Tarot Minor Arcana Defined

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Tarot 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 arcane 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

Ace of Wands - The Root of the Powers of Fire
Two of Wands - The Lord of Dominion
Three of Wands - The Lord of Established Strength
Four of Wands - The Lord of Perfected Work
Five of Wands - The Lord of Strife
Six of Wands - The Lord of Victory
Seven of Wands - The Lord of Valour
Eight of Wands - The Lord of Swiftness
Nine of Wands - The Lord of Great Strength
Ten of Wands - The Lord of Oppression
Swords

Ace of Swords - The Root of the Powers of Air
Two of Swords - The Lord of Peace Restored
Three of Swords - The Lord of Sorrow
Four of Swords - The Lord of Rest from Strife
Five of Swords - The Lord of Defeat
Six of Swords - The Lord of Earned Success
Seven of Swords - The Lord of Unstable Effort
Eight of Swords - The Lord of Shortened Force
Nine of Swords - The Lord of Despair and Cruelty
Ten of Swords - The Lord of Ruin
Cups

Ace of Cups - The Root of the Powers of Water
Two of Cups - The Lord of Love
Three of Cups - The Lord of Abundance
Four of Cups - The Lord of Blended Pleasure
Five of Cups - The Lord of Loss in Pleasure
Six of Cups - The Lord of Pleasure
Seven of Cups - The Lord of Illusionary Success
Eight of Cups - The Lord of Abandoned Success
Nine of Cups - The Lord of Material Happiness
Ten of Cups - The Lord of Perfected Success
Disks

Ace of Disks - The Root of the Powers of Earth
Two of Disks - The Lord of Harmonious Change
Three of Disks - The Lord of Material Works
Four of Disks - The Lord of Earthly Power
Five of Disks - The Lord of Material Trouble
Six of Disks - The Lord of Material Success
Seven of Disks - The Lord of Success Unfulfilled
Eight of Disks - The Lord of Prudence
Nine of Disks - The Lord of Material Gain
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.