The World Celebrates the End: A Look at the Impact of Major Arcana Card Twenty-One

The World is a tarot card that speaks to completion, endings, the grand finale of a journey rife with trials and tribulations, successes and triumphs. The Major Arcana is one such journey. We begin with The Fool, a new soul with all the naivete and openness of a wonderstruck child, as they set out to seek wisdom, connection and greater understanding of themself and others.

The journey will change them, creating the transformation necessary to reach enlightenment at the end. Each guide—from The Magician to Judgment—helps them advance to the next phase. The World is a symbol that The Fool has arrived at the last one. They have surmounted the obstacles along the way, savvier for having done the work to meet and master challenges with grace, fortitude and ease.

By the time The Fool reaches The World, they are ready to celebrate the end of this era of their life. The World is a place to rejoice and to rest. The journey is over for now, but it shall soon begin again, as the Major Arcana is cyclical in nature. To move beyond the cycle requires the adventurer to surrender themselves entirely, embracing ultimate oneness with the universe.

In the meantime, The Fool will make their way to The World again and again until they’ve learned and experienced everything there is to know, growing wiser with each journey. The Fool began as a soul of the world. At the end, they are on top of it.

This is a fulfilling accomplishment, and they will bask in the moment. The culmination of this journey, however, will prompt The Fool’s inevitable rebirth, an indication that the time has come to begin again, starting the adventure anew.

We will explore these themes further in four general energy readings. These readings use tarot cards to give an overarching perspective about someone’s present circumstances. They are not meant to answer specific questions or address specific topics.

The main purpose of this post is to show how The World impacts and is impacted by the tarot cards around it. We will also explore how the card’s orientation (upright or reversed) affects the message. Each reading is written as if I am speaking directly to you.

One other thing to note: This blog post is written in conjunction with the Cup of Sugar tarot newsletter. While you do not need to receive the newsletter to understand the readings below, it will give greater context to the cards. If you’d like to sign up to receive the remaining newsletters in the series, you can do that here.

Spread 1: Worldly Success is Meant to be Shared

In this spread, it’s interesting to note that The World appears upright as The Fool is reversed. This is the natural order of things in the Major Arcana. To successfully complete your journey, you must shed your innocence, recklessness and naivete. You cannot remain a fool. You have grown too wise to end as you began.

And alas, you have reached the end of an important cycle in your life. The World offers you a chance to celebrate all you’ve accomplished, to embrace fulfillment before you are asked to start all over again. Such is life, I’m afraid. In the eternal words of the prophet REM, “every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

The good news here is that this ending is a positive one. The Seven of Coins tells me that you’ve planted seeds and watched them grow. You’ve cultivated worldly abundance. You’re reaping the benefits of your efforts throughout this journey. Not everything we sow comes to fruition, but in this case, your harvest is considerable. It is a blessing when hard work pays off.

The Nine of Cups says that you will find the greatest joy from sharing what you’ve grown with others. Your cup is overflowing, so you have the means to fill others’ as well. Take this opportunity to share the harvest. Invite others to your table and watch everyone’s prosperity increase. You have found success at this time. Perpetuate the good vibes by maintaining a generous heart.

Spread 2: Mastery is its Own Success—Lonely Though it May Be

If you feel on top of The World right now, that’s because you should. The World and the Eight of Coins signal that you’ve become the master of your own reality. Successfully having made the transition from novice to expert in your chosen craft, you’ve completed an important phase of your career development. There will be more to learn down the line, but for the moment, you’ve reached the peak of professional achievement. Congrats!

During this time, it’s also important to remember that the top of anywhere can be a lonely place. The reversed Ten of Cups indicates that your career success has left you feeling disconnected from your peers. It can feel challenging to relate to people who have not yet reached your level of achievement.

I don’t get the sense that you’re struggling with feelings of superiority so much as you’re unsure of how to navigate other people’s jealousy. Do not let doubt creep in. You are worthy of your current position. You worked hard to get here.

Envy says more about the people experiencing it than it does about the subject of their begrudging. Still, know that you can extend olive branches when it makes sense to do so. Create space for community by offering mentorship or opportunities to share what you know. It is to your benefit to bring others with you. Your elevated position gives you the clout to help others rise, too.

The Devil here is warning you not to become too attached to your success. It can be addicting when others admire what you’ve achieved. Don’t let your greatness go to your head. Continue to be a student, and you’ll remember that there is always more to learn. This is helpful for keeping your ego in check.

Success is seductive, but it can also make you greedy. The Devil knows that human desires like wealth, fame and power are designed to tempt us to the dark side. Work to remain in the light. There’s nothing lonelier than believing your the only one who can do what you do.

Spread 3: Heartbreak is Not the End of Your Story

The Three of Sword tells me right away that you’ve experienced a bewildering heartbreak. Perhaps you thought your search for “The One” was over or that this person would be your partner for a long time. Either way, you lost someone who was very meaningful to you, and that always cuts deep. It’s OK to feel hurt and more than a little angry. It’d be weird if you didn’t.

The World in reverse tells me that this is not the end of your story. You can stay stuck in a joyless cycle of believing this person is really the one you’re meant to be with or you can choose to cut your losses and move on. Make the brave choice here. You’ll need to accept that you’ve not yet found your forever mate before you can move on to someone better. Take time to feel your feelings, but don’t wallow endlessly. You’ve got things to do.

The Page of Swords and The Star offer guidance for a hopeful future. The first step is to believe that one is possible. Take an opportunity to see love through the rose-colored glasses of childlike innocence. Return to the fantasy of what you want your love life to be. You have to imagine and envision it before you can bring it to life. The Page will help you with his “anything is possible” mentality. He will help you open your heart.

Then, allow The Star to guide you. The Star is the tarot guide that offers inspiration for a better future. After The Tower has fallen and upheaval has rocked you to your core, The Star shines brightly to help you rebuild something far better. You have the powerful ability to call in what you really want and need. Don’t rush to find the next love of your life just yet. Wrestle with the lessons you learned from your last relationship. The Star must help you heal before she will guide you to the person you’re meant to love.

Spread 4: Stop Battling Against Your Own Interests

In our masculine-based society, we often are made to believe that everything worthwhile must be fought for and hard won. If we didn’t have to shed blood, sweat and tears, the conventional wisdom goes, then did we really earn our success? This spread tells me that you’re suffering from a similar mentality. I’m here to remind you that not every battle is worth fighting for.

Let’s begin by talking about The World in reverse. This card tells me that you’re stuck in an unhelpful cycle that you stubbornly refuse to stop toiling in. Whatever you’re doing right now, it’s not working. Or it’s working fabulously, but only if you want to continually act counter to your own best interests.

How do I know that this is the case? The Five of Wands and reversed Seven of Wands paint a pretty clear picture of what’s going on. The Five is all about preparing for warfare. You’re gathering your weapons and building an army to execute the strategy you think will get you where you want to be. The reversed Seven says this endeavor will not be successful. You will fight endlessly, and when the battle is over, you’ll have nothing to show for your efforts.

The reversed Two of Wands tells me that you think this is the only path forward. You cannot fathom success that was not the result of fighting fire with even more fire. Before you burn out completely, take a moment to ponder other options. Stop wrestling, straining, struggling. There is another way forward, one that elevates ease, surrender and effortless action.

You know that the current plan of attack is not producing the desired results. It can be scary to change course so late in the game, but consider the alternative: You continue using force and fail again and again. What will it take to pursue another path? Lay down your weapons and see what happens when you choose peace. I think you’ll find things move faster when you stop trying to control when and where they go.