Before I picked-up my first tarot deck, I saw the number 78 and was immediately overwhelmed. 78 cards, with a multitude of meanings. How could a person learn to use such a deck?
Due to the complexity of the cards, I didn’t learn the tarot with the first deck I purchased. A year passed before I found a class and purchased my second tarot deck, the Rider-Waite-Smith.
I then spent a year going to a bi-weekly class. In order to learn the cards, their meanings, how they interacted with each other, and how to take all of that information and apply it to a spread/reading. 78 is a big number.
But what makes this tool such a wonderful addition to your toolbox is that tarot was created to reflect our understanding of human life and the world. It’s as complicated as life is.
Which means it will take time to master the deck, like it will take time to get a hang of life and yourself. Tarot can help with that. Drawing insight from the images, invoking emotions, and utilizing the tool of energy to gain guidance and clarity from your spirit guides.
I started my study with the Major Arcana and then moved on to the Minor Arcana. In this post I’ll cover the components found within these four suits, and the energy of these 56 cards. Then look back in the coming weeks, as I post about each suit individually, covering each card.
The Four Suits:
The Minor Arcana consists of 56 cards divided into four suits. Just like in a traditional deck, these suits consist of Pip cards and court cards. The difference is the number of cards and types of suits.
In tarot, the four suits are the Wands, Cups (sometimes known as Chalices), Swords, and Pentacles (sometimes known as Coins or Disks.)
The Pip Cards:
Within each suit we have our pip cards. Numbered one through ten, they match what you can find in your traditional pack of playing cards. In the older tarot decks, these cards were only depicted with their suit image and number.
The Three of Cups would depict three cups on the card. It wasn’t until Rider, Waite, and Smith that images were placed on the pip cards.
In choosing to place an image on the card, Rider, Waite, and Smith opened up another layer of complexity to tarot. These images not only invoke emotions from the reader and Seeker, but they also help shed light onto the meanings associated with each card.
The Court Cards:
The last component of the Minor Arcana is the four court cards found within each suit. Known as the Page (knave), Knight, Queen, and King these cards round-out the tarot.
Often times, these cards are the most complicated to learn. Not only do they represent people, they also represent situations or attributes the Seeker needs to take on. Because these cards represent the different types of people in life, these cards are complicated and have many varied meanings.
Due to their complexity, they are the last cards to learn and master. Known as the Court Cards, they will have their own post coming up in order to cover their deep meanings.
The Qualities of Each Suit:
While the Major Arcana represents common archetypes and big moments/lessons in life, the Minor Arcana are just as important. These cards shed light on the day-to-day components of life, the details of a given situation, who we are, and who others are as well.
Divided into their four suits, the Minor Arcana embody the various energies, personalities, and qualities found in life. Alone, they represent many meanings, ideas, and qualities. Which is why we utilize spreads and layouts.
In laying out a series of cards, how they interact with one-another sheds light onto which qualities are pertinent to a reading.
Each Suit Has:
- An element- The qualities of this element shed light onto the energy and vibe surrounding each suit.
- A direction.
- A season- Sheds light onto the cycle or growth pattern of the Minor Arcana as a whole.
- Characteristics- These are the qualities associated with each suit, which are then broken down by each card within the suit.
- Pros & cons- While there are definitely more favorable cards and some pretty painful cards, they each have positive and negative traits. As a result, it is important to keep an open mind about each card and let the spread/situation/question/reading determine the qualities present.
- Misc.
- “me” suit or “we” suit-
Each suit associates as a “me” suit or a “we” suit. This covers the mentality found within each suit. A “me” suit focuses on the Seeker’s own needs. Negatively, this can be the self-absorbed qualities found in life.
While the “we” suits represent a global or community mentality. The positive qualities being, a compassionate and giving energy, and the negative qualities being co-dependency and lack of self-care.
- Masculine or Feminine-
Each suit also connects with either the masculine or feminine energies in life. These are not the same as the gender identifications found in society, but rather the masculine and feminine energies we each carry within us. In choosing to honor each energy and balance them, we not only live a full life but are able to utilize tools that come from both energies.
The Suit of Wands: The Suit of the Laborer.
Imbued with the element of fire, the suit of Wands starts our journey into the Minor Arcana. Like the start of any journey, the Wands herald new beginnings and changes.
The element of fire provides the energy of vitality, passion, drive, ambition, animation, and growth. The constant renewal of life and growth creates this warm and animated suit.
Due to the new beginnings found within the suit of Wands, it also encompasses ideas, thoughts, and creation. The components that go into initiating a new change, journey, or path.
On the flip side of these positive qualities, the Wands are also a “me” suit. The fire energy can represent situations and people who are risk takers, self-centered, superficial, and inconstant. The energy for visionaries also holds the potential for ego, pride, and not knowing one’s own limitations.
