What Are the Minor Arcana?
The Minor Arcana are the fifty-six suited cards in a standard seventy-eight-card tarot pack. They are divided into four suits, each containing ten pip cards (Ace through Ten) and four court cards. Together they provide a structured vocabulary for relationships, decisions, work, conflict, resources and the ordinary circumstances in which larger themes unfold.
The word minor describes their position relative to the twenty-two Major Arcana, not a lack of importance. In a reading, the Major Arcana may represent a significant theme or turning point while the suited cards show how that theme is expressed through particular actions and pressures. A spread composed entirely of Minor Arcana is no less legitimate than one dominated by trumps.
The 56 Minor Arcana Cards at a Glance
| Part of the deck | Cards | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Cups | Ace–Ten plus four court cards | 14 |
| Wands / Batons | Ace–Ten plus four court cards | 14 |
| Swords | Ace–Ten plus four court cards | 14 |
| Pentacles / Coins / Disks | Ace–Ten plus four court cards | 14 |
| Total Minor Arcana | Four groups of fourteen | 56 |
The names printed on the cards depend on the tradition. Rider–Waite–Smith uses Cups, Wands, Swords and Pentacles; Marseille commonly uses Coupes, Bâtons, Épées and Deniers; Thoth uses Cups, Wands, Swords and Disks. The corresponding numbers and ranks form a common structure, but the artwork and individual interpretations should be studied in their own systems.
History of the Minor Arcana: From Card Games to Divination
The four suited groups developed within the world of European playing cards. In fifteenth-century Italian tarot, cups, swords, batons and coins were already established suit emblems. Tarot added a permanent sequence of trumps to the customary suited deck; it was used primarily for trick-taking games before the later growth of divinatory and occult interpretations. The fifty-six suited cards were therefore not a late supplement added to an originally trump-only tarot.
Traditional pip cards typically display the relevant number of suit emblems. In a Tarot de Marseille deck, these can form ornamental patterns of curved swords, crossed batons, vessels and coins. The famous Rider–Waite–Smith deck, designed by Pamela Colman Smith in collaboration with A. E. Waite and published in 1909, develops narrative scenes for the Minor Arcana. The Crowley–Harris Thoth Tarot instead combines stylized emblems with explicit card titles, astrology and Qabalistic correspondences.
That history matters in practice. A classic Marseille Five of Swords and a Rider–Waite Five of Swords occupy the same position in their suits, but they should not be treated as identical pictures. The first emphasizes arrangement of blades, while the second depicts a scene of people and weapons. A Thoth Five of Swords bears Crowley’s title Defeat and belongs to another interpretive framework.
Minor Arcana Suits: Their Elements and Meanings
Readers often learn the four suits through the elements. These connections are widespread in later Hermetic and modern tarot; they are not fixed historical truths for all decks. Within a reading, consider the element a broad interpretive field, then read the specific card, its number and the spread position.
Suit of Cups: Water, Emotions and Relationships
The suit of Cups is often associated with Water. Cups can suggest receptivity, affection, trust, imagination, community, longing or disappointment, depending on the card. A cup’s role in the picture also matters: it may be overflowing, offered, spilled or withheld. For example, Ace of Cups in Rider–Waite–Smith suggests the opening of an emotional possibility, while Five of Cups draws attention to disappointment and what remains available.
In a relationship question, Cups may emphasize how people exchange attention; at work, they can describe the quality of collaboration. Neither use implies that a Cup reveals someone else’s private thoughts. For the suit’s complete sequence, consult the Tarot Cards Meanings index or the relevant Marseille and Thoth suit hubs.
Suit of Wands or Batons: Fire, Will and Initiative
Wands are commonly linked with Fire and with active engagement: starting a task, sustaining creative energy, competing with other ambitions or carrying responsibilities. In Rider–Waite–Smith, people use wands as staffs, supports or tools in a narrative scene. In Marseille, the Bâtons may be crossed in decorative arrangements. In Thoth, numbered Wands cards have distinct names such as Dominion, Virtue, Strife and Victory.
