have come a long way on our journeys- pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for all that you’ve achieved! There may be a sense of fulfilment but often endings are also accompanied by a sense of bittersweetness.

On the other hand, you may feel “on top of the world”, or like you have “the world at your feet”! Celebrate how far you’ve come and what is now being concluded. When the world is your oyster- where to next? These are questions we can begin to ask ourselves in The Fool, but for now we relish this fleeting space.

Astrologically, this card is said to correspond to Saturn, the outer limit, boundary, and wall of Traditional Astrology. Saturn was once considered the final Planet, the edge of visible perception. As such it corresponds to limitations as well as safety. In this walled garden of The World card we have reached our edge, ready to embark upon a new and unknown journey in The Fool.

Saturn is also the taskmaster Planet of challenges and lessons learnt, wisdom doesn’t come easy! We had to go through many trials and tribulations through the arc of the Major Arcana to get here. But what is built under the guise of Saturn with discipline, dedication, and hard work is often rewarded and durable for many years to come.

The World is an important lesson in acknowledging and honouring the sanctity of endings. We are often so keen to move on to the next thing we rarely stop to appreciate how far we have come and savour the end. Endings themselves are sometimes considered a negative! The World card is a reminder (like Death), that endings are just as valuable and necessary as beginnings.

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two-wander-the-world-tarot-card-reversed

Numerologically, 21 reduces down to 3, connecting it to The Empress- a reiteration of the inherent fecundity in endings. Death, mould, and decay transform into sacred compost, a prerequisite for all life on earth. Imagine what it would be like if there were no end to anything! Would we value life as much as we do if we were immortal?

The connection to the fertility of The Empress is a reminder of the potential and necessity in endings and savouring final phases.

The World Tarot Meaning

Generally, when we receive The World upright it can represent endings, completions, and cycles coming to a close. We can ask ourselves what lessons we have learnt recently and how we would like to move forward with our newfound insight.

The World Reversed

A reversed World can indicate a resistance to something leaving or ending, we may fear change or be hesitant to allow things mutate and dissipate. Similarly, it can also be a resistance to sitting in the energy of endings and completions. If we close a major chapter in our lives, it is important to sit with that before rushing on to the next step.

The World in a Love Reading

In a love Tarot reading, The World can represent some kind of facet of the relationship changing. Perhaps one phase is ending and a new one will eventually begin, but for now we are in the winding down and wrapping up phase. This could look something like moving in together and mourning the loss of singlehood or sense of freedom, equally with getting married, or having a baby. Sometimes it could also be a symbol that the relationship itself has run its course, but only you will know the answer to this.

As with all Tarot readings, its meaning will entirely depend on the context of the situation and question being asked, where in the spread it has fallen and the cards surrounding it.

The World in a Career Reading

Likewise, in a career reading The World can represent the end of a major project or job role, some kind of dynamic in the way you work or in your work environment may be coming to a close. We may be getting promoted or demoted, but for now we are being asked to sit with what has gone to pass up until now and honour the current phase we are in. Occasionally, it could also represent the ending of a job or career path, a time to move onto new pastures.

When The World comes up in a reading, you can ask yourself what feels like it ending or leaving? Where do you feel complete with something? Like with any Tarot card description, the most important meanings are the conclusions you come to yourself.

Those are some of the key meanings of the Judgement Tarot card, I hope they’re insightful for you! Let me know in the comments section below if you have anything else to add or any questions.

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