Since this is the first suit within the Minor Arcana, you can view them as the children of life. While they bring with them passion, curiosity, energy, and new beginnings, they also lack an understanding of life. Their innocence is paired with an ignorance, that can lead to a situation or person who is still lost within themselves.
This can be a positive quality when we are honoring our needs, caring for ourselves (self-love) and learning to enforce our boundaries (assertiveness). Or they can be the mark of a self-absorbed person.
The Suit of Wands:
- Element: Fire.
- Direction: South.
- Season: Spring.
- Time Frame: Days.
- Misc.
- “me” suit:
- Masculine: action.
- Resonates with: Magician & Empress.
- Learning Style: Hearing/Auditory.
- Connection with traditional deck: The Suit of Clubs.
- Relationships:
- All about passion. (Fire energy).
- Being fired up.
- Can represent a person married many times. (Fire- A person who doesn’t have follow through or is unable to commit).
- When dealing with emotions, they are health conscious with their food.
- Health: (Think fire energy).
- Inflammation.
- Rashes.
- Things that burn.
- Swelling.
- Skin.
- With just wands minor (normally).
- Accident prone (not present in the moment).
- Headaches (Aries element).
*This in no way replaces medical testing or knowledge. Any insight gained about yours or anyone else’s health, is not exact nor should it be acted upon without medical insight and guidance.
The Suit of Cups: The Suit of the Priest.
The second suit within the Minor Arcana, revolves around the element of water. The Cups represent the next stage of our journey. As a child steps past their own selves, they encounter emotions. The quality of life that connects us to one another.
Representing the unseen aspects of life, the suit of Cups encompasses the subconscious, intuition, psychic abilities, and our instincts. In tandem with these forces, the element of water also includes the breadth of human emotion.
Most specifically the good things in life. This includes love, happiness, beauty, pleasure, creativity, and fertility. This suit is also referenced as the emotional barometer, to explain qualities found within this suit.
When the Cups are present in a reading, they discuss our emotional state, our relationships (especially romantic), and they also can indicate the ethereal qualities of life.
The Suit of Cups:
- Element: Water.
- Direction: West.
- Season: Summer.
- Time Frame: Weeks.
- Misc.
- “we” suit:
- Feminine:
- Resonates with: Magician & Empress.
- Learning Styles: One-on-one led.
- Connection with traditional deck: The suit of Hearts.
- Relationships:
- The emotions involved.
- Our romantic love interests, and the various stages of a relationship. (Wooing, dating, marriage, family).
- When dealing with emotions- Cups, feed their emotions. (Emotional eating).
- Health: (Think water energy).
- Fluids (water retention).
- Sinus (bodily fluids).
- Hormonal (men too).
- Swelling.
- Scorpio- reproductive.
- Cancer (brought on by mental and emotional conflict).
- Medical professions- This suit is a Medical Umbrella. Referencing nurses and doctors.
*This in no way replaces medical testing or knowledge. Any insight gained about yours or anyone else’s health, is not exact nor should it be acted upon without medical insight and guidance.
The Suit of Swords: The Suit of the Warriors.
The next stage of our journey encompasses the influence that comes when we encounter the emotion/unseen world. Where there is emotions, there is also the potential for pain and misfortune.
While many consider this suit as the negative aspects of life. Referencing the hardships, obstacles, struggle, aggression, strife, hatred, battles, enemies, misfortune, and disasters found in life. I want to also include the positives.
Life is filled with duality. Where there is the potential for pain, there is also the potential for healing and love. A quality, any quality, can be misused.
Within the suit of Swords, the element of air represents the mind, intellect, speaking, and thought process we have. The sword that we see depicted on the Ace of Swords, is the Sword of Truth.
If we look at the placement of this suit, in the journey we are on, we can see just what this suit is all about. Yes, there are painful images depicted and even the painful aspects of life represented here, but we need to address why.
In our journey, we first started as children, self-absorbed and ignorant of the world. In encountering the suit of Cups, we not only encountered emotions but the connection we have with the world and the unseen aspects found within life.
Following this encounter, we must make sense of it. We have lessons to learn and as I’ve said, there is a duality found in life. The suit of Swords covers our mind, our perceptions about ourselves, and our thoughts and beliefs about our own identity.
In learning to balance the breadth of human emotion we make mistakes. We can become reactive, speaking harshly, and may even need to learn to filter what is being said. But in learning to connect with the seen and unseen aspects of life and ourselves, we can become bold and courageous.
Yes, we have encountered hardships and are not the innocent children we started out as, but we have grown. Strengthened by our time spent discovering the truth of ourselves (“me” suit).
The only reason this suit gets a bad name, is that most people don’t yet know how to embrace and learn the lessons of life in a healthy, quick, and safe way. There is false wisdom, dysfunction, and toxins in the world. But we don’t need to invite such elements of life, into our community.
