If the Major Arcana are the big themes of a tarot reading, the Minor Arcana are the everyday life around them — the 56 cards that fill in the feelings, tasks, conversations, and money of the day-to-day. Most cards in any reading are Minors, so understanding them is where tarot really opens up.
Here's a guide to the Minor Arcana: the four suits, the numbered and court cards, and how they work together.
What the Minor Arcana are
A tarot deck has 78 cards. The 22 Majors handle the big stuff; the 56 Minor Arcana handle everything else — the practical, relatable texture of ordinary life. They're organized into four suits, each with 14 cards: Ace through Ten (the "pips") plus four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King).
If a reading is mostly Minor Arcana, it usually means the question is about everyday matters and their practical details, rather than fated, life-changing themes.
The four suits
Each suit rules an area of life. (Full guide: tarot suits meaning.)
- Wands — energy, passion, ambition, creativity, and drive. The spark that gets things moving.
- Cups — emotions, relationships, love, and intuition. Matters of the heart.
- Swords — thoughts, communication, conflict, and decisions. The mind, for better and worse.
- Pentacles (or Coins) — money, work, home, health, and the material world. The tangible, practical realm.
When one suit dominates a spread, it's pointing you squarely at that part of your life.
The numbered cards (Ace–Ten)
The numbers trace a rough progression through each suit's theme:
- Aces — pure beginnings and potential. An Ace of Cups is a new emotional start; an Ace of Pentacles, a new material opportunity.
- Middle numbers — the theme developing, with its ups and downs. Fives often mark conflict or loss (the Five of Cups = disappointment; the Five of Swords = conflict).
- Tens — the theme at its fullest or its completion. The Ten of Cups is emotional fulfillment; the Ten of Swords, a painful ending and the dawn after.
Read the number and the suit together: "Cups" tells you it's about emotions, and the number tells you what stage that emotional matter is in.
Reading this for a card you pulled?
Pull three cards free →The court cards
Each suit ends with four court cards — the Page, Knight, Queen, and King. They often represent people (by personality or role), or stages of maturity and energy:
- Page — a beginner, a student, news arriving; the youngest energy.
- Knight — action and movement, pursuing the suit's theme (fast, sometimes headstrong).
- Queen — mastery held inwardly; nurturing, receptive command of the suit.
- King — mastery expressed outwardly; authority and stability in the suit's domain.
(Full guide: court cards in tarot.) A Knight of Wands is fiery, fast action; a Queen of Cups, deep emotional wisdom.
Putting it together
To read a Minor Arcana card, combine three things: the suit (which area of life), the number or court rank (what stage or role), and your intuition about the image. A Three of Pentacles, for instance: Pentacles (work/money) + Three (early collaboration and skill) = being valued for your craft as a project takes shape.
And as always, read the Minors as reflective prompts about your everyday life — not predictions. They're the honest, grounded detail that makes a reading feel real.
Where to go next
- Major Arcana meanings → — the 22 big-theme cards.
- Tarot suits meaning → — the four suits in depth.
- Court cards in tarot → — the 16 people cards.
Want to draw a card? Pull a free 3-card spread → and read the suits and numbers as a reflection on the everyday parts of your life.