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The Minor Arcana is the remaining 56 cards of a Tarot deck (after the 22 Major Arcana), divided into four suits, Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles, reflecting everyday events and experiences.
What is the Minor Arcana and what does it consist of?
The Minor Arcana is the remaining part of the Tarot deck after the 22 Major Arcana cards are set apart. These 56 cards are divided into four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Each suit contains 14 cards: ten numbered cards from Ace (1) to 10, and four court cards, Page, Knight, Queen, King. In many modern decks, these four court cards keep the same structure.
Where does the Minor Arcana come from?
The four suits of the Minor Arcana correspond to the four suits of today's playing cards: Wands is close to Clubs, Cups to Hearts, Swords to Spades, Pentacles to Diamonds. The four-suit structure and the numbered cards are a shared heritage of medieval European decks, which Tarot later preserved and gave an added layer of symbolic meaning. The name "Minor Arcana" is the English rendering of Minor Arcana, used to distinguish it from the "Major Arcana".
How is the Minor Arcana used in a spread?
In a spread, the Minor Arcana is usually seen as the layer of information about concrete life: work, money, relationships, emotions, everyday conflicts. For example, the 8 of Pentacles speaks of practice and professional mastery; the 5 of Swords speaks of conflict and the price of victory; the 4 of Cups speaks of apathy and missed opportunities. Court cards such as the Queen of Pentacles or the King of Swords are often read as qualities, attitudes or portraits of people. Depending on the school, a reader may treat the Minor Arcana as the "background layer" and the Major Arcana as the "great lessons", or the reverse, depending on the focus of the question.
How does the Minor Arcana differ from the Major Arcana?
The Major Arcana consists of 22 cards, usually tied to archetypes, spiritual journeys and major turning points. The Minor Arcana consists of 56 cards, leaning toward details and specific situations. This distinction is a convention; many readers still combine both layers when interpreting.
Is there any need to distinguish the Minor Arcana from playing cards?
They should not be equated. A playing card deck has only 52 cards and does not have four court cards in the way Tarot uses them, nor does it carry a layer of symbolic meaning like Tarot. The Minor Arcana is part of the Tarot system, not a standalone deck.
The content above is traditional knowledge offered for reference, not scientifically verified. Tarot belongs to the field of the occult, and does not replace medical, legal or financial advice.
How do the different schools understand it?
- The school that emphasises everyday life: It treats the Minor Arcana as the main layer of information about specific daily events, while the Major Arcana is only the backdrop or the great lessons.
- The school that emphasises the spiritual journey: It treats the Major Arcana as the main axis of the spread, while the Minor Arcana is supporting detail that helps clarify the context and the people involved.
- The school that combines both layers: It does not separate the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana, but reads them as two layers of meaning interwoven within the same spread.
A comparison table of the four suits of the Minor Arcana by their corresponding playing card suit.
| Suit | Corresponding playing card suit |
|---|---|
| Wands | Clubs |
| Cups | Hearts |
| Swords | Spades |
| Pentacles | Diamonds |
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