Understanding The Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana reflects the general trials and tribulations of our daily lives.

They can represent current situations, people or just the energy that is impacting us. They help give us advice, guidance and insight into our circumstances. They can even sometimes be a ‘heads up’ about potential outcomes if we continue down a particular path.

It is worth remembering though that with Tarot nothing is set in stone and particularly with the minor arcana; as we all have free will and the ability to change our destiny. Generally, the court cards (The Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings) are more commonly representations of people and/or energies that are effecting us or that we may need to adopt.

Please see below for further insights into the meanings of each of the suits (Cups, Wands, Swords and Pentacles).

The very core meaning of the suit of cups is about feelings and emotions. Connected to the Water signs Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio. Of course, the feelings and emotions being represented in the cups isn’t necessarily that of our own. It depends on what you are asking, whether there are any other cards in the spread and of course your own personal situation.

Overall, the cups are a softer energy and tend to come up when a particular relationship (be it romantic or platonic) is at the forefront of our minds. They can also help to show us inner wounds that may still be affecting us and our energy that we may not even be aware of.

The cups are primarily linked to the heart chakra and are often messages from our hearts. It is worth remembering though that balance is a necessity and sometimes we have to listen to our heads as well as our hearts.

If the cups were to represent a person, it would typically be someone very in touch with their emotions that wears their heart on their sleeve.

The core meaning of the suit of wands is all about action and energy. Connected to the Fire signs Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. The suit of wands is the fastest moving suit. So, if for example you are asking when a particular manifestation will be coming in and you get the Knight of Wands be sure it’s coming in quite promptly.

The energy of the wands is very passionate and can sometimes be destructive like the element of fire they represent. However, even with the devastation a fire can bring it makes way for something new.

The wands are linked to the sacral and solar plexus chakras. Which is why they tend to be very passionate. It’s worth remembering though that we do need to ground ourselves in all situations and not let the fire we start get out of control.

If the wands were to represent a person, it would typically be someone who’s very passionate and energetic that tends to be ‘always on the go’.

The suit of swords represents thoughts and communication. Like with all the suits this isn’t necessarily our own, it depends on your personal circumstances and what your intuition is telling you. Connected to the Air signs Gemini, Libra and Aquarius.

The suit of swords can be quite ‘cut throat’ (if you pardon the pun). As we’ve all experienced those intrusive thoughts telling us we’re not good enough. That’s not to say the swords are in anyway negative. They merely help highlight to us thinking patterns we may have adopted that no longer serve us. They are also an excellent tool to have should you need to be logical and clear when communicating.

Linked to the third eye and crown chakra’s the swords can be very spiritual and often help us hear our intuition more clearly. Sometimes though they can rule our head and block out what our heart is trying to tell us as the swords are linked to logic and sometimes what our heart tells us isn’t logical. Which is why listening to our intuition is imperative.

If the swords were to represent a person, typically it would be someone that is a logical thinker that doesn’t tend to take risks.

The suit of pentacles generally represents our finances and ideas/ventures. Connected to the Earth signs Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. They are the slowest moving of all the suits but as they are connected to the element of Earth even though progress may be slow, you know that it is stable and has a solid foundation.

The overall energy of the pentacles is nurturing and calm. Stability is what they strive for which is all well and good. But if we spend too much time perfecting our plans and not actually acting on them, nothing gets done.

The pentacles are linked to our root chakra which unsurprisingly is all about grounding. However, it is worth noting that we can spend too much time in our 3D reality and neglect our more spiritual nature.

If the pentacles were to represent a person, typically it would be someone very loving and compassionate and that is reliable.