· The Minor Arcana ·
Wands · Cups · Swords · Pentacles
The texture of a life, as it is lived.
The Minor Arcana are the fifty-six cards divided into four suits.
If the Major Arcana deals with your life, the Minor Arcana deals with your week.
These are the everyday cards: what's happening now, who is involved, and what you are actually dealing with.
Each suit runs Ace through Ten, with an additional four court cards.
The numbered cards describe situations.
The court cards describe people, or the parts of yourself behaving like them.
The Ace is always a beginning.
The Ten is the end of that particular road, for better or worse is up to you.
If a reading returns mostly Minor cards. It is never a lesser meaning.
It is the detail of your life, and it is where most useful answers sit.
- The Suits -
Each suit governs an aspect of your life.
Wands
Wands are fire.
What you want, what drives you, what you are making of your life.
Cups
Cups are water.
What you feel, who you love, what you are avoiding feeling.
Swords
Swords are air.
What you think, what is true, what needs to be expressed or spoken.
Pentacles
Pentacles are earth.
The 3D realm. Your body, your money, your work, your home.
- The Court -
Every suit has the same four court cards.
They behave the same way in each one of the suits.
Pages
Pages are beginners.
Learning, messages arriving, something new and not yet mastered.
Knights
Knights are action.
Fast, single-minded, and often too much of what their suit represents.
Queens
Queens hold the suit inward. They understand it, embody it, and do not need to prove it.
Kings
Kings send the suit outward. They are mastery, authority, and responsibility for others.
- WANDS -
Fire. Will, drive and creation.
These are your ambition, energy, the work you are called to do.
Wands are what happens when you decide you want something.
Ace of Wands
A spark, an opportunity, the beginning of desire
Two of Wands
Planning, deciding, looking out at what is possible
Three of Wands
Progress, waiting, watching what you set in motion
Four of Wands
Celebration, homecoming, a milestone reached
Five of Wands
Conflict, competition, everyone talking at once
Six of Wands
Victory, recognition, being seen to have won
Seven of Wands
Defending your ground, holding a position
Eight of Wands
Speed, news arriving, everything happening at once
Nine of Wands
Exhaustion, persistence, nearly there and hurting
Ten of Wands
Burden, too much being carried alone
Page of Wands
Enthusiasm, a new interest, free spirit
Knight of Wands
Passion, impulse, action without a plan
Queen of Wands
Confidence, warmth, magnetism
King of Wands
Vision, leadership, natural authority
- Cups -
Water. Feeling, relationships and intuition.
Love, grief, friendship and the interior life.
Cups are what happens beneath the surface of your self.
Ace of Cups
New feeling, love beginning, the heart opening
Two of Cups
Partnership, mutual attraction, a bond forming
Three of Cups
Friendship, celebration, good company
Four of Cups
Boredom, apathy, missing what is offered
Five of Cups
Loss, regret, grieving what is gone
Six of Cups
Nostalgia, childhood, the past returning
Seven of Cups
Too many choices, fantasy, illusion
Eight of Cups
Walking away, leaving what no longer satisfies
Nine of Cups
Contentment, satisfaction, the wish granted
Ten of Cups
Happiness, family, emotional completion
Page of Cups
A message of the heart, sensitivity, imagination
Knight of Cups
Romance, the offer, following feeling
Queen of Cups
Empathy, intuition, emotional depth
King of Cups
Emotional mastery, calm, steady support
- SWORDS -
Air. Thought, truth and decision.
Clarity, conflict, communication and difficulty.
Swords are what happens in the mind and what has to be faced.
Ace of Swords
Clarity, breakthrough, the truth arriving
Two of Swords
Stalemate, avoidance, a decision refused
Three of Swords
Heartbreak, painful truth, grief
Four of Swords
Rest, recovery, stepping back
Five of Swords
Conflict, winning badly, hollow victory
Six of Swords
Moving on, transition, calmer water ahead
Seven of Swords
Deception, strategy, acting alone
Eight of Swords
Feeling trapped, restriction that is partly self-made
Nine of Swords
Anxiety, sleeplessness, fear at its worst
Ten of Swords
The end, rock bottom, it cannot get worse
Page of Swords
Curiosity, watchfulness, new ideas
Knight of Swords
Urgency, bluntness, charging in
Queen of Swords
Perception, honesty, clear judgement
King of Swords
Intellect, authority, truth spoken plainly
- PENTACLES -
intellect, authority. The truth, spoken.
Money, home, health and the material world.
Pentacles are what happens in life and the world.
Ace of Pentacles
Opportunity, the new beginning of something solid
Two of Pentacles
Juggling, balance, managing too much
Three of Pentacles
Teamwork, skill recognised, building together
Four of Pentacles
Holding on, security, gripping too tightly
Five of Pentacles
Hardship, exclusion, going without
Six of Pentacles
Generosity, the balance of both giving and receiving
Seven of Pentacles
Patience, waiting for the harvest, assessing progress
Eight of Pentacles
Craft, practice, doing the work properly
Nine of Pentacles
Independence, comfort earned alone
Ten of Pentacles
Wealth, legacy, family and long security
Page of Pentacles
Study, a new venture, steady beginnings
Knight of Pentacles
Reliability, routine, slow and thorough
Queen of Pentacles
Nurture, practicality, abundance made real
King of Pentacles
Wealth, stability, mastery of the material
- The Practice -
A single card answers a single question.
Most questions are not asked in isolation.
Cards may therefore be read singly or together, read in spreads: a layout where each position means something before a card is even placed in it.
One position for what is behind you, another for what is ahead.
One for what you can see, another for what you cannot.
The card gives the meaning, and the position tells you what the meaning is about.
This is where the two arcana meet.
A Major card falling in the position of the near future says something very different from the same card falling in the position that has passed. Three suits in a row is a different reading again. And so on...
The spread is the sentence.
The cards are the words.
Everything offered here, including tarot card meanings, workings, correspondences, seasonal guidance and crystals, is for reflection and entertainment. It is not medical, legal, financial or psychological advice, and no outcome is promised. Crystals are sold as objects of beauty and ritual, not as remedies. Please consult a qualified professional for anything concerning your health, money or legal position. You are responsible for your own choices and for practising safely.
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