The Minor Arcana

The Tarot - The Minor Arcana

Minor Arcana Defined

The tarot deck is comprised of 78 cards: 22 major arcana and 56 minor arcana. The 22 major arcana cards are supposed to depict a journey through one's life, which originates with the Fool card and ends with a card called The World.

The minor arcana is the part of the deck that most closely resembles our playing cards of today. The minor arcana contains four suites, which correspond to any game deck you may have around the house. The suits are Wands (Clubs) Cups (Hearts) Pentacles (Diamonds) and Swords (Spades). Also present are the Queen, King and Knight (or Jack) of each suit, plus the addition of Pages or Princess, which resemble young men, or women of court, which are not represented in the modern playing deck. In addition to its philosophical and divinatory uses, Tarot is also used as an aid to meditation.

Wands (Air) - Ideas, communication, thoughts, enlightenment, concepts
Swords (Fire) - Power, motivation, action, force, conflict
Cups (Water) - Emotions, feeling, compassion, language of Spirit
Discs or Plate (Earth) - Manifestation, physical expression in the world, physical creation

The Minor Cards
Minor Cards represent events within the control of the individual. These cards show how you do something.

Wands

1. Ace of Wands - The Root of the Powers of Fire
2. Two of Wands - The Lord of Dominion
3. Three of Wands - The Lord of Established Strength
4. Four of Wands - The Lord of Perfected Work
5. Five of Wands - The Lord of Strife
6. Six of Wands - The Lord of Victory
7. Seven of Wands - The Lord of Valour
8. Eight of Wands - The Lord of Swiftness
9. Nine of Wands - The Lord of Great Strength
10. Ten of Wands - The Lord of Oppression

Swords

1. Ace of Swords - The Root of the Powers of Air
2. Two of Swords - The Lord of Peace Restored
3. Three of Swords - The Lord of Sorrow
4. Four of Swords - The Lord of Rest from Strife
5. Five of Swords - The Lord of Defeat
6. Six of Swords - The Lord of Earned Success
7. Seven of Swords - The Lord of Unstable Effort
8. Eight of Swords - The Lord of Shortened Force
9. Nine of Swords - The Lord of Despair and Cruelty
10. Ten of Swords - The Lord of Ruin

Cups

1. Ace of Cups - The Root of the Powers of Water
2. Two of Cups - The Lord of Love
3. Three of Cups - The Lord of Abundance
4. Four of Cups - The Lord of Blended Pleasure
5. Five of Cups - The Lord of Loss in Pleasure
6. Six of Cups - The Lord of Pleasure
7. Seven of Cups - The Lord of Illusionary Success
8. Eight of Cups - The Lord of Abandoned Success
9. Nine of Cups - The Lord of Material Happiness
10. Ten of Cups - The Lord of Perfected Success

Disks

1. Ace of Disks - The Root of the Powers of Earth
2. Two of Disks - The Lord of Harmonious Change
3. Three of Disks - The Lord of Material Works
4. Four of Disks - The Lord of Earthly Power
5. Five of Disks - The Lord of Material Trouble
6. Six of Disks - The Lord of Material Success
7. Seven of Disks - The Lord of Success Unfulfilled
8. Eight of Disks - The Lord of Prudence
9. Nine of Disks - The Lord of Material Gain
10. Ten of Disks - The Lord of Wealth

Court Cards

Princess of Wands
Earth of Fire, passionate young woman

Knight of Wands
Leo, passionate idealistic young mann

Queen of Wands
Sagittarius, fiery woman

King of Wands
Aries, older, aggressive man

Princess of Swords
Earth of Air, scheming young woman

Knight of Swords
Aquarius, analytical thoughtful young man

Queen of Swords
Gemini, artistic, graceful, vengeful woman

King of Swords
Libra, professional, legal, articulate man

Princess of Cups
Earth of Water, imaginative, emotional young woman

Knight of Cups
Scorpio, secretive, passionate, scheming young man

Queen of Cups
Pisces, placid reflective woman

King of Cups
Cancer, secretive emotional man

Princess of Disks
Earth of Earth, young woman on the brink of transformation

Knight of Disks
Taurus, hard working young man

Queen of Disks
Virgo, practical homely woman

King of Disks
Capricorn, business man

The Tarot Court cards are either another person, the Querent, or a message. The inability to distinguish between these modes cause Tarot readers more problems than any other type of card. The King/Knight and Queen can be considered to be older people, and the Prince/Knight and Page/Princess are younger people.