The World (tarot card)

Tarot card of the Major Arcana

This article is about the 21st card from the tarot deck. For other uses, see World (disambiguation).

The World (XXI), Waite–Smith tarot deck

The World (XXI) is the 21st trump or Major Arcana card in the tarot deck. It can be incorporated as the final card of the Major Arcana or tarot trump sequence (the first or last optioned as being "The Fool" (0)). It is associated with the 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet, 'Tau', also spelled 'Tav' or 'Taw'.

## Description

[edit]

Christ in Majesty is surrounded by the animal emblems representing the four evangelists in a German manuscript.

In the traditional Tarot of Marseilles, as well as the later Rider–Waite tarot deck, a naked woman hovers or dances above the Earth holding a baton in each hand, surrounded by a wreath, being watched by the four living creatures (or hayyoth) of Jewish mythology: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. This depiction parallels the tetramorph used in Christian art, where the four creatures are used as symbols of the four Evangelists. Some astrological sources explain these observers as representatives of the natural world or the kingdom of beasts. According to astrological tradition the Lion is Leo—a fire sign, the Bull or calf is Taurus—an earth sign, the Man is Aquarius—an air sign, and the Eagle is Scorpio—a water sign.[1] These signs are the four fixed signs and represent the classical four elements.

In some decks the wreath is an ouroboros biting its own tail. In the Thoth Tarot designed by Aleister Crowley, this card is called "The Universe."

## Interpretation

[edit]

According to A.E. Waite's 1910 book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the World card carries several divinatory associations:

> 21.THE WORLD—Assured success, recompense, voyage, route, emigration, flight, change of place. Reversed: Inertia, fixity, stagnation, permanence.[2]

The figure is male and female, above and below, suspended between the heavens and the earth. It is completeness. It is also said to represent cosmic consciousness; the potential of perfect union with the One Power of the universe.[3] It tells us full happiness is to also give back to the world: sharing what we have learned or gained. As described in the book The New Mythic Tarot by Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene (p. 82), the image of the woman (Hermaphroditus in Greek Mythology) is to show wholeness unrelated to sexual identification but rather of combined male and female energy on an inner level, which integrates opposites traits that arise in the personality charged by both energies. Opposite qualities between male and female that create turmoil in our life are joined in this card, and the image of becoming whole is an ideal goal, not something that can be possessed rather than achieved.

According to Robert M. Place in his book The Tarot,[4] the four beasts on the World card represent the fourfold structure of the physical world—which frames the sacred center of the world, a place where the divine can manifest. Sophia, meaning Prudence or Wisdom (the dancing woman in the center), is spirit or the sacred center, the fifth element. Prudence is the fourth of the Cardinal virtues in the tarot.[4] The lady in the center is a symbol of the goal of mystical seekers. In some older decks, this central figure is Christ, whereas in others it is Hermes. Whenever it comes up, this card represents what is truly desired.[5]

## In popular culture

[edit]

In the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, tarot cards are used to name the character's powers, named 'Stands'. The main antagonist of Stardust Crusaders, DIO, has a Stand named The World, named after The World card.

In the video game Persona 5 Royal the protagonist Joker receives The World Arcana during one of the ending cutscenes, mirroring The Fool Arcana he receives in a cutscene near the beginning of the game.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ DeVore (1947), p. 355.
2. ^ Waite (1979).
3. ^ Case (1947), p. 208.
4. ^ a b Place (2005), pp. 165–166.
5. ^ Place (2005), p. 212.

