The Minor Arcana (lesser secrets) consists of fifty six cards, divided into four
suits of fourteen cards each; ten numbered cards and four court cards. The court
cards are the King, Queen, Knight and Jack, in each of
the four tarot suits. The
traditional Italian tarot suits are swords, batons/wands, coins and cups; in modern
tarot decks, however, the batons suit is often called wands, rods or staves, while
the coins suit is often called pentacles or disks.
The Suits
The Suit of Wands (Clubs)
Fire: Will, creativity, original thought, action and movement, primal energy, growth.
Passion, enthusiasm, adventure, risk-taking, confidence, inspiration, determination,
strength, intelligence, intuition, our personalities and daily activities, ambition,
expansion, egos, enthusiasms, self-concepts, and personal energy, both internal
and external. Spring, East or South, the lion, salamander, blond hair, and blue
eyes.
The Suit of Pentacles (Diamonds)
Earth: Body, practicality, security, material possessions, industry, business, commerce,
trade, finances, and security, money, prosperity and wealth, health, property. Nature,
our interactions with plants and animals and our physical experiences in the body,
external life. Winter, east, the bull, gnomes, black hair, and black eyes.
The Suit of Swords (Spades)
Air: Mind, intellect, thought, reason. justice, truth and ethics, upcoming ideas,
power, action - both constructive and destructive, physical, working stages, change,
force, movement, oppression, ambition, courage, trouble, and strife, danger, worldly
power and even violence, decisions, arguments, conflict. Fall/Autumn, the east or
north, eagle, brown hair, brown eyes, the warrior.
The Suit of Cups (Hearts) Water:
Heart, emotions, the subconscious mind, spiritual experience, feelings, relationship,
desire, love, affairs of the heart, the inner self, relationships with others, decisions,
finishing stages, sensitivity, family life. Marriage, personal possessions and concerns,
partnerships, whether in a work or in life. Summer, the west, fair, plump people
who are emotional, artistic, humane and creative, perhaps associated with religious
groups or institutions.