Minor Arcana - Tarot
Minor Arcana - Tarot
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 Minor Arcana - TarotHere are the hyperlinks to each suit in detail:-
The Minor Arcana represent the mundane world, day-to-day life and experience. Each of the four suits has 14 cards, from 1 to 10 and four court cards. So, there are 56 cards in the Minor Arcana. The Court Cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King) represent parts of our personality, or personalities in the world. Be aware that each suit has a variety of meanings. In between the extremes, there is a spectrum of possibilities. For example, for Swords: just - conscientious - intellectual - cold - divisive - cruel.  Aces from an old Tarot deck General Meanings of Numbers & Court Cards Ace/1 Keywords - new beginnings, power, energy, the beginnings of activity, gifts, first causes, roots. Themes - Aces, The Magician, ruled by the Sun, the point at the centre of life, straight line, represent the primary impulse that evolves through a suit, rajas, reach out and make direct contact with reality, cardinal energy, know what they are doing and where they are going 2 Keywords - balance & synthesis, receptivity, magnetism. polarity. balance, secretive, private, duality, cyclicity, cyclic growth Themes - The High Priestess, ruled by the Moon 3 Keywords - creative growth, synthesis, group activity Themes - ruled by Venus, more stable than 1 or 2, triangle 4 Keywords - stability & restriction, stability, order with sense of limitation Themes - square 5 Keywords - change through strife, struggles, conflict, change (and thus has a fearful effect on us), warnings (against complacency) Themes - ruled by Taurus 6 Keywords - the beginnings of harmony, exuberance, full & expressive, always expansive & positive in some way, triumph (c.f. VII - The Chariot), being on top of things, a moment of decisive action or climax of some sort, a moment of glory karma, inevitable, events beyond the power of the querent, strong connections with the past Themes - ruled by Gemini, sits at the centre of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, "serpent cards" = wisdom & healing & sexuality 7 Keywords - what goes up must come down, inner work, accomplishment on inner planes, a time of evaluation and completion after 6, unconscious accomplishment 8 Keywords - the balance of power, change, inspiration, definite and external in quality, fate, termination Themes - ruled by Leo, Uranus thus movement & new direction 9 Keywords - completion & purification, completion, finality, culmination Themes - The Hermit, ruled by Aquarius, 3 times 3, will to choose (two 9s are rewarding, two 9s are warnings of retribution) 10 Keywords - transcendence, transformation, a transition to something new, a transforming event, house/home Themes - ruled by Uranus, ruled by the fifth element ether, overabundance of element or suit, having reached 9 development overflows into a cycle of return in 10, overview (e.g. 10 Swords = ♊︎, ♎︎, ♒︎), more than any other Minor Arcana card places responsibility on the querent's shoulders, takes personality beyond itself to the universal realms Page/Princess/Maiden Keywords - adolescent of either sex; young person, reliable or idealistic; young women, trying to establish themselves in the world; children; new ideas or situations; all things "young" Themes - Neptune; the four phases of the moon; physical body Knight/Prince Keywords - thoughts of men; courage and questing spirit on the journey; young person, active; young men, trying to establish themselves in the world; children; movement; unprincipled person, knave Themes - in a woman's reading = admirers, friends, work associates; in a man's reading = not only associates, but his responses, reactions to them; Pisces; personality Queens Keywords - mature female (30+, after first ♄ return; or 42+, after ♅ opposition); integrated woman Themes - more likely to be people than situations; represent the four major types of womanhood or their attributes; soul Kings Keywords - mature male (30+, after first ♄ return; or 42+, after ♅ opposition); integrated man; powerful forces (influences rather than events); wise, authoritative, pompous Themes - more likely to be situations than people; the four elements; Spirit  Other Black Suits = Wands [Clubs] & Swords [Spades] = activity, energy, will, initiative, subjective. Red Suits = Cups [Hearts] & Pentacles [Diamonds] = passivity, inertia, objective. Wands & Cups = good. Swords & Pentacles = evil.  Tables/Correspondences     Other
  Combinations In large spreads, combinations are only significant if they fall together. Aces 4 - An important, possibly dangerous time. There is great energy here, which may be turned to positive or negative account. 3 - Good news is on the way. Other cards should indicate whether this pertains to career, love, money, or intellectual matters. 2 - Union, partnership, especially if the Ace of Cups and the Ace of Pentacles fall together. Can also indicate a new home or place of work. Twos 4 - Groups. Either working groups or teams, or social groups. 3 - Reassessment, reshuffles. Threes 4 - Creative productivity, tenacity. 3 - Lies, things not as they seem. Fours 4 - Security, contentment, a welcome rest. 3 - Work. Fives 4 - Competitive influences. Unstable partnerships. 3 - A solid routine, regular cycles. Sixes 4 - Harmony. A crisis point. 3 - Completion, attainment. Sevens 4 - Intrigue, pitfalls, disappointment. 3 - A happy result of some kind. 2 - Mutual love, or balanced forces. Eights 4 - Activity, journeys, news about work. 3 - News of a marriage or other important alliance. 2 - Surprise developments. Nines 4 - Accomplishment. 3 - Health, wealth and happiness. 2 - Documents, usually relating to business matters. Tens 4 - Rather overwhelming success, accompanied by tension. If any are reversed, this is delayed or there are obstacles to overcome. 3 - Litigation, business correspondence. 2 - Possibility of a new job, lucky breaks. Pages 4 - Groups of young people or students. gather such as schools, universities. Places where such people 3 - Parties, fun, lively and/or noisy social events. 2 - Trouble through friends. Knights 4 - Action. The male force. A strong warning of a difficult gathering (other cards will indicate at what level, e.g. social, business). A crossroads has been reached. A situation that has become inharmonious on physical, mental, spiritual levels. 3 - More "adult" parties than indicated by Pages. Dinners, theatre, small convivial groups. 2 - Meeting old friends. Queens 4 - Entertainment. If any are found reversed, the event may be spoilt. 3 - Female groups or gatherings. Supportive, helpful associations. 2 - Gossip, secrets between friends. Can indicate a rival, or petty betrayal, especially if surrounding cards confirm this, or if the cards are reversed. Kings 4 - Worldly, public honours. Powerful gatherings. Important and successful business or political matters. 3 - Groups of men. Powerful or influential friendships. 2 - A business partnership. Enterprise. Co-operation in business affairs.  References In the 1980s/1990s, I compiled divinatory meanings from seven sources for each Minor Arcana card. However, because there are 56 Minor Arcana, I feel I cannot reproduce my compilation here, even as "fair use, educational" - as the amount of words quoted from almost every source will far exceed the guideline 300 words maximum and may be regarded as "extensive". And so, I have decided to use only one source: Tarot by Jane Lyle (1990). The total words in these Minor Arcana pages from that single source may be less than 300.  |
Also see:- Tarot Maps of Consciousness articles |
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