Tarot Meanings of the Minor Arcana
Tarot Meanings of the Minor Arcana
Unlike the cards of the major arcana that symbolize universal themes, the minor arcana deal with these themes in a practical way. The pip cards help us to deal with issues on a day-to-day basis. These cards are 56 cards split into four suits: 1) Wands 2) Cups 3) Swords and 4) Pentacles. Each suit is based on a particular way of dealing with life.
The Cards:
1) Wands – these are cards of creativity, action and movement. There are several different attributes associated with the wands namely: enthusiasm, adventure, risk-taking and confidence. These are yang or masculine cards and connected to the earth element of fire. The wands are the suit of the pips that are active and energetic in expression.
2) Cups – The suit of cups is linked to emotions and spiritual experience. This means that they embody our inner world, emotions and ways in which we relate to others. Unlike the wands, the cups suit of the pips is based on energy that flows inward. They are the yin, or feminine principle. The cups are linked to the earth element of water.
3) Swords – This suit is linked to intellect, thought and reason. Swords are the suit of the minors that embodies justice, truth and ethical principles and is linked to the air element. In this way the swords embody a clear mind but can also indicate disharmony or unhappiness. In this way we see that intellect can lead us astray if it is linked with the ego in a self-seeking way.
4) Pentacles – The pentacles are the practical suit of the minors. This suite embodies practicality, security and material needs and issues. The pentacles are linked to the element of earth. Here we find an appreciation of the natural world, and our physical experiences. Pentacles is also a symbol of material wealth and success.
While each suit of the minors are different and unique the way we live in the world will be a combination of all four suits. When you have a reading done the cards that come up indicate how the aspects of each suit is influencing your daily life.
The suits of the pips have divisions just like an ordinary set of playing cards. Aces, middle cards, tens, court cards, the king, queen the knight and the pages all have different meanings.
Aces of each suit indicates its theme so the Ace of Cups symbolizes love, emotions, intuition, and intimacy. Aces are always positive. Middle Cards represent different aspects of a suit. Tens use the theme shown by the Ace and bring it towards a logical conclusion.
The court cards help us to see ways in which we can operate in the world to use or avoid the personality styles embodied in the court cards. These are the king (mature and masculine), queen (mature and feminine) knight (immature teenager) and page (playful child) cards.
As you become more familiar with the cards it becomes easier to see how they can act as a guide to choices and decisions we make in our daily life.
Another take on it:
Several of the tarot card meanings from the tarot card suits within the Minors, in addition to the over-all format, have inspired our standard present day fifty two card deck for games. You will find four suits which have been numbered from ace to 10, accompanied by 4 court cards labeled Page, Knight, Queen as well as King. As you’ve most likely seen, that’s only 1 card greater than a present day pack of cards.
The four suits of pip cards are known as the Pentacles, Cups, Wands and Swords. The number of suits possesses a symbolic importance simply because in historic times it had been believed that every thing in the entire world was made from only 4 elements… earth, wind, fire, and water. Many years later, these elements have been thought to be associated with the four set signs of the Zodiac… Aquarius Scorpio, Leo and the bull Taurus.
Pentacles
The Pentacles signify finances, business as well as gaining material wealth. All of the cards within this suit aside from the five of Pentacles depicts individuals often working or having fun with what they have obtained through their hard work.. Pentacles would be the coin similar to disks which have pictures of pentagrams on them (five pointed stars). Throughout historic times, men and women donned pentagrams for a defense against evil. Needless to say that’s where the suit of diamonds originates from within our normal playing cards in the present day.
Cups
The Cups signify love, contentment, feelings, fertility as well as natural beauty. The cups symbol is assigned to water, which in turn signifies the subconscious thoughts and also intuition instead of the conscious mind and rationale. The suit of hearts within a normal pack of cards originates from the Cups.
Wands
The Wands signify strength, development, enterprise, movement and magnificence. The Wands within the cards signify growth as the pictures shows healthy wood that is green with live twigs. They’re occasionally used for a club in order to battle with or even like a staff to hold the winners crown. Their particular placement with regards to the additional cards within a layout will settle if it’s energy is going to be bad or good. Wands are generally connected with thoughts,invention and farming. The present day day suit of clubs originates from the Wands.
Swords
The Swords signify hostility, power, aspirations, bravery as well as catastrophe. Numerous cards in this suit displays arguing as well as individuals who are dealing with catastrophe. Swords symbolize actions, either negative and positive. That is how the spades suit originates from inside of a present day deck.
The tarot card meanings reference the smaller situations of daily living. The Major Arcana however are classified as the strongest simply because they foresee the most important issues as opposed to the daily good and bad that the Minor Arcana expose.
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