A Wands card is not automatically “good” because Fire suggests enthusiasm. Ten of Wands may point to overburdening while Three of Wands may raise questions about preparation and expansion. Context and the particular deck make the difference.
Suit of Swords: Air, Thought and Decisions
Swords are associated with Air, language, analysis, judgment and conflict. A sword can separate confused claims or cause unnecessary harm; the image may show balanced blades, a standoff, a journey or a collapse. These cards are useful when a question concerns communication, assumptions and the consequences of decisions.
In Thoth, Two of Swords is named Peace and Six of Swords Science, while the Rider–Waite–Smith imagery emphasizes different visual stories. Interpreting every Swords card as misfortune would erase much of the suit’s range.
Suit of Pentacles, Coins or Disks: Earth and Material Reality
Pentacles and their historical Coins counterpart generally concern the material aspects of life: work, housing, tools, health-related routines, finances, skills and sustainable effort. Their imagery can include the exchange of resources, the training of craft or the tension between immediate needs and long-term plans.
Coin emblems in a Marseille deck do not necessarily contain the pentagram displayed on many Rider–Waite cards. Crowley’s Thoth Disks explore the element Earth through named stages such as Works, Power, Success and Wealth. The practical question is often what resources exist and what can genuinely be built from them.
Minor Arcana Numerology: Ace Through Ten
Each numbered card combines a suit with a stage. General number associations provide a useful outline, but they must remain flexible: the deck’s picture and the actual context override any mechanical one-word formula.
| Number | General theme | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Ace / 1 | Origin or opportunity | One new idea, resource, feeling or act of initiative |
| Two | Relation, contrast or choice | Comparing positions, exchanging or holding a balance |
| Three | Development and formation | A third factor changes or extends the situation |
| Four | Arrangement and stability | Structure can support growth or become inflexible |
| Five | Disruption and challenge | An established pattern is tested or contested |
| Six | Adjustment and balance | A response becomes more coherent after difficulty |
| Seven | Testing and complexity | Choices multiply and underlying assumptions matter |
| Eight | Organization, effort or restriction | Activity may be disciplined or obstructed |
| Nine | Consolidation and intensity | A pattern approaches its most developed expression |
| Ten | Completion and transition | The existing cycle reaches limits and consequences |
Why the Same Number Does Not Mean the Same Thing in Every Suit
Compare the Fives. Five of Cups can center on emotional disappointment; Five of Wands on competition; Five of Swords on conflict and its costs; Five of Pentacles on scarcity or exclusion. Five may broadly suggest disruption, but the object, narrative and situation transform what that disruption means. The difference grows further when comparing the illustrated Rider–Waite–Smith cards with pip-based Marseille or Crowley’s named Thoth cards.
For another example, the Tens often reach a conclusion, but Ten of Cups is not the same form of completion as Ten of Wands. One may describe a shared emotional goal; the other may suggest a burden whose existing method is unsustainable. Do not simply add the suit meaning to a number and stop reading the picture.
Minor Arcana Court Cards Explained
Each suit includes four court cards. In the Rider–Waite–Smith deck, the ranks are Page, Knight, Queen and King. In Tarot de Marseille they are traditionally Valet, Cavalier, Reine and Roi. Crowley’s Thoth court order is Knight, Queen, Prince and Princess, with a different elemental mapping. The ranks correspond structurally to a four-card court, but they are not exact character-by-character translations.
Page, Knight, Queen and King in Rider–Waite–Smith
- Page: learning, curiosity, observation or the first attempt to express a suit’s quality.
- Knight: movement, pursuit, a mission or a style of engaging the world; pace varies by suit.
- Queen: the suit’s quality exercised with receptivity and established understanding.
- King: decision-making, responsibility and outward management of the suit’s concerns.
