Many of the major arcana show an archetype—a figure who represents the entire essence of a type of person. Archetypes include the warm, nurturing mother figure; the strong firm authority figure; the traditional, formal religious leader; or the mystical, mysterious, magical person. An archetype might represent a real person, a part of yourself, or an abstract symbol in your life.
David Barrett, Tarot (The Predictions Library), 1995, 22.
