Minor Arcana Tarot Card Meanings

Minor Arcana Tarot Card Meaning

Introduction to the Minor
Arcana Tarot Card Meaning

A technical definition for the Minor Arcana (as described in my Tarot meanings dictionary pages) is:

The 56 minor cards that follow the first 22 Major Arcana cards. These 56 minor Arcana cards are also called pips, suit cards, minors, and other terms. Arcanum is singular, Arcana is plural and the term means “secret.” Where the Major Arcana cards are thought of as the “power” cards or big players in a reading, the Minor Arcana serve in supportive roles and augment the reading with further insight and detail of circumstances.

Viewed more eclectically, if the Major Arcana could be described as the primary colors brightly painted on the canvas of our lives, then the Minor Arcana are the various hues and shades that offer enhancement and diversity of our life?s design.

The Minor Arcana brings us clarity and definition. These cards are the supportive role-players to the prime archetypes of the Major Arcana. The stage, setting, and supportive actors in our readings; these cards flesh out the big story of what?s going on in our interpretive experiences.

Each suit tells a story within the elemental/psychological realm of that suit. For instance, the Minor Arcana suit of cups tell the story of its element, water which deals with the realm of emotions. Succinctly, the worlds of emphasis are played out thusly in each suit:

WandsPentaclesSwordsCups
FireEarthAirWater
SpiritPhysicalThoughtEmotion

Click here for a helpful reference chart showing more associations for each Tarot card suit.

This of course is a broad overview of each suit – just as every world has an infinite array of characteristics, colors, qualities, and aspects – so too does each suit, and these are played out by each of the fourteen individual cards in each realm.

Don?t get the idea that just because these are the Minors they play second fiddle in any reading. On the contrary, the Minor Arcana Tarot card meanings have the ability to drastically transform all readings (and offer personal transformation as you work with the Tarot on a developmental level), and can leave a mark of grand design if soulfully interpreted in a reading.

For your enhancement, I offer some insights into these Minor card meanings. Simply click on the links below for each card meaning:

WandsPentaclesSwordsCups
Tarot wands meaningmeaning of tarot pentaclessuit of swords meaning in Tarotsuit of cups meaning in Tarot
Ace of WandsAce of PentaclesAce of SwordsAce of Cups
2 of Wands2 of Pentacles2 of Swords2 of Cups
3 of Wands3 of Pentacles3 of Swords3 of Cups
4 of Wands4 of Pentacles4 of Swords4 of Cups
5 of Wands5 of Pentacles5 of Swords5 of Cups
6 of Wands6 of Pentacles6 of Swords6 of Cups
7 of Wands7 of Pentacles7 of Swords7 of Cups
8 of Wands8 of Pentacles8 of Swords8 of Cups
9 of Wands9 of Pentacles9 of Swords9 of Cups
10 of Wands10 of Pentacles10 of Swords10 of Cups
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