Minor Arcana

Minor Arcana Tarot Cards

Despite the name, the Minor Arcana is, in fact, much bigger compared to the Major Arcana; it consists of 56 tarot cards, whereas the Major Arcana has only 22.

Although it often gets less attention than the Major Arcana, understanding the meanings of the cards that belong to the Minor Arcana is no less important if you want to be able to perform insightful and helpful tarot readings.

Which Cards Make Up the Minor Arcana

As discussed, each of the four suits of the Minor Arcana consists of 14 cards.

Here are all of them:

The Suit of Cups

Number Cards (aka Pip Cards): The Ace of Cups, The Two of Cups, The Three of Cups, The Four of Cups, The Five of Cups, The Six of Cups, The Seven of Cups, The Eight of Cups, The Nine of Cups, and The Ten of Cups.

Court Cards (aka Face Cards): The Page of Cups, The Knight of Cups, The Queen of Cups, and The King of Cups.

The Suit of Swords

Number Cards: The Ace of Swords, The Two of Swords, The Three of Swords, The Four of Swords, The Five of Swords, The Six of Swords, The Seven of Swords, The Eight of Swords, The Nine of Swords, and The Ten of Swords.

Court Cards: The Page of Swords, The Knight of Swords, The Queen of Swords, and The King of Swords.

The Suit of Wands

Pip Cards: The Ace of Wands, The Two of Wands, The Three of Wands, The Four of Wands, The Five of Wands, The Six of Wands, The Seven of Wands, The Eight of Wands, The Nine of Wands, and The Ten of Wands.

Face Cards: The Page of Wands, The Knight of Wands, The Queen of Wands, and The King of Wands.

The Suit of Pentacles

Number Cards: The Ace of Pentacles, The Two of Pentacles, The Three of Pentacles, The Four of Pentacles, The Five of Pentacles, The Six of Pentacles, The Seven of Pentacles, The Eight of Pentacles, The Nine of Pentacles, and The Ten of Pentacles.

Court Cards: The Page of Pentacles, The Knight of Pentacles, The Queen of Pentacles, and The King of Pentacles.

The Minor Arcana Tarot Card Meanings

Now, let's look at each of the four suits and their Minor Arcana tarot meaning. Keep in mind, though, that the collective meaning of a suit as a whole matters less than the interpretation of each individual card you draw during tarot readings.

The Suit of Cups

Cups describe our emotions, relationships, and connections. This suit deals with feelings, intuition, love, and intimacy.

The Suit of Cups represents our emotional responses and our interactions with others. The cards that belong to it often address the emotional aspects of our daily experiences.

The Suit of Swords

The Suit of Swords describes intellect, logic, truth, and conflict. It represents our mental activity, including our thoughts, judgments, and attitudes.

Swords cards represent challenges, decisions, and changes. They often appear in readings about struggles, conflicts, and trials, but also about clarity, understanding, and justice.

The Suit of Wands

The Wands cards symbolize passion, inspiration, and willpower. They represent creativity, action, ambition, and personal development.

The Suit of Wands typically points toward a time of movement, growth, and potential. If you draw one of the Wands cards, the deck wants to communicate something about your energy, enthusiasm, or courage.

The Suit of Pentacles

The Pentacles cards symbolize material aspects of life, such as wealth, work, and health. They reflect our physical experience, practicality, and tangible reality.

Pentacles represent everything that has to do with security, stability, nature, and prosperity. They often suggest a need to focus on practical solutions and real-world outcomes.

FAQ

How many Minor Arcana cards?

There are 56 cards in the Minor Arcana, and each of them belongs to one of the so-called suits—Cups, Pentacles, Wands, or Swords. Every Minor Arcana card has a distinct meaning in an upright and a reversed position. Besides, the neighboring cards you draw in a spread affect the interpretation of each individual card.

What is Minor Arcana?

The Minor Arcana is the bigger (quantity-wise) part of the entire tarot deck. It consists of four suits—Cups cards, Wands cards, Swords cards, and Pentacles cards. Unlike the Major Arcana cards, which describe significant life milestones and predict the overall direction of one's life, Minor Arcana suits deal with smaller day-to-day events and challenges.

What do the Minor Arcana cards represent?

The Minor Arcana cards represent everything we have to deal with in our daily life and offer guidance in our less monumental problems. The Suit of Pentacles describes everything that belongs to the material world. The Suit of Swords is all about our mind and intellect. The Suit of Wands helps us take the necessary action. The Suit of Cups represents our emotions.

What is the difference between the Major and Minor Arcana?

The Minor Arcana represents our day-to-day problems, whereas the Major Arcana addresses bigger issues that are central to one's entire life journey. Essentially, the Minor Arcana cards are the same as in a basic deck of playing cards, while the Major Arcana ones are special and can only be found in a tarot deck.

How to read the Minor Arcana?

To read the Minor Arcana, you need to have the Minor Arcana tarot meaning guide, which you can find here on Nebula. Each card, from The Ace of Caps to The Ten of Pentacles, has its distinct interpretations both in an upside and a reversed position. An in-depth guide will help you interpret the Minor Arcana meanings and have an insightful tarot reading.