Inside the archive
Tarot Symbols
Common motifs that appear across tarot decks.
Carved meanings
Read a symbol
Key
The key symbolises access, initiation, secrets, choice, and the power to open or close. In a reading it often marks a threshold: knowledge, permission, responsibility, or a decision that changes what becomes possible.
- access
- initiation
- secret
- choice
- threshold
Crown
The crown symbolises authority, sovereignty, achievement, responsibility, and spiritual dignity. It can represent recognition and leadership, but also the weight of office and the need to govern the self before trying to govern others.
- authority
- sovereignty
- achievement
- leadership
- responsibility
Tower
The tower symbolises collapse, revelation, pride, liberation, and the breaking of false structures. Its destruction is not always punishment; it can expose what was unstable, release trapped energy, and create space for a more truthful foundation.
- collapse
- revelation
- liberation
- upheaval
- truth
Veil
The veil symbolises mystery, hidden knowledge, threshold, protection, and partial revelation. It suggests that not everything must be exposed at once: some truths require preparation, privacy, patience, or a change in perspective before they can be understood.
- mystery
- hidden knowledge
- threshold
- privacy
- revelation
Rose
The rose symbolises beauty, love, unfolding, secrecy, devotion, and the sacred heart. Its petals and thorns hold tenderness and protection together, reminding us that love can be open without being defenceless.
- love
- beauty
- devotion
- unfolding
- protection