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There are 40 cards and the Minor Arcana, 10 in each suite numbered 1 – 10. The Minor Arcana is where all the action happens. The cards numbered 1 through 10 in each suite tell the actual story of what’s happening in your life and what you’re doing.
Generally speaking the Swords speak of mental activity, legal actions, education and communications and are generally seen as a suite of conflict. Swords represent the element of Air and the sense of hearing. Swords are the symbol of your mind.
Wands or Rods are the suite of ambition, passion, courage and winning against all odds. Wands represent the element of Fire and the sense of smell. Wands are the symbol of your ego.
Cups speak of intuition and emotion, especially love. Cups represent the element of Water and the sense of taste. Cups are the symbol of your heart and blood.
Coins describe the physical, material and financial details of your life. Coins represent the element of Earth and the sense of touch. Coins are the symbol of your physical body.
Numerology also plays an important part in finding the meanings in the Minor Arcana. Here is a short list of keys for the numbers 1 – 10.
Number keys
1’s – Beginnings opportunities births Mercury
Wands: Consciousness Rising.
Cups: Heart Opening.
Swords: Mind Expanding.
Pentacles: Body Sustaining
2’s – Opposites polarity duality balance Moon
Wands: Personal Power
Cups: Union of opposites
Swords: Suspending judgment.
Pentacles: Expanding horizons.
3’s – Intuitions manifestations growth Venus
Wands: Established strength.
Cups: Friendship.
Swords: Sorrow.
Pentacles: Creative skills and abilities.
4’s – Stability completion centering Earth/Sun
Wands: Celebration & thanksgiving after labor.
Cups: Discontent/boredom.
Swords: Retreat, rest and recovery.
Pentacles: Awareness of personal value.
5’s – Reaction Challenge conflict Mars
Wands: Confronting obstacles
Cups: Loss and disappointment.
Swords: Personal or political strife.
Pentacles: Uncertainty creating anxiety.
6’s – Reconciliation harmony sharing Jupiter
Wands: Victory and honor.
Cups: Memory or renewal of something from the past.
Swords: Moving away from danger.
Pentacles: Magnetizing what you need.
7’s – Self-reflection limitation correction of imbalance Saturn
Wands: Taking a stand.
Cups: Wanting to experience all your fantasies.
Swords: Avoiding confrontation.
Pentacles: Fear of failure.
8’s – Expanding order or lack or it cause & effect Uranus
Wands: Rapid growth and development.
Cups: Withdrawal into self.
Swords: Waiting to be rescued.
Pentacles: Attention to detail.
9’s – Experience self-awareness luck/fate Neptune
Wands: Dedication to a cause.
Cups: Wishes fulfilled.
Swords: Nightmares.
Pentacles: Enjoyment of solitary leisure.
10’s – Regeneration karma cycles Pluto
Wands: Burdens.
Cups: Affirming joy in your life.
Swords: End of a problem.
Pentacles: Inheritance.
How to find the meaning in the Minor Arcana.
Take any card from the Minors and set it in front of you and contemplate…what do you see? What’s happening? How does it make you feel?
Just for fun I’ve drawn four cards, one from each of the four suits in the Hansen-Roberts Deck. We have here the 10 of Swords, 2 of Rods, 4 of Cups and 6 of Pentacles.
Looking at the 10 of Swords I see a body laying on the ground with 10 swords sticking in the back. The sky is dark, the ground is gray and the tree beside the body is dead. It feels like a very painful and scary situation. Let me think, how would I get 10 swords stuck in my back if I were the figure on the ground? Ambushed! Yes, so beware of traveling alone at night. And the number 10 is the end of a cycle in numerology so it could foretell death. Swords speak of communications, beliefs or laws, so what if the 10 swords represented slander, or promises I’d made that I couldn’t keep, or laws broken. What else could it mean? Injury, or a pain in the back? Can you think of any other possible meanings?
Then there’s the 4 of Cups. This person is sitting under a pine tree in a forest. There are 3 Cups setting in front of him/her (can’t really tell which), but he doesn’t seem to notice them. This person seems unhappy for some reason. He is facing, though not looking at the Cup being handed to him out of a cloud. I would say from the looks of it that nothing seems to please this person, not what he all ready has nor what is being offered. He prefers to sit there feeling sorry for himself. That’s just one take on this card. I could find several other possible meanings but what I want is for you to do the looking. What do you see and what does it mean to you? There are no wrong answers so have fun.
The 6 of Pentacles is a much happier card. We see here a jolly old man in rich robes and hat of a deep red color (indicates passion) with a green feather (green-growing abundance). He’s holding up a set of scales (to be fair to all)weighting gold coins and handing them out to the children in front of him. One could make a case for the joy of giving here, or sharing what you have in abundance. Or looking at the other figures we see the young and innocent receiving gifts of what to them must be a great fortune. Can you think of anything that has ever happened to you that reminds you of this card?
Last we have the 2 of Rods. Another rich man in fine clothes standing behind a low wall on the coast overlooking the ocean. There is a staff before him and a staff behind him. He holds the World in his right hand (that which he already possesses) and his left hand is holding the staff before him (he rules what is his) as he looks out over the ocean. There is a rose and a lily beside him for passion and innocence. He is comfortable behind his wall. He knows what he has here and how to manage it. Still he looks out toward the unknown. Will he leave his comfort zone to explore the unknown?
Each card tells a story. You only need to figure out how that story applies to your life and circumstances. There is an exorcize I give my new students. The daily 3-card spread. It helps you find the meaning in your cards, and learn to hear what they have to say. It gives you immediate feedback because you are looking for only those influences present in THIS day, today, though the same spread may be used for answering questions about the future or past as well.
Three Card Spread
Close your eyes for a moment and relax your body. Breath slowly in and out clearing your mind. Mentally blow out a protective circle around yourself eliminating all distractions and outside influences. Then focus on your question – what’s happening today?
Shuffle the cards, cut them into 3 stacks and turn over the top card on each stack. Make a note of what you think the cards are saying. Leave the cards out through the day and return to them that night and see if you have learned something new about what these cards mean.
Use a journal to record the date, cards drawn, what meaning you gave each card and what actually happened that day. That way even if you find no relation between the cards and events of the day right away you can come back to this entry in a few weeks or so and may find something you overlooked.
Remember, if you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong.
Author Bio :
I am a professional Taroist (Reader and Teacher), Psychic Adviser, Hypnotheripist and Neo-Pagan Priestess. If you would like to learn more about me or wish to schedule a reading, healing, or class go to my website, www.morganadragonfly.com
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