The Minor Arcana
Each suit runs from Ace through Ten and ends in its four court cards. Read down a suit to follow its element, or cross the suits by number to see the four cards gathered under one sephirah.
The deck Waite designed and Pamela Colman Smith drew for Rider in 1909, and the first widely published pack to give every one of the fifty-six suit cards a scene rather than an arrangement of pips.
The meanings are Waite's own words from The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. They belong to one influential school of reading and do not exhaust what the cards have meant in other hands.
Pamela Colman Smith died in 1951 and the plates appeared in 1909, placing the artwork in the public domain. Each card links to its file on Wikimedia Commons. The plates on Wikimedia Commons ↗
By number
The same number in all four suits is one family, and each family has its own page with the Sephirah Book T places it in.
By suit
Wands 14 cards · Ace to King
- Ace Ace of Wands Ace of Wands: creative beginnings and the first release of active energy. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Two Two of Wands Two of Wands: power held in tension between achievement and dissatisfaction. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Three Three of Wands Three of Wands: enterprise expanding beyond its first secure foundation. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Four Four of Wands Four of Wands: stability expressed as celebration, refuge and shared completion. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Five Five of Wands Five of Wands: energy meeting competition and testing itself through friction. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Six Six of Wands Six of Wands: achievement made visible and acknowledged by others. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Seven Seven of Wands Seven of Wands: defending a position through courage and sustained effort. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Eight Eight of Wands Eight of Wands: movement accelerating toward a definite destination. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Nine Nine of Wands Nine of Wands: resilience maintained after earlier conflict. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Ten Ten of Wands Ten of Wands: success or responsibility becoming oppressive through excess. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