Arcanum

An arcanum is a tarot card considered in terms of its hidden meaning. The word comes from the Latin arcanum, “secret,” and was popularized in esoteric vocabulary by Paul Christian in the nineteenth century. Tarot distinguishes the Major Arcana, twenty-two cards heavy with symbolism, from the Minor Arcana, fifty-six cards divided into four suits. In tarot reading, saying arcanum rather than card stresses that each image can be read on several levels.