Despite being referred to as minor, the truth is cards in Minor Arcana do have a significant impact on your life. There are 56 different cards in this set, spread over four suits. Each suit has its own influence, not to mention the various interpretations of each card.
While often considered less important than cards in Major Arcana, these cards can actually affect you in unimaginable ways. These being said, let’s find out what each suit in Minor Arcana means and how it can influence you.
The Meaning of Minor Arcana Tarot Cards
These 56 cards refer to things and influences in your life on a day to day basis. Simply put, they determine what’s going on in your life right now. This means their influence can be easily changed based on the actions you take.
Having a deeper insight into what you’re going through at the moment can push you in the right direction. You’ll know precisely what to do or what steps to make in order to reach your long term goals.
From this point of view, Minor Arcana cards can showcase a current situation, problem, or element in your life, meaning they make a good choice for daily readings.
Differences Between Minor Arcana and Major Arcana
Major Arcana has 22 cards, while Minor Arcana has 56 cards. However, that’s not the main difference. In fact, the purpose of these cards is to determine how important a particular card could become in a spread.
Major Arcana cards relate to important energies. These aren’t the daily energies that change more times throughout the day. Instead, they refer to your path in life and long term goals and consequences. If your spread mostly has Major Arcana cards, it means you’re going through an important lesson.
On the other hand, Minor Arcana cards aren’t life changing. Instead, they work on temporary circumstances in life, such as your daily or weekly energies. For example, Minor Arcana cards may show up when you’re not sure what to do about a potential partner, or you face a small challenge at work.
Now, there are four different suits in Minor Arcana. Each of them consists of 14 different cards, and, of course, each card may have different interpretations based on the type of reading and its position in the spread.
Suit of Wands
The suit of wands relates to a few elements in your life. They are often associated with your inner passion but also your level of creativity. They define your inspiration, not to mention your inner drive and willpower to make things happen.
Many times, wands indicate that a certain chapter in your life has ended and a new one is about to begin. They highlight personal growth and transformation. At the same time, wands could indicate that you’re ready for a new adventure, so this is the perfect time to take some action.
When you get a wand card, this could tell you that you’re up for a new beginning. You have to keep working. Maybe you should take some risks. Given such meanings, wands may also pop up when you go through difficult situations, mainly as a form of encouragement.
The suit of wands is associated with the element of fire. In terms of the zodiac, astrological attributes have an influence over Sagittarius, Leo, and Aries. The suit relates to the spring season and has a series of keywords, such as energy, passion, drive, adventure, and inspiration.
However, reversed cards may also go in a negative direction and could underline a destructive nature, a temperamental profile, or even danger.
Suit of Cups
Similarly, the suit of cups refers to temporary situations in your life. This particular suit is mostly related to your love life, emotions, thoughts, and relationships, whether romantic or not, but also your instinct and intuition.
The cup itself is self-explanatory. It defines the concept of receiving and holding. Many cards in this suit showcase happy people, relationships, and families, as well as general interpersonal connections. From many points of view, these cards are looking for security and comfort.
The meaning of a cup card goes further than that, though. In certain readings, the cups could indicate creativity. They relate to art, as well as innate talents.
When you see a cup in your tarot spread, it’s a call. You are asked to appreciate what you have, dig deeper into your feelings, and understand the relationships around you.
But then, cups aren’t always milk and honey. They could also showcase difficult situations in life. For example, they may show that you’re suffering. Perhaps you’re disappointed in someone, or maybe you are recovering after a toxic relationship.
Seeking emotional renewal could also be an interpretation. The idea is fairly simple to understand and refers to your cup. Is it being fulfilled or not?
Other than that, the suit of cups relates to the element of water and rules over zodiac signs like Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio. It’s associated with the summer season and refers to spirituality, internal flows, adaptability, healing, compassion, and intuition.
However, like other suits in the tarot deck, cards could also be reversed, meaning they may have some negative connotations as well.
In some cases, they could indicate a lack of emotions or perhaps a lack of logic. At this point, they showcase your daydreaming profile, which won’t be very helpful in the long run. A cup could also indicate an emotional block, not to mention overall repression.
Suit of Pentacles
The suit of pentacles is often referred to as coins, and its meaning makes perfect sense. This suit mainly relates to physical belonging. It’s no longer spiritual but physical. This means the suit showcases a practical concern, such as money or finances.
From many points of view, the pentacles could also relate to your health.
As a general rule of thumb, the pentacles show figures of hardworking people. Most people depicted in cards are working hard or focusing on something in particular. They look too busy to deal with distractions, so their concentration is part of the game.
Based on these depictions, the pentacles often try to tell you that you’ve spent time planting seeds. You’re about to see some rewards, or maybe you need to work a bit harder to get there. It depends on the interpretation.
At the same time, drawing pentacle cards will also showcase something in your work or your career. It could be a financial issue you have to deal with. But then, it could also indicate that your health might be affected. For example, a lot of people work too hard and focus on money, but they overlook their health.
It all depends on the card you draw. It could indicate a successful situation in life, but it may also tell you that you’re in a difficult situation and you need to work your way out of it. Some cards also tell you that you’re focusing on the wrong thing, so you’re about to hit a dead end.
Pentacles are associated with the element of earth and the winter season. When reversed, they showcase issues like greed, stubbornness, laziness, and carelessness.
Suit of Swords
The suit of swords refers to different concepts. They could affect your rational thinking and logic, but they could also define an issue in communication and a conflict.
While this aspect is sometimes ignored, the swords normally tell you how you see or feel about yourself. You could be going through spiritual development, but you may also struggle in a conflict situation.
When you draw such a card, it normally encourages you to sit back and take a look at the bigger image. You’re not seeing things clearly, so you need to examine every aspect before making decisions.
In more negative interpretations, swords may show that your negative thoughts are causing unnecessary stress and anxiety. Again, you’ll have to see yourself with more clarity.
The suit of swords is associated with the element of air and zodiac signs like Libra, Gemini, and Aquarius. When reversed, cards may indicate coldness, confusion, and even ruthlessness.
What Happens When Your Spread Is Mostly Based on Minor Arcana Cards
When you mostly see Minor Arcana tarot cards in your reading, the message from the universe is crystal clear. You’re dealing with a series of daily issues, more or less important. The good news is most of them won’t have a lasting impact on your goals or life.
These issues come and go. They’ll make you better and teach you some lessons. On the other hand, if you also see Major Arcana cards in the spread, they’ll help you understand how such small lessons will influence your life overtime.
As a final conclusion, while many tarot readers put more emphasis on Major Arcana cards, the truth is Minor Arcana alternatives are just as useful, especially in daily activities and readings.
For instance, such cards could provide guidance for the day or week, help you establish the energy, or guide you in making small decisions in life.