What does a blank card mean in Tarot spreads?

The original classic Tarot deck consisted of 78 images. But, over time, someone whose name is unknown, added a White Card which became very significant for the interpretation of the Tarot spread.

This card is called the card of the Absolute and of the Higher Powers. But in fact, like other cards, it has many meanings. Curiously, this is the only Tarot card that cannot have any inverted meanings.

The theory of the origin of the blank card

Despite the fact that the White Card does not have any graphic images, it is really very important to clarify the picture of the Tarot spread.

There are several versions of the origin of this mysterious card. According to the first version, its appearance was associated with the development of civilization.

Many professional Tarot readers agree that the White Card is a key to the interpretation of the entire fortune-telling. Thanks to it, the fortuneteller can be considered as a thin thread between the Universe and the person for whom the Tarot spread is carried out.

There is another opinion according to which the mysterious card arose thanks to typographic work. As many know, the classic Tarot deck includes 78 Arcana. It so happened that when printing, instead of 78 cards and one cover, the publishing house created 80. The eightieth card, taking into account the cover, just became the White Card.

It doesn’t matter which theory is true. We can say with confidence that thanks to the White Card, which fell out during fortune-telling next to this or that Arcana, the Tarot spread becomes much clearer, and the picture of the future is clearer.

You can talk about the White Card for a long time, but in fact nothing about it can be said. It has no symbolism, it is White and that’s it. It also has no upright and reversed meaning. It is better to immediately start describing how to perceive it in the spreads.

The meaning of the Blank Card in Divination

The general meaning of this card can be described as an interdiction on obtaining certain information, or uncertainty. Many predictors agree that if the White Card falls out during fortune-telling, then the Tarot spread can be called really significant.

The following options for interpretation exist:

Information is still closed from the Questioner, you should tell fortunes on another day. If the question is closed with a White card for a long time, the Questioner should moderate curiosity and trust in fate, and stop asking the Tarot spread about this issue. It is not always possible and necessary to know everything in advance.
The questioner constantly asks from different sides about the situation or problem that is of great interest to him, and “tortures the deck”. In this case, the White Card clearly says that he should stop doing it. Anyway, more than Taro has already said, he will not know. This is especially true for young women who want to know about the feelings of the man in whom they are interested.
The White Card often comes up when the Questioner is persistently interested in the events taking place in the life of another person (that is, he is guessing at a third person). It should be understood that the Questioner does not have the right to know all the secrets of other people, although the Questioner himself may think otherwise. In this aspect, this card often fall out to women when they are interested in the life of their adult children and especially the details of their personal (family) life. The White Card makes it clear that a loving mother should reduce her participation in the fate of an adult child, since he is an already established personality with his own affairs and aspirations.
Sometimes the White Card comes up when the cards are asked questions about non-existent things and people. This is a signal that the information is not accessible. This should be remembered for those who like to test the fortuneteller for professionalism by asking questions about fictional situations and people. With a high degree of probability, in this case, a White Tarot Card will drop out, and the fortune-teller will simply refuse to talk to you.
By itself, the White Card does not mean death. But it happens that it falls out when the Questioner is interested in another person who is not alive, but the Questioner does not know about it. In my practice, there were cases when information about another person was covered by a White Card, and only after a while the Questioner learned that the one about whom he asked had been dead for several years.

Important! If a White Card falls out during fortune-telling, then you do not need to rephrase your question. Better to postpone predicting the future for a while.

Unlike the rest of the Arcana, it is impossible to say for sure what meaning the Blank Card has, until the Tarot spread is carried out. It has neither numerical nor graphic representations, it cannot be interpreted in an upright or reversed position.

However, if during fortune-telling the White Card finds itself with a card of both the Major and the Minor Arcana, then its value will increase significantly.

It May Mean the Obscure

The meaning that is often assigned to it is the Higher Forces, the Absolute, the Obscure. In the Tarot spread, the card can mean fatefulness, inevitability. Divine intervention, like the intervention of your higher self. Divine forces are involved in the situation in which you make the Tarot spread.

Something will happen that is not subject to the general course of events. What this card predicts will be a kind of “miracle”.

Also, the card can mean a great importance of the situation for you. For example, in the spread for the future, the card may indicate that those events that will happen will greatly change your life. You can understand what events exactly by reading the other cards.

It May Mean the Unknown

Another meaning of a Blank Card is the unknown. Nothing is depicted on it. Pictures on cards show the future, present and past, but there is no picture – nothing is shown.

Why could this be?

Perhaps the situation is not defined. The future is multivariate, but most often the most probable option can be identified. Sometimes this option simply does not exist.

Perhaps the information you want to know is closed: your strength is not enough to read it, it has some kind of protection. This can occur if, for example, you make a Tarot spread on the thoughts and feelings of a person, and he has protection against scanning.

You may simply not be able to figure out the answer. The Tarot make it clear that even if they show you the answer to your question, you will not be able to interpret it correctly.

Finally, the answer to the question may lie outside the Tarot department: Tarot is an instrument that has its own limitations and not everything falls into its “field of vision”.

It May Mean Nothing, Emptiness

Sometimes the Blank Card can be interpreted directly – like nothing, emptiness.

If the answer to the question is “nothing”, – then the Blank Card can tell you so.

For example, if the question “What does someone think of me?” And he does not think about you at all, then an empty card will be the correct answer.

“What awaits me at my new job?” – nothing, since they won’t take you there. There can be many examples.

White Card Reinforces Values of Next Lying Cards

Appearing in the spread in any position, it gives a brighter meaning to those cards that lie next to it. Whether it is Major Arcana or Minor – it does not matter. Any energy begins to shine with greater power by checking the box. We should take a closer look at what does the White Card focus on? After all, that process, that event, which was covered by the Blank Card, is especially important in this situation. And a person, so to speak, “does not get away” from passing through it. Well, of course, he can’t get out of it anyway, and any card is important. But the White Card magnifies the already important things like under a microscope. It exaggerates their meaning sometimes to the point of absurdity.

How to understand in what way to interpret the Blank Card?

It all depends on the specific situation and the surrounding cards. If the spread as a whole is contradictory, difficult to read and the cards contradict each other, then most likely the meaning of the Blank Card in this spread is “Unknown”.

If the answer of “nothing” is appropriate, then this is a very likely interpretation. Well, for example, to a question about a person’s character, the answer “none” is not entirely correct, as any person still has some kind of character. “What events will happen tomorrow?” – this is also not very correct: even if you lie on the couch all day, four of swords can indicate this.

If the card is surrounded by strong cards, such as Judgment, Magician, or Tower, then this most likely indicates its fateful significance.

Of course, first of all, you need to listen to your intuition.

From all of the above, we can conclude that the White Tarot Card is very significant in any kind of fortune-telling. With its help, you can see a clearer picture of the future and find out the significance of the rest of the Arcana.

If the White card comes out first in the spread, many Tarot readers prefer not to lay out anything further. The White Card gives a hint: the situation is closed for viewing, you should not go into it. It covers information with a blank spot. It is worth listening. It may be that if we still start to insist and try to find out from the cards what we need, we still won’t be able to read anything plainly. After all, this is not happening in vain. You may have to figure it out yourself. The cards are crutches for you here and now. Your soul must work, your mind must be turned on.

It so happens that some Tarot creators put several Empty Arcana into the deck, on which advertising slogans are applied. It is not recommended to use such decks.