Light and shadow in tarot: lanterns, glass and night
The Hermit's lantern, gold in the cracks of a heart, an eclipse over the Ten of Swords: find light and shadow on the Tayna cards and recall what they mean.
- 5 questions
- ≈ 2 min
- +5 bronze keys for a flawless run
What do light and shadow mean on tarot cards?
This quiz is about how light and shadow fall across the cards of the Tayna deck: where a lantern burns, where the sun pours in, where night comes down. Light in a picture nearly always points to hope, clarity or help, while shadow marks what is still hidden. The questions check whether you remember these details and what they mean.
Light in our deck is often modest, yet it is enough. The Hermit's lantern lights only a few steps ahead, and that is all he needs to keep walking. The Star shines above the kneeling woman as a quiet faith that the path is lit, even when you can see only part of it. The golden light behind The Hierophant's throne hints at a meaning larger than any one person.
Sometimes light comes through pain. Golden cracks run across the heart on the Three of Swords, and the light shines through the break itself. On the Ten of Swords a dark disc ringed with gold hangs in the sky like an eclipse while the sun rises on the horizon. On the Five of Pentacles the warm light of a window falls right onto the snow: help is closer than it seems.
Night does not mean trouble
Dark cards scare many people, but night in tarot is a time, not a verdict. On the Nine of Swords fears look biggest at night, and morning usually brings back a sense of proportion. On the Eight of Wands night and sunset share one sky because conditions are changing fast. On the Eight of Swords golden constellation lines cross the night: there are more paths than you see with your eyes closed.
Light draws every living thing toward it. On The Sun sunflowers reach for it over a wall, and on the Four of Swords warm light pours through stained glass onto the resting knight. Golden drops fall from the sky on The Moon, and the path is visible, though not all of it. In a reading, ask where the light on a card comes from and where it points.
Each run draws five questions from a pool of twelve, with the options shuffled every time. Answers are final, but you can replay as often as you like. Tayna keys are awarded for a run with no mistakes. Every explanation links to the card page with the full scene, so if a picture slips your mind, take a look and try again.
All questions and answers
Open after you play: the full question set with right answers and explanations.
1. Whose lantern lights only a few steps ahead, and that is enough?
Right answer: The Hermit
The Hermit's lantern lights just a few steps, yet that is enough: its glow is wisdom he can show to others.
2. What does the gold in the cracks of the heart mean on the Three of Swords?
Right answer: Light shines through the break
Light comes through the break itself, as if the wound has begun to mend. The rain will not last: it washes clean.
3. On which card do night and sunset meet in a single sky?
Right answer: Eight of Wands
At the top of the Eight of Wands it is still starry night, lower down the sky burns with sunset: things change fast.
4. Night on a tarot card always foretells trouble.
Right answer: Myth
On the Nine of Swords fears look biggest at night and morning restores proportion. The Eight of Pentacles works at night.
5. Where does warm golden light pour through stained glass onto a lying figure?
Right answer: Four of Swords
On the Four of Swords a knight rests on a stone bed as warm light pours through stained glass: rest is self-care.
6. What do the sunflowers reaching over the wall on The Sun mean?
Right answer: All life grows toward light
The sunflowers turn to the sun: everything alive grows toward the light, and the hard times are behind the wall.
7. On which card is the light in the sky covered by a dark disc, like an eclipse?
Right answer: Ten of Swords
The dark disc ringed with gold over the Ten of Swords covers the light, yet its edge shows and the sun is rising.
8. You can see only part of the road ahead, and you draw The Star. What does its light say?
Right answer: The path is lit, if only in part
The great star above her is a quiet faith that the path is lit, even when you can see only part of it.
9. On which card does light from a window with five pentacles fall onto the snow?
Right answer: Five of Pentacles
The warm window light on the Five of Pentacles falls onto the snow: help is close, you only need to look up and knock.
10. What do the golden constellation lines above the Eight of Swords mean?
Right answer: More paths than you see blindfolded
The golden lines in the sky are a reminder: every situation has more paths than you can see with your eyes closed.
11. What falls from the sky on The Moon?
Right answer: Golden drops
Golden drops fall from The Moon's sky, and the path between the towers is visible but not all of it: walk slowly.
12. What does the golden light behind The Hierophant's throne suggest?
Right answer: A meaning beyond any person
The golden light behind the throne hints at a meaning larger than any single person, The Hierophant included.