The Suit of Swords:
- Element: Air.
- Direction: East.
- Season: Fall.
- Time Frame: Months.
- Misc.
- “me” suit:
- Masculine:
- Resonates with: High Priestess & Emperor.
- Learning Style: Visual.
- Connection with traditional deck: Suit of Spades.
- Relationships:
- Self-sabotage.
- Harsh words.
- Accusations.
- Toxic or dysfunctional relationship or partner. (abusive/manipulative/passive aggressive people).
- When dealing with emotions: don’t speak the truth when upset.
- Health: (Think element of air).
- Warnings (red flags).
- Pain, pinching, jabbing, etc.
- Internal organs.
- Blood (cuts, wounds, accidents).
- Mental disorders.
- Knight of swords- sudden death.
*This in no way replaces medical testing or knowledge. Any insight gained about yours or anyone else’s health, is not exact nor should it be acted upon without medical insight and guidance.
The Suit of Pentacles: The Suit of the Merchants.
We end our journey, with the earth. Not only is it our home, but the energy found within this element creates a suit that embodies the lessons, self-discovery, and culmination of what we have encountered in the previous suits of the Minor Arcana.
The suit of Pentacles embodies the aspects of life on earth and how we live each day. Encompassing health, finances, logic, tangible things in life, home, personal home (body), acquisition of fortune, and the facts of the matter.
While on a more personal level, the suit of Pentacles represents hard workers, day-to-day life, traditions, the day-to-day High Priestess, and the world as path to Spirit.
The image of pentacles that we see in this suit, are the metal disks inscribed with magical formulas, holding the five senses and five elements (five points on the pentacle). Since this suit is also a “we” suit, it represents the child who has grown into an adult.
As the adult lives their life, not only have they learned tools from past lessons to take care of their own needs. But they are also able to live each day of their lives conscious of their responsibility for their own lives and the world they live in.
The suit of Pentacles, associated with the season winter, brings the cycle of the Minor Arcana to completion. After the planting (Wands- spring), growing (Cups- summer), and harvesting (Swords- fall) we are ready to reap the rewards of the journey that has been made.
The Suit of Pentacles:
- Element: Earth.
- Direction: North.
- Season: Winter.
- Time Frame: Year.
- Misc.
- “we” suit:
- Feminine:
- Resonates with: High Priestess & Emperor.
- Learning Styles: Kinesthetic. (Hands-on).
- Connection with traditional deck: The Suit of Diamonds.
- Relationships:
- Facts of the matter.
- Practical approach to navigating the day-to-day aspect.
- Can represent a person married decades. But not necessarily in a good relationship (co-dependency).
- A relationship that has become a generational family.
- When dealing with emotions- they stop eating.
- Health:
- Holistic approach.
- Bones & muscles.
- Structure, strength, & teeth.
*This in no way replaces medical testing or knowledge. Any insight gained about yours or anyone else’s health, is not exact nor should it be acted upon without medical insight and guidance.
Final Thoughts:
56 cards comprise the four suits of the Minor Arcana. It can seem like a big number, but through time you will find that these cards aren’t so foreign after all.
Tarot is a representation of the different aspects, people, and events found on Earth. Your understanding of yourself and life will help you to comprehend what the cards say as you lay them out.
We each have qualities found within each suit. Take what you know about yourself, about your family and friends, and use this knowledge to build upon your understanding of tarot. While the cards have a lot to say in each reading, you don’t need to be a master to gain some insight and guidance.
You don’t even need to know the meaning of any of the cards. While these meanings can guide you, as to what direction the reading is going, tarot is just a set of 78 cards. Paper with images printed on them.
They act as the trigger for your own innate abilities. Your intuition and open mind are all you need to experience some pretty accurate readings.
Challenge:
This week take some time to sit with your tarot deck. Flip through the Minor Arcana and consider each suit based on what you know. Then try out 2-3 card spreads and consider what story is being shared with you.
If you combine a wand with a cup, how might they interact? (Fire + Water = ?) How about a sword with a pentacle? (Air + Earth = ?)
Tools:
- Check out this video introducing the Minor Arcana: Minor Arcana / Tarot Cards
- Stone: Tiger’s Eye.
One of my favorite stones, Tiger’s Eye has many wonderful energies. This week I would recommend this stone for the purpose of studying the tarot. Tiger’s Eye invokes self-confidence and positive energy. As a result, this stone can help you connect with your self-worth and trust in your own abilities (intuition) to navigate this complex tool.
- Affirmations:
- “I open my mind to the truth displayed within each card.”
- “I am a being with a strong intuition, and I use this insight to aid my life.”
- “I approach learning a new tool/lesson in life with patience and curiosity.”