The Minor Arcana
The following texts on the tarot minor arcana, together with pictures of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot cards, are especially to help anyone thinking about takaing or following one of my tarot intro workshops or a 10-lesson course. They are designed to be used as memory aids, not as a tool to read tarot without study.
The minor arcana has four suits, which corresponds to the four elements of Greek and Roman antiquity and are part of Western history. These are fire, water, air and earth. The elements are linked to tools. In general, fire is seen as being linked to wands, air to swords, water to cups and earth to pentacles/coins. Each suit/element/tool also represents a state of being belonging to us, humanity, which can also be universally viewed and applied. In general wands stand for willpower and spiritual development, cups for emotions and intuition, air for our thoughts and mind, and earth for the natural world, money, growth, the home, health, etc.
Each suit of the minor arcana consists of fourteen cards. The numbered cards are ace to ten. The four court cards that belong together with each suit are the king, the queen, the knight and the page. The titles in some decks may vary. The court cards are dealt with below.
Therefore, fire/ wands includes ace to ten of wands, and king of wands, queen of wands, knight of wands and page of wands. The same then applies for air/swords, water/ cups, earth/pentacles. Each element and its tool has another meaning and is read and understood differently.
The brief explanations here are very generalised descriptions of the energy of the cards. The individualised card meanings are much more specific. Each card naturally encompasses a world of experience, knowledge, wisdom and possibilities.
Aces stand for new beginnings, roots and the potential of the suit they represent.
Ace of wands: Yes, it’s possible, go for it!
Ace of cups: Universal love, one love, open your heart
Ace of swords: A sharp mind, taking decisive action. A pen, writing
Ace of pentacles: Material potential and growth, back-to-basics, roots, ancestors
The twos stand for partnership, duality, movement between two poles
Two of wands: ambition, plans to conquer, to take over or appropriate something, dominance
Two of cups: relative new love or attraction between two people, may also apply to a friendship
Two of swords: the ability of the mind to look at things from different perspectives, to hold two points of view in balance
Two of pentacles: multitasking, setting priorities, flexibility, partnership, coping with life’s ebbs and flows
The threes stand for the first group-forming and how this affects each element
Three of wands: good management/leadership of a successful project. Possible downsides are arrogance, loss of respect
Three of cups: socialising and having fun with friends, celebrating life, partying, community, togetherness
Three of swords: a third party is bad news in love matters, and/or rejection, jealousy, envy, sadness. The realisation that something is wrong in a relationship. Also, the swords of the mind hurt the heart and/or the realisation that sadness is part of life, cannot always be avoided
Three of pentacles: working hard on a project in a team, building something up together, discussing the next steps, the drive to make a go of it
The fours stand for rest, taking a break, withdrawal
Four of wands: celebration of a completed project. Partying. Fitting out a new home. Possible downsides are wanting to finishing too quickly
Four of cups: withdrawal, emotional satiety, wallowing in emotions, no need for even more, lack of interest, boredom, life loses its glans. Need for inner attention. Possibly, meditation.
Four of swords: acceptance, rest, withdrawal to recuperate, laying down the weapons, mediation, truce. May also indicate a sickbed, burn-out.
Four of pentacles: material stability, self-satisfaction. Own home, personal possessions. Possible downsides are selfishness, not wanting to share or invest, stagnation, personal limitation, greed.
The fives stand for obstacles, difficulties and challenges
Five of wands: competition, fair fight between multiple parties. Possibility of winning, or in any case not losing.
Five of cups: loss and disappointment, sadness, grief, emotional defeat.
Five of swords: winning unfairly, fleeing, dishonesty.
Five of pentacles: exclusion, homelessness, illness, cold, not belonging, poverty. Possibly too: victimhood
The sixes stand for a positive turn of events, new balance, prosperity, success, pleasure.
Sixes are generally positive
Six of wands: victory, public recognition, appreciation. Possible downsides may be arrogance, ego-inflation
Six of cups: Nostalgia, melancholy, heartwarming memories of the past, childhood, innocence, longing for the past. May also indicate childhood trauma, and/or grieving past pains and losses.
Six of swords: Travel to a better place, adventure, taking off, exploring the wide world, travel with the mind, science, intellectual adventures. Possible downsides: flight from reality.
Six of pentacles: generosity after achieving financial and material success. Sharing with others. Or, receiving material help from someone with means. Possible downsides: sharing for selfish reasons, for attention, personal benefit
The sevens stand for impulsiveness, lack of control and self-control, impatience
Seven of wands: having to defend yourself against attackers, courage, not being well-prepared, ambush. Unexpected setbacks.
Seven of cups: losing oneself in too much choice, illusions, obsession, delusions, derailed fantasy, lack of boundaries, mind-altering substances, romanticism, flirtation, addiction.
Seven of swords: insincerity, sneaking off, theft, deceit, betrayal. Possibly, need for secrecy for self-protection.
Seven of pentacles: project is unsuccessful or postponed. Now is not the right time. Impatience, Need for patience and marking time
The eights stand for taking a different road and/or the need to do so, to walk away, reflection and realisation
Eight of wands: speed, communication, a letter, e-mail etc. Something may happen very soon
Eight of cups: turning one’s back on stagnation, walking away from a hopeless situation, moving on
Eight of swords: being stuck, blocks, prisoner, victimhood, external or internal setbacks, possibly both. The person may be able to easily extract themselves from a situation but does not do so.
Eight of pentacles: down to business, focus on hard work, progress, precise work, slowly but surely building something up in the material world, gradual growth
The nines stand for wish fulfilment on one hand and the unintentional manifestation of our fears on the other. Hopes and fears
Nine of wands: recovery, recuperation. The threat has passed, you have overcome, but take care, continue to protect yourself, building up your strength and resilience
Nine of cups: happiness through wish fulfilment in the area of relationships and emotions. Things are going well; you have finally achieved emotional wealth and satisfaction. You are blessed, but take care not to become complacent
Nine of swords: anxiety, worrying, fear of what may happen, you may be realising the mistakes you have made, the problems and misery in your life you yourself have caused
Nine of pentacles: material goals have been reached, beautiful surroundings, luxury, independent, perhaps too much, sometimes loneliness, too little connection to others
The tens stand for completion, and endings leading to new beginnings
Ten of wands: over-responsibility, taking on burdens of others, victimhood, martyrdom.
Ten of cups: domestic happiness, suburban bliss. Take care it doesn’t get too restrictive.
Ten of swords: it’s dead, completely lifeless, Done, past, over. Possibly indicates violence. Far away, the sun gleams.
Ten of pentacles: family wealth/money, inheritance, grandparents, extended family, spending time with family, family home. Often a powerful yes card.