Arcanum (Latin arcanum — "secret", "the hidden"; Italian arcano) is a card of the Tarot deck (#20), regarded as a symbol-key to a specific archetype, stage of initiation or life theme.

Etymology. The word "arcanum" emphasizes that the card contains a secret revealed through contemplation. This is not "fortune-telling" but the hermeneutics of the image.

The 78 Arcana of the Tarot Deck

• 22 Major Arcana (Arcana Maggiori) — "The Fool's Journey": from 0 (the Fool) to XXI (the World). The journey of the soul through archetypal stages.
• 56 Minor Arcana — four suits of 14 cards each (10 pip + 4 court):
  • Wands — Fire
  • Cups — Water
  • Swords — Air
  • Pentacles — Earth

Historical Line

The first documented decks — Northern Italy, 15th century (Visconti-Sforza, c. 1440). Originally it was a game, not divination.

Stages of occult interpretation:

• Antoine Court de Gébelin (1781) — link with Egypt
• Éliphas Lévi (1856) — link with Kabbalah
• The Golden Dawn (Order of the Golden Dawn, 1888) — hermetic system
• Aleister Crowley (Thoth Tarot, 1944) — modern synthesis

Modern Use

From psychology to divination. Modern use of Tarot (#20) ranges from a psychological instrument (Jungian archetype analysis) to a system of divination.