← Encyclopedia of Tarot · lesson 22/121
The World
The World is the last card of the Major Arcana and the card of completion. It describes a cycle brought to a satisfying close: a goal reached, a lesson fully learnt, a sense of being whole and in the right place. Because the Fool begins again after it, it is also read as the point where one journey ends and the next is ready to start.
The image
A dancing figure, loosely wrapped in a violet scarf, holds a wand in each hand inside a large oval wreath of leaves bound with red ribbons. In the four corners are a human figure, an eagle, a bull and a lion among clouds. The wreath is usually taken as a cycle completed and a victory won, the dance as freedom and ease within that completeness, and the four creatures as the four fixed signs and the four elements brought into balance.
Upright
Completion, fulfilment, integration and achievement. Waite gives "assured success, recompense, voyage, route, emigration". In everyday life it can point to finishing a long project, graduating, a happy conclusion, travel or a move abroad, or a deep sense of belonging. It tends to describe a reward that has been earned over time.
Reversed
Waite gives inertia, fixity and stagnation. Modern readers often see completion delayed: a last step not yet taken, loose ends, or reluctance to close one chapter and begin the next. Some readers do not use reversals at all.
Correspondences
Major Arcana card XXI. In the Golden Dawn system, which most English-language decks follow, it is the Hebrew letter Tau (the mark or cross), the last letter of the alphabet, the 32nd path on the Tree of Life, and the planet Saturn; the Golden Dawn also links it to the element of earth. French (Papus) tradition attributes some Majors differently.
In a reading
In the past, it can describe an achievement that is now a firm foundation. As an obstacle, it may point to an ending not yet accepted, or a last step put off. As advice, it invites finishing what has been started and enjoying it; as an outcome, it is one of the most complete and satisfying cards in the deck. Beside the Fool it is often read as one cycle ending and another beginning.
In astrology
The Golden Dawn's correspondences, which most English-language decks follow (French, Marseille-based tradition differs for some Major Arcana).
Planet: Saturn