Major Vs. Minor Arcana
So. We’ve gone over the history of Tarot. We’ve looked into the different types of decks. Next week we’re going to go over the things to keep in mind when reading Tarot.
Today I’d like to talk a little about the differences between the Major and Minor Arcana.
Knowing the difference makes a huge impact on how we learn to read so many cards!
Here’s a fun fact! The word Arcana means secrets or mysteries. So you can think of the Major and Minor Arcanas as exactly that! The major secrets or mysteries in life and the minor ones. Knowing the difference helps us understand the different level of events happening in our lives.
The Minor Arcana
The Minor Arcana signify the daily aspects of being human. They are the smaller details of life. The people you come across that don’t make a big impact in your life, the jobs you hold, the smaller choices you make. Life on a whole.
There are 56 cards in the Minor Arcana. They are broken down into 4 suits. Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Some decks will change the names and symbols of these different suits but they usually carry the same meanings as the original. Very basic meanings of these are actions, emotions, thoughts and tangible things. The numbers 1-10 of each suit is labeled with just its number and suit name. Such as the Ace of Wands, 5 of cups, etc. As we move through life we also move through the lessons of these suits. Sometime moving forward through them, sometimes backwards.
There are also 4 court cards in each suit. These are The Page, The Knight, The Queen and The King of each suit. These cards usually signify a person that comes into the readers life or characteristics and personality traits of the reader or others.
The Major Arcana
The Major Arcana are a series of 22 cards that have been put together into a story called “The Fools Journey” These cards signify the bigger life events. Things not everyone experiences and things we don’t experience continually in life but have a much bigger impact on us when they do show up.
They represent the major ups and downs of being human. The milestones. These are the lessons your Soul and The Spirit World help you to learn. I like to call them the game changers.
The cards in this part of the deck have specific names and associated images such as Justice, The Lovers, The Magician and The Fool. Even though these cards have similar meanings to cards in the Minor Arcana, they are much more focused with more weight and power than the Minor Arcana.
We’ll get into that more in a couple weeks when we start diving into the meanings of the cards.
So there you have it. The differences in the mysteries of life!
I’ll see ya next week for more Tarot fun!
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