The Minor arcana

Despite being the “Minor” arcana, its the largest part of the deck occupying 56 of the 78 cards. These cards are similar to a deck of normal playing cards. They are frequently referenced as something called “pip cards”. Each suit of 14 cards break down into elements, numerology, and court cards. Believe it or not, they can also be broken down a million other ways in order to align with astrology, and other occult practices.

The Minor Arcana provides context that makes a situation unique to you. Some of the information like in the Celtic crosses ‘past’ and ‘known’ positions will be things you are already aware of. Look at it as materialized validation, like someone saying your name in conversation you’re not apart of. The minor arcana helps you understand the inner workings of your motivations and the motivations of others.

The Suits

The Suits cover the arenas in your life and the cycles we see as we move through these arenas. Each new battle ground brings new monsters; be ready to break the demons they raise. The way the suits come up is also important. A reading on your career with a lot of cups come up can signify that your career is impacted by your emotions or a relationship.  Pentacles in a reading about love indicates the heavy flow of energy you are putting into your career is restricting flow to another part of your life.

Cups [Water]

The feminine energy of water is held within the Cups. This suit touches on emotions; the way we perceive, nurture, seek and express them. These cards can be seen as our heart strings, our intuition, inner world and the unknown. Positively they speak of blooming emotions within relationships. Negatively, they can speak for loss, disappointment, recovery, and emotional renewal. The Cups tell a story of love unfolding, the birth of dreams, emotional inspiration and the potential downfall of it all. These are all feats that take courage of heart to achieve, and situations that, like the ocean — are always in flux.

Situationally they are about creativity, birth, entertaining your imagination and letting it run into a wild dream. It is inspiration by your emotions, love or someone that brings you joy. Let your true colors soar unrestricted. Your heart and intuition will be your navigator in the dark unknown of your desire. Let your heart led you to your destination, as there are no maps in uncharted territories.

Wands [Fire]

The Wands inspire the Masculine energy of Fire. Sparks ignite our creativity, drive, will, growth, excitement, and adventures. The difference in creativity between the wands and the cups is that the cups is inspiration and manifestation that stirs from the inside, and the wands are inspiration and manifestation through drive. The manifestation behind the wands can be messy—borderline destructive.

Another difference is in instinct and intuition. Intuition is felt  through meditation, clearing of the mind to hear The Hermit speaking inside. Instinct comes from conflict, and adversity, responding to stimulation with fight instead of flight.

In a reading, the wand symbolize action. It’s a moment to show your inspiration or muster some great level of courage. The wand in a reading says that you are so dead set on a single pursuit that it becomes part of your identity. It can also tell you that you’re living life in too safely and not taking any risks. It recommends that you let go a little, have fun and let yourself have a dream. If you want something so badly that it moves you, show the universe how much you’re willing to risk making it come into existence.

Pentacles [Earth]

The Feminine energy of Earth is supported by the Pentacles. It speaks for all thing’s material, resources, wealth, society and support. Material nurturing comes in the form of our needs for survival, and beyond. This suit can indicate our health and physical energy levels. Like the earth, it brings stable grounded energy which isn’t disrupted easily. How humanity shapes us, how we shape it, our social status, reputations and the history we leave behind.

The pentacles typically come up in readings regarding careers and resources. Questions like “Will I get the new position at work” or “How am I going to pay rent?”. If you get anything but pentacles in a question regarding materials, you maybe hindering yourself with your obsession. You are putting too much value into material and cut off energy in other realms of your life. Pentacles can warn you that you are putting your spiritual and self-care on the back burner to your material pursuits which can be detrimental in the long term.

Swords [Air]

The Swords acknowledge the Masculine energy of Air. Swords rule the realms of knowledge, communications, unconventional tact, the truth and the revealing of it. Negatively it can be seen as anxiety, over-thinking, beating yourself up, and manipulation.

In a Tarot reading it calls for discrimination, diplomacy, logic over emotions and stresses the need to communicate. They often come up when you feel anxious about a situation, and why you would be on the edge of glory in the form of a spiritual break through, or discovery of a hidden truth. The biggest lesson to learn from this Suit is to be careful with your swords, or they may be held against you.

[get it? Swords is just words with an S?]

Numerology

One of the quickest and easiest ways to figure out the Minor arcana without memorizing each individual card, is to use numerology. A system is based off the kabbalah numerology system, it’s numbered one through ten which appeals to the minor arcana. It can be applied to the Major arcana as well a few different ways.

By default, The Fool is 10, Then follows the magician in traditional one through ten fashion. After we hit the double digits, there are two primary methods you can use to determine what number it would be. The first method is applied by adding the first and second number. So, The Moon is number eighteen, [1 + 8 = 9] would be nine. The other way cartomancer’s determine it is by ignoring the first number and focusing on the second. Take away the one from Eighteen and you have a simple 8. In this method, zero is considered 10.

Imagery, Art, and Colors

Many tarot decks don’t let you see or hold the cards before buying. Usually, the packaging shows just a few images. To make sure a deck truly resonates with you, I recommend web-searching it to view more of the artwork. There are plenty of decks I wish I’d done this with before purchasing.

Your deck’s imagery should make you feel at ease, not overwhelmed. It should speak to your soul and feel aesthetically pleasing. Choose a deck whose art and symbolism match your personal style. The color scheme matters too—whether you prefer pastels, black and gray, or bold, vibrant hues, pick what resonates.

There are decks for every taste: Egyptian, wildlife, steampunk, manga, minimalist, complex, and even quirky themes like zombies or kittens. If it’s charming to you, there’s probably a deck that fits.

Color and Symbolism

Color theory matters in tarot—the colors that draw your attention often carry meaning. Pamela Colman Smith, the artist of the Rider–Waite deck, used color intentionally:

• Yellow: Consciousness, intellect, clarity
• Blue: Spirituality, intuition, calm
• Red: Passion, vitality, will
• Green: Growth, fertility, healing
• Gray: Uncertainty, liminal states
• Black: Mystery, endings, the unknown
• White: Purity, truth, divine presence

Choosing a deck whose imagery and colors resonate with you will deepen your connection to the cards and make your