Minor Arcana Basics

Jo asks about taking on a new volunteer role and draws the Three of Pentacles, Seven of Cups and Queen of Swords for situation, challenge and approach, reading shared skilled work, too many options and plain, honest speech.

The Minor Arcana are the 56 cards of a tarot deck that are not trumps. They come in four suits of 14: ten numbered cards from Ace to 10, and four court cards, Page, Knight, Queen and King. The other 22 cards are the Major Arcana, and together they make the 78-card deck.

Where the Major Arcana tend to carry large themes, the Minor cards describe the texture of daily life: a conversation, a worry, a piece of work, a decision. Most readings are made mostly of Minor cards, so learning them pays off quickly.

The most common modern pairing links each suit with an element and a field of life. Traditions differ: some writers and decks assign the elements differently, and some decks use Rods, Coins or Disks as suit names. Follow your own deck's names.

A numbered card combines a suit and a number. The suit says where the theme plays out, and the number says what stage of a process it is in. Sets of meanings vary, but this arc is widely used.

The 16 court cards can be read three ways: as a person in your life, as a role you are playing, or as an approach to the situation. The approach reading is the safest, since a court card cannot say what a real person is like or what they intend.

• Page: a messenger or student, with curiosity and early effort, trying out a new idea.
• Knight: a pursuer who moves toward a goal in the style of the suit, eager, emotional, sharp or methodical.
• Queen: inward mastery, with the suit's qualities held with care and awareness.
• King: outward mastery, with the suit's qualities used with authority and responsibility.

The numbered cards are called pips. Their meaning comes from combining suit and number, so a Three of Cups and a Three of Swords share a stage, growth, and differ in field, feelings versus thought. A Major card stands alone with a single large image and needs no suit.

Pip pictures also differ by deck. In Rider-Waite-Smith style decks every pip has a small scene, which is easier for a beginner to read. In older Marseille-style decks the pips show only the right number of suit symbols, and the reader works from number and suit.

Take the cards one at a time, then together.

1. Name the suit and the number first. That gives you a field and a stage.
2. Describe the scene in one sentence before checking a keyword.
3. Place the card in its position, such as situation, challenge or approach, and ask what it says about that position.
4. Look at the three together: repeated suits, a run of numbers, or a court card among pips.
5. Write one sentence of your own, ending with a question or a small next step.

Jo is invented. Jo asks, “How should I think about taking on a new volunteer role?” and lays out three cards for situation, challenge and approach. The situation is the Three of Pentacles, a craftsperson working with others on a building. The challenge is the Seven of Cups, a figure facing a row of cups that each hold something different. The approach is the Queen of Swords, a seated figure with a raised blade, looking straight ahead.

Jo reads the first as work done with others in which skill is recognized, the second as too many appealing options to weigh, and the third as a call for clear, honest speech. Jo's note says to decide what can be promised and to say it plainly. The cards did not say what will happen; the useful part is the question Jo ended up asking.

Beginners often reach for a quick label. These four are worth checking against the card in front of you.

When you draw more than one Minor card, look for repetition before you read each card alone. Three cards from one suit put the whole question in one field, such as feelings or work. Two cards with the same number, say a Four of Cups and a Four of Pentacles, share a stage even though their suits differ, and both invite you to ask what you are holding on to or turning away from.

A run of rising numbers, such as Two, Three and Four, reads as a process moving along. A court card among pips adds a role or an approach to the situation. Repetition in a small draw is often chance, so treat it as something to describe in your notes and not as a sign. Writing the suit count at the bottom of the page, for example two Cups and one Swords, before you interpret can keep the pattern in view.

A court card cannot reveal what a real person is like or intends, and repeated suits in a small draw are often just chance.