These are interpretive tendencies, not fixed age or gender categories. A Queen can represent a man’s approach to a problem; a King can represent a role held by a woman. A court card may describe the querent, another person, a team role or the best course of action, depending on the position.
Marseille Court Cards and Thoth’s Elemental Courts
In Marseille, posture, costume, the object held by the figure and the direction of the gaze can be central to interpretation, because the numbered cards may lack narrative scenes. In Thoth, Knight corresponds to Fire of its suit, Queen to Water, Prince to Air and Princess to Earth. Thus the Thoth Prince of Cups is Air of Water, not a literal “Rider–Waite King of Cups” painted in different colors.
When studying all three traditions, retain the original deck names on the card pages and use comparative tables only to explain their structural positions. This avoids importing the wrong animal emblems, decans or Kabbalistic associations.
How to Read the Minor Arcana in a Tarot Spread
Start with the question and the spread positions. Read each card as a whole—suit, rank or number, visible symbol and position—then examine how the cards interact. A prominent suit may describe the kind of issue receiving attention. Many Wands can suggest initiative or workload; several Pentacles may emphasize material resources. A Major Arcana card next to them may frame the broader theme.
Upright, Reversed and Elementally Dignified Cards
Reversals are not compulsory. Some readers treat a reversed card as a delayed, blocked, internalized or excessive expression of its conventional meaning. Others look at the surrounding cards and the spread position for a difficult expression. Marseille pip cards can be symmetrical, while Thoth has a sophisticated practice of elemental dignities. Choose a technique that fits the specific deck rather than forcing one method across all of them.
A Three-Card Reading With the Minor Arcana
Suppose the question is, “How can I improve a collaboration?” and a Rider–Waite–Smith three-card spread gives Two of Cups as Situation, Five of Wands as Challenge and Three of Pentacles as Advice. The first may emphasize an initial agreement or mutual understanding; the second introduces competing priorities; the third highlights coordinated work and recognized expertise.
Taken together, the reading could invite a clear division of responsibilities rather than a dramatic prediction about colleagues. The example demonstrates why combined cards say more than three separate dictionary entries. If you use a different deck, return to its own imagery before making the same inference.
Love, Career, Money and Everyday Questions
A love question is not limited to Cups: Swords can concern the way two people speak, Wands the initiative to address a problem, and Pentacles the shared practical arrangements that support a relationship. Career questions may involve Wands for direction, Pentacles for resources, Swords for planning and Cups for teamwork. These patterns are a framework for discussion, not proofs of future outcomes.
When a question involves real health, financial or legal stakes, tarot should not replace appropriate professional advice or factual information. Use the cards to frame what you want to clarify, not to establish a diagnosis, contract obligation or investment return.
Major Arcana vs Minor Arcana: How They Work Together
The twenty-two Major Arcana are trumps; the fifty-six Minor Arcana are suited cards. In a symbolic reading, a major trump may suggest the larger issue while adjacent minor cards give detail about the choices and conditions through which it might unfold. For example, The Hermit could focus a question on careful inquiry while Eight of Pentacles emphasizes sustained technical work.
There is no rule that a spread with more Major Arcana is automatically more truthful, or that the Minor Arcana always describes something trivial. Both groups acquire meaning through the question, the selected tradition and the surrounding cards.
Explore All 56 Minor Arcana Cards in Three Tarot Traditions
Templum Dianae maintains card-by-card encyclopedia sections for Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot Meanings, Tarot de Marseille Meanings and Thoth Tarot Meanings. Browse the suit and court-card guides within each hub to study the full sequence in its original imagery rather than combining incompatible correspondences.
Books About the Minor Arcana
For deeper reference, the Tarot Reading Bible by Templum Dianae covers suits, numbered cards, court cards and interpretive schemes. It can complement regular observation and journal practice: see the Tarot Reading Bible on Amazon. When comparing traditions, keep separate notes for Marseille, Rider–Waite–Smith and Thoth.
Minor Arcana Meanings: Infographic Cheat Sheet
