Major and Minor Arcana of the Tarot

In the tarot, the Minor Arcana is made up of four suits, containing cards from Ace to King, similar to a common card deck. However, the face cards in a tarot deck are the Page, Knight, Queen and King.

The four suits in the minor arcana are typically the cups, wands, swords, and coins (pentacles). Many tarot creators will rename the four suits, but they typically correspond to one of the original suits as the archetypes and their meanings are often the same or similar.

Generally, within the minor arcana, the numbers tend to share similar meanings (ex. fives are “conflict cards,” whereas tens represent completion); similarly, cards within the same suit have similar meanings (ex. cups represent emotions, whereas swords may represent intellect).

The Major Arcana uses major archetypes to indicate often overarching “energies” or archetypal symbols and meanings.

The Major Arcana typically contains the following twenty-two cards: The Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Devil, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Judgement, World.

Most often the cards are numbered from 0 to 21, in this order, though some decks may vary slightly in titles, numbers, or order.

Each card in the major Arcana has its own unique symbolism, meaning and interpretation-though, just like any other card or combination in the tarot, these will vary from reader to reader.