Fortuna Tarot Guide: Meanings & Symbolism
A deck for turning your purpose into gold
The Fortuna Tarot reads like a traditional tarot deck, with an extra layer woven through every card. Tarot, astrology, numerology, and spiritual alchemy meet in its 79 cards, so each card can be read as a symbol, a number, an element, and a moment in the sky.
If you already know the classic tarot system, you'll feel at home straight away. If you're new to tarot, this guide shows you how the deck is built and how to use its correspondences to add depth to your readings.
What makes the Fortuna Tarot different:
- 79 cards: the 78 traditional cards plus Magnum Opus, a card unique to this deck
- Alchemical suits: Candles, Elixirs, Keys and Talismans
- A balanced court: Princess, Prince, Queen and King, uniting Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine
- Astrology on every card, including the 36 decans for the numbered cards
Getting to know the Fortuna names
Some cards carry new names that reflect the deck's alchemical heart and its inclusive spirit. Their traditional meanings remain, so you can read them just as you would in any other deck.
| Fortuna name | Traditional name | In a reading |
|---|---|---|
| The Seeker | The Fool | You, the querent, setting out on a new path |
| The Oracle | The Hierophant | A spiritual guide, teacher or source of wisdom |
| Fortuna | Wheel of Fortune | The turning cycles of life and luck |
| The Hanged One | The Hanged Man | Surrender, pause and a new perspective |
| Alchemy | Temperance | Blending opposites into balance and healing |
| The Universe | The World | Completion and the start of a new cycle |
| Magnum Opus | New card | Mastery of all four elements |
| Candles, Elixirs, Keys, Talismans | Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles | The four elements as tools of the alchemist |
| Princess, Prince | Page, Knight | Feminine and masculine expressions of youth and drive |
The Major Arcana: lessons of the Great Work
The 23 Major Arcana describe the soul's journey towards enlightenment. When one appears, it points to a life lesson rather than a passing event. When several appear together, you're in a chapter of life that has to be lived fully. There are no shortcuts through it.
| No. | Card | Astrology | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | The Seeker | Uranus | Beginnings, optimism |
| I | The Magician | Mercury | Mastery, manifestation |
| II | The High Priestess | The Moon | Intuition, mystery |
| III | The Empress | Venus | Creativity, fertility |
| IV | The Emperor | Aries | Leadership, willpower |
| V | The Oracle | Taurus | Wisdom, guidance |
| VI | The Lovers | Gemini | Choices, relationships |
| VII | The Chariot | Cancer | Purpose, determination |
| VIII | Strength | Leo | Courage, compassion |
| IX | The Hermit | Virgo | Enlightenment, introspection |
| X | Fortuna | Jupiter | Luck, destiny |
| XI | Justice | Libra | Harmony, equality |
| XII | The Hanged One | Neptune | Contemplation, adaptability |
| XIII | Death | Scorpio | Transformation, change |
| XIV | Alchemy | Sagittarius | Healing, union |
| XV | The Devil | Capricorn | Mundanity, restriction |
| XVI | The Tower | Mars | Upheaval, destruction |
| XVII | The Star | Aquarius | Hope, spirituality |
| XVIII | The Moon | Pisces | Dreams, instincts |
| XIX | The Sun | The Sun | Happiness, vitality |
| XX | Judgement | Pluto | Renewal, awakening |
| XXI | The Universe | Saturn | Completion, accomplishment |
| — | Magnum Opus | Fire, Water, Air, Earth | Magic, transmutation |
Three cards to know
The Seeker. This card often represents you. When it appears, read it as an invitation to explore, trusting that the lessons along the way matter more than reaching the destination quickly.
Fortuna. The card that gives the deck its name reminds you that every high and low is temporary. Ask what is rising and what is falling in your life right now. Try it alongside the Wheel of Fortuna spread from How to Read Tarot Cards.
Magnum Opus. This card unites all four elements into a fifth, the quintessence. When it appears, you hold every tool you need, and your thoughts and words are shaping what comes next. Reversed, it warns that limiting thoughts may be holding you back.
The Minor Arcana: four alchemical suits
The 56 Minor Arcana describe everyday life. In the Fortuna Tarot, each suit is also a stage of spiritual alchemy, the inner process of transforming "lead" into "gold".
| Suit | Traditional | Element | Alchemical stage | In a reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candles | Wands | Fire | Calcination: burning away the old self | Passion, purpose, inspiration and the shadow self |
| Elixirs | Cups | Water | Conjunction and distillation: purifying the heart | Emotions, healing, love and intuition |
| Keys | Swords | Air | Separation: releasing what no longer serves | Thoughts, truth, challenges and higher knowledge |
| Talismans | Pentacles | Earth | Coagulation: making it real | Abundance, protection, work and the material world |
Each suit holds light and shadow. Candles can inspire or burn, and Elixirs can heal or overwhelm. Keys can lock a door or open it, and Talismans can protect or weigh you down. The cards around them will show you which side is speaking.
The court: feminine and masculine in balance
The court cards show the people and personalities in a reading. Queens and Kings don't describe a woman or a man. They express receptive and active energy, which everyone carries.
| Court card | Energy |
|---|---|
| Princess (Page) | Curiosity, learning and the inner child |
| Prince (Knight) | Drive, action and pursuit |
| Queen | Receptive, intuitive Divine Feminine |
| King | Active, guiding Divine Masculine |
Combine the court card's energy with its suit. The Queen of Elixirs brings deep empathy and intuition, while the Prince of Candles brings pure passion, sometimes impulsive. Each court card also carries its own astrological pairing, which adds another layer to a reading.
