Minor Arcana

Origin and etymology

The minor arcana derive directly from the Mamluk playing cards that entered Europe in the 14th century. Their basic structure (four suits × ten numbers × court figures) was inherited and adapted by the Italian Renaissance deck. The technical distinction between major arcana (22 figurative cards) and minor (56 suit cards) was systematised in the 18th century.

In their current form, the four tarot suits are: Cups (associated with the Water element, emotions and bonds), Pentacles or Coins (Earth, money, materiality), Swords (Air, conflicts, decisions, thought) and Wands (Fire, projects, energy, action). The corresponding suits in the English playing-card deck are hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs.

Structure and reading

Each suit has 14 cards: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Page, Knight, Queen and King. The Ace marks the beginning or essence of the suit; the 10 marks its culmination. The court figures represent people or aspects of the psyche: the Page is usually a messenger or learning phase; the King, authority or maturity in that domain.

The Rider-Waite tarot (1909) revolutionised the tradition by illustrating all minor arcana with recognisable figurative scenes: the Three of Swords with a heart pierced by three swords, the Ten of Pentacles with a family scene, the Seven of Cups with a vision of choice. This made intuitive reading much easier. The Marseille tarot, by contrast, keeps the minors with only suit and number, demanding more symbolic knowledge.

Typical reading

When a spread contains a majority of minor arcana, the reading speaks of situations of the moment, everyday decisions or specific areas of life. Minor arcana are as important as the majors; what changes is the plane: majors speak of the soul, minors of daily life. A good reading combines both.