
The World
A cycle complete.
A cycle completes. Take stock of how far you have come.
- completion
- wholeness
- achievement
Traditional association: Saturn
What the card shows
A dancing figure wrapped in a light scarf holds two wands inside a large laurel wreath. In the four corners are an angel, an eagle, a bull and a lion.
Twenty-one is the last of the Majors, so this is completion. The wreath is a closed loop and the dancing figure moves freely inside it. The four corner figures are tied to the four suits. Saturn, the usual planet, is linked with finishing and limits.
▲Upright
Completion and wholeness, with the next cycle waiting.
What have I finished that deserves to be acknowledged?
▼Reversed
Something is almost complete but not quite finished.
What is the last step I keep avoiding?
The World in a reading
In love
Feeling whole in yourself, and sharing it.
Reversed: Something is almost complete but not quite finished.
At work
Finishing a project; taking in what you have learned.
Its shadow side: reluctance to finish or to move on.
As a Major Arcana card
Life's big themes and turning points. A Major Arcana card points to a bigger theme than the everyday cards around it.
Related cards
21 adds up to 3 (2 + 1), the number of the threes.
Read it with other cards
Questions about The World
What does The World mean in tarot?
Completion and wholeness, with the next cycle waiting. Keywords: completion, wholeness, achievement.
What does The World mean reversed?
Something is almost complete but not quite finished. Blocked: the last step is missing. Fading: closure is near. Inward: not quite ready to let go.
What does The World mean in love?
Feeling whole in yourself, and sharing it.
What does The World mean for work?
Finishing a project; taking in what you have learned.
What question does The World ask?
Upright: What have I finished that deserves to be acknowledged? Reversed: What is the last step I keep avoiding?
ShenTarot for iPhone and Android
Read your own cards
Scan your Rider-Waite-Smith deck or draw on screen, ask your question and get a reading you can keep asking about.
Three of Wands
Three of Cups
Three of Swords
Three of Pentacles