Reading with astrology
Every Fortuna card carries an astrological influence. You can use it to add colour, personality and timing to a reading.
Planets and signs in the Major Arcana
Each Major Arcana card corresponds to a planet or a zodiac sign. The deck blends traditional and modern astrology. The Seeker, The Hanged One and Judgement are ruled by the three outer planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, which speak of change on a collective and spiritual scale.
The 36 decans in the Minor Arcana
The zodiac is divided into twelve signs, and each sign into three decans of roughly ten days. The numbered cards from Two to Ten each rule one decan, so every period of the year has its own card.
| Dates | Decan | Card |
|---|---|---|
| 21–30 March | Mars in Aries | Two of Candles |
| 31 March–10 April | The Sun in Aries | Three of Candles |
| 11–20 April | Venus in Aries | Four of Candles |
| 21–30 April | Mercury in Taurus | Five of Talismans |
| 1–10 May | The Moon in Taurus | Six of Talismans |
| 11–20 May | Saturn in Taurus | Seven of Talismans |
| 21–31 May | Jupiter in Gemini | Eight of Keys |
| 1–10 June | Mars in Gemini | Nine of Keys |
| 11–20 June | The Sun in Gemini | Ten of Keys |
| 21 June–1 July | Venus in Cancer | Two of Elixirs |
| 2–11 July | Mercury in Cancer | Three of Elixirs |
| 12–21 July | The Moon in Cancer | Four of Elixirs |
| 22 July–1 August | Saturn in Leo | Five of Candles |
| 2–11 August | Jupiter in Leo | Six of Candles |
| 12–22 August | Mars in Leo | Seven of Candles |
| 23 August–1 September | The Sun in Virgo | Eight of Talismans |
| 2–11 September | Venus in Virgo | Nine of Talismans |
| 12–22 September | Mercury in Virgo | Ten of Talismans |
| 23 September–2 October | The Moon in Libra | Two of Keys |
| 3–12 October | Saturn in Libra | Three of Keys |
| 13–22 October | Jupiter in Libra | Four of Keys |
| 23 October–1 November | Mars in Scorpio | Five of Elixirs |
| 2–12 November | The Sun in Scorpio | Six of Elixirs |
| 13–22 November | Venus in Scorpio | Seven of Elixirs |
| 23 November–2 December | Mercury in Sagittarius | Eight of Candles |
| 3–12 December | The Moon in Sagittarius | Nine of Candles |
| 13–21 December | Saturn in Sagittarius | Ten of Candles |
| 22–30 December | Jupiter in Capricorn | Two of Talismans |
| 31 December–9 January | Mars in Capricorn | Three of Talismans |
| 10–19 January | The Sun in Capricorn | Four of Talismans |
| 20–29 January | Venus in Aquarius | Five of Keys |
| 30 January–8 February | Mercury in Aquarius | Six of Keys |
| 9–18 February | The Moon in Aquarius | Seven of Keys |
| 19–29 February | Saturn in Pisces | Eight of Elixirs |
| 1–10 March | Jupiter in Pisces | Nine of Elixirs |
| 11–20 March | Mars in Pisces | Ten of Elixirs |
PSA: The dates can shift by a day from year to year, depending on when the Sun enters each sign.
Two ways to use the decans:
- Timing. When a numbered card appears in answer to a "when" question, its decan can suggest a period of the year.
- Birthday card. Find the decan that contains your birthday. That card describes an energy you carry with you.
Numerology
Numbers connect cards across the deck. Reduce a Major Arcana number to a single digit to find its hidden relatives. The Devil (15) becomes 1 + 5 = 6, linking it to The Lovers: both cards are about bonds, one chosen freely and one held by fear or desire.
Reading with alchemy
The alchemists sought the philosopher's stone, which could turn base metals into gold. In the Fortuna Tarot, that quest becomes an inner one: the Great Work of transforming yourself.
To use this lens in a reading, look at which suit dominates your spread and ask which stage of the Great Work you're in:
- Many Candles: something old is burning away to make space for the new
- Many Keys: it's time to separate, release, and see clearly
- Many Elixirs: a time of emotional healing and union
- Many Talismans: your work is taking form in the material world
- Alchemy or Magnum Opus present: the transformation is reaching a turning point
The deck holds space for both fate and free will. Its guiding phrase, Fata viam invenient, means "fate will find a way". Read outcome cards as the direction things are moving, and remember that you can always steer.
A Fortuna spread: Turning into Gold
Use this five-card spread when you want to reach your full potential.
Shuffle and split the deck into two piles. Choose the pile that feels right and draw its top four cards in order. Then take the bottom card of the other pile as card five.
- How is my mindset limiting me right now?
- What do I need to adjust moving forward?
- What practices will help me grow?
- How can I bring more purpose into what I do?
- How can I manifest what I seek?
Where to go next
The full meanings of all 79 cards, including reversals, the court card correspondences, and more spreads, are in the guidebook that comes with the Fortuna Tarot.
New to tarot? Start with How to Read Tarot Cards, then learn how the cards speak to each other in Tarot Card Combinations.
The wheel is always turning. Shuffle, breathe, and begin your Great Work.
With love,
Maria 💖
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