The Minor Arcana

There are 56 Minor Arcana cards. You will hear the Minor Arcana being referred to as the Lesser Arcana. The Minor Arcana talks about” The little secrets in life.” The more mundane aspects of your daily life. They refer to current issues, the direction of your life, and your thoughts. They have a temporary or trivial influence.

In a reading, the Minor Arcana talk about a particular situation or event that is occurring in your life.

Receive a reading with predominantly Minor Arcana cards. You will find that you are dealing with day-to-day issues that will not have a lasting effect on your life. You will see that these issues will end up presenting you with the opportunity to learn from them.

The Minor Arcana is divided into Four Suits: Cups, Swords, Pentacles, and Wands.

Each suit comprises of 14 cards, consisting of 10 numbered cards and four court cards: Page, Knight, King, Queen. ( See The Court Cards )

The suits are associated with an element: Earth, Fire, Water, Air.

Cups – Water: Emotions-Relationships, Feelings, Creativity.

Pentacles – Earth: Physical -Money, Security, Career, Home.

Swords – Air: Thought-Power, conflicts, Strife, ideas, daydreams.

Wands – Fire: Spirit- Ambition, Inspiration, Energy.

Within each suit, you will find Ten number cards from Ace to Ten. To help you understand the Minor Arcana, you can combine the suit’s energy with the card number meaning.

1: New Beginnings
2: Partnerships
3: Creation
4: Stability and Foundations
5: Conflict and Change
6: Harmony and Understanding
7: Attainment and Understanding
8: Mastery and power
9: Fruition and Fulfillment
10: Completion and endings.

It would be fantastic to balance all four suits with at least one or two Major Aracana in a spread in a reading. But it would help if you remembered the reading is dominated by the question being asked and the reading’s energy.

If you find that the suit of Swords dominates your reading, it will signify that you are thinking too much and maybe not taking action. You may have some personal problems or troubles.

Suppose the suit of Wands dominates your reading. In that case, there is too much energy being focused on work or social activities, and perhaps you are not concentrating in the right direction. You may have issues with money.

If Pentacles’ suit dominates your reading, it indicates that the situation is too grounded and you’re not flexible.

If the suit of Cups dominates your reading, maybe you are allowing your emotions to cloud your judgment about a situation.

A little note that I found helped me.

Water – Cups:
Water nourishes it is the substance of life the ground helps things grow, but it can also become stagnant, or you can drown if you’re caught in a storm.
Your emotions can feel like that too, they might flow smoothly, or they might overflow and leave you feeling threatened or bogged down.

Fire – Wands:
Fire keeps you warm; it allows you to cook, It can ignite a situation. Or it can leave you feeling burnt out and needs to be handled carefully. Wands represent the passion in your life, that spark for adventure.

Air – Swords:
Air is essential, we need it to survive.
It’s all around us, even though we don’t see it, but its force can move wind turbines.

Or the air around you can become thick and heavy, making it hard for us to breathe, or it can cause a storm leaving damage and heartache in its path. Swords relate to your thoughts, and your thoughts can be exciting and bold, or they can leave you feeling suffocated.

Earth – Pentacles:
The earth grounds us. We walk on it. We need it for growth.

Its soil allows our plants to grow. The earth can regenerate itself and can heal. It’s tough for things to grow in the barren desert. Pentacles relate to your material side. It makes life worth living and helps you create security. think of it as your roots. At times you might find you have to dig deep to find yourself feeling stable.

 

Suit of Cups | Suit of Pentacles | Suit of Swords | Suit of Wands