Crosses in tarot

The cross is the central sign of Christianity, but many crosses appear in the Waite-Smith deck. The High Priestess wears an equal-armed solar cross on her breast; the Hierophant carries a staff with three crossbars and his stole is marked with small crosses; the angel of Judgement flies a banner with a red cross; the wafer on the Ace of Cups bears a cross. Waite's Golden Dawn background added the equal-armed cross of the four elements in balance. In readings, look at the form: an equal-armed cross for balance and union, a Latin cross for sacrifice and faith.

Cards that show crosses

The High Priestess
The High Priestess: The solar cross
A plain white cross with equal arms sits on her breast. Waite calls it a solar cross. Its four equal arms suggest balance between the elements and a meeting point of spirit and matter.
The Hierophant
The Hierophant: The triple cross
In his left hand is a long golden staff ending in three crossbars. The triple cross is a papal emblem; here it suggests an authority that claims to reach over spiritual, intellectual and bodily life alike.
The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man: The living T-shaped beam
The gallows is a tau-shaped tree: a trunk with a crossbar, both sprouting green leaves. Waite pointed out that it is living wood. The man is not hanging from a dead instrument of punishment but from something still growing, which turns the scene from execution towards renewal.
Judgement
Judgement: The banner with the red cross
A square white banner with a red cross hangs from the trumpet. Waite notes that the cross 'as usual is displayed on the banner'. The equal-armed cross is often read as the meeting of opposites, spirit and matter, life and death.
Two of Wands
Two of Wands: The rose, cross and lily
On the stone block at the left, red roses and white lilies cross each other in a diagonal pattern. Waite asked readers to notice the Rose and Cross and Lily here. Roses and lilies also grow together in the Magician's garden: desire and purity, joined.
Ace of Cups
Ace of Cups: The dove and the wafer
A white dove plunges downward holding a round wafer marked with an equal-armed cross. Waite calls it 'a cross-marked Host'. Dove and Host are Christian images of the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist, and together they give the cup the look of the Grail: love as something sacred.
Six of Cups
Six of Cups: The stone pedestal and shield
On the left one cup stands on a stone block carved with a shield bearing a diagonal cross. It gives the scene a sense of something inherited and established: family, place and tradition.
Queen of Cups
Queen of Cups: The covered cup
She holds an ornate gold vessel with a lid, crowned by a small cross and flanked by two winged figures for handles. It is the only lidded cup in the suit: feeling held as something sacred, and kept rather than poured out.
Three of Pentacles
Three of Pentacles: The carved pentacles
Three pentacles sit in a trefoil carved high in the arch, with a small cross-like flower boss below. They are the only pentacles on the card and they are part of the building itself: value made solid in stone.