Tarot colour symbolism is often overlooked when people first learn tarot. It’s easy to focus only on the people and symbols in the cards. But if you pause for a moment, you’ll notice something else working quietly in the background — the colours. They aren’t there just to look pretty. They carry layers of meaning that can completely shift the way you read a card.

As a colour therapist as well as a tarot reader, I’ve always found it fascinating how those shades and tones connect to our emotions and intuition. A splash of red can set the whole card alight with energy. A wash of blue can calm and quieten it. Once you start noticing, you realise colour is another language tarot speaks fluently.

Blue – calm, spiritual truth

Look at the High Priestess, seated between her pillars. Her blue robes and the blue background link her directly to the realms of intuition, calm, and inner knowing. Blue in tarot often points us toward honesty, stillness, and trust in what we feel beneath the surface.

Red – energy, passion, vitality

On the Magician’s robes you’ll see vibrant red — the colour of action and life-force. Red is what pushes us to move forward, to channel energy, to act. In a reading, red can be a sign of passion, drive, or sometimes even anger when energy tips into excess.

Yellow – clarity, optimism, light

The Fool steps out into a bright yellow sky, full of joy and possibility. Yellow in tarot is the colour of enlightenment and clarity, shining a light on truth. It can also bring a sense of optimism and fresh perspective to a reading.

Green – growth, healing, cycles of nature

When you look at the Empress, notice the lush green landscape around her. Green is the colour of nature, healing, and growth. In a reading, it can symbolise fertility, creativity, and the slow, steady cycles that allow us to bloom.

Black and White – mystery and clarity

Cards like Justice or Death show strong contrasts of black and white. Black holds mystery, the unknown, and sometimes endings. White brings clarity, purity, and new beginnings. Together they speak of balance: the seen and the unseen, the endings that lead into renewal.

A Practical Tip

Next time you pull a card, don’t start with the figure or the symbols. Try focusing only on the colours. What stands out first? Does it feel energising, soothing, or unsettling? That one impression might be the very key your reading is asking you to notice.

Finally, learning to read tarot colour symbolism is like adding a new dimension to your practice. It makes the cards more alive, more personal. So if you’ve ever felt stuck with a card, let the colours guide you — they often speak more clearly than words.