### Works cited

[edit]

* Case, Paul Foster (1947). The Tarot. Builders of the Adytum.
* DeVore, Nicholas (1947). Encyclopedia of Astrology. Philosophical Library.
* Place, Robert M. (2005). The Tarot: History, Symbolism and Divination. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. ISBN 1-58542-349-1.
* Waite, Arthur Edward (1979) [1910]. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. New York: Samuel Weiser. ISBN 0-87728-218-8.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Wood, Juliette (1998). "The Celtic Tarot and the Secret Tradition: A Study in Modern Legend Making". Folklore. 109 (1–2): 15–24\. doi:10.1080/0015587x.1998.9715957.1–2&rft.pages=15-24&rft.date=1998&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080/0015587x.1998.9715957&rft.aulast=Wood&rft.aufirst=Juliette&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:The+World+(tarot+card)" class="Z3988">

## External links

[edit]

Media related to The World (Major Arcana) at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Occult tarot

Occultists|

* Paul Foster Case
* Antoine Court de Gébelin
* Aleister Crowley
* Gérard Encausse
* Etteilla
* Manly P. Hall
* Lady Frieda Harris
* Éliphas Lévi
* G. O. Mebes
* Mouni Sadhu
* Pamela Colman Smith
* Valentin Tomberg
* Arthur Edward Waite
* Oswald Wirth

Major Arcana
numbered cards|

* O The Fool
* I The Magician
* II The High Priestess
* III The Empress
* IV The Emperor
* V The Hierophant
* VI The Lovers
* VII The Chariot
* VIII (XI) Justice
* IX The Hermit
* X Wheel of Fortune
* XI (VIII) Strength
* XII The Hanged Man
* XIII Death
* XIV Temperance
* XV The Devil
* XVI The Tower
* XVII The Star
* XVIII The Moon
* XIX The Sun
* XX Judgement
* XXI The World

Minor Arcana
suit cards|

| Coins, disks, or pentacles|

* Ace
* Two
* Three
* Four
* Five
* Six
* Seven
* Eight
* Nine
* Ten
* Page
* Knight
* Queen
* King

|

Wands, rods, staffs, or staves|

* Ace
* Two
* Three
* Four
* Five
* Six
* Seven
* Eight
* Nine
* Ten
* Page
* Knight
* Queen
* King

Cups, goblets, or vessels|

* Ace
* Two
* Three
* Four
* Five
* Six
* Seven
* Eight
* Nine
* Ten
* Page
* Knight
* Queen
* King

Swords or blades|

* Ace
* Two
* Three
* Four
* Five
* Six
* Seven
* Eight
* Nine
* Ten
* Page
* Knight
* Queen
* King

Decks|

* B.O.T.A.
* Marseilles
* Motherpeace
* Salvador Dali's Tarot
* Sola Busca
* Swiss 1JJ
* Rider–Waite
* The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
* Thoth Tarot
* The Book of Thoth

Related|

* Cartomancy
* Hermetic Qabalah
* Tarot
* Tarot Garden

* Tarot category
* Card games category
* WikiProject Occult
* Religion portal

* v
* t
* e

Tarot and Tarock card games

Fool as the excuse|

* Minchiate
* Tarocchini
* Droggn
* French Tarot
* Grosstarock
* Scarto
* Taroc l'Hombre
* Troccas
* Troggu

Fool as highest trump|

* Cego
* Dreierles
* Dreiertarock
* Galician Tarok
* Hungarian Tarokk
* Husarln
* Illustrated Tarock
* Königrufen
* Kosakeln
* Neunzehnerrufen
* Point Tarock
* Strohmandeln
* Tapp Tarock
* Troggu
* Viennese Grosstarock
* Zwanzigerrufen

Related games|

* Bauerntarock
* Bavarian Tarock
* Dapp
* Dobbm
* Frog
* German Tarok
* Six-bid solo
* Tapp
* (all played with 36-card French or German packs)

Packs (French suits)|

* Industrie und Glück
* Bourgeois Tarot
* Animal Tarot

Packs (Latin suits)|

* Bolognese
* Marseilles
* Piemontese
* Besançon
* Swiss
* Minchiate
* Siciliano
* Belgian Tarot

Related articles|

* Trick-taking game
* Trionfi
* Trull
* Sküs
* Mond
* Pagat

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template