A popular way to learn the Major Arcana is to read them in order as a story. The Fool, card 0, is the traveller; every card after is someone met or something learned along the road. The story is a teaching device rather than ancient doctrine, but it makes 22 cards easy to hold in mind.
The first teachers
The Fool (0) steps off a cliff edge with a small bag and a dog at his heels: pure beginning, trust, and a little recklessness. The Magician (1) shows him that will and skill can shape the world, with all four suit tools on the table. The High Priestess (2) shows the opposite power: stillness, intuition and what is known without words.
The Empress (3) is abundance, care and the body; The Emperor (4) is structure, rules and protection. Together they are the first mother and father the traveller meets, nurture and order. The Hierophant (5) adds tradition and teaching: the beliefs and institutions we inherit.
Choosing and driving
The Lovers (6) is the first real choice: love, but also values, and what we commit to. The Chariot (7) closes the first stage with the traveller in command, holding two opposing sphinxes on course through will. By the end of this stage the Fool has a self, a set of values, and the drive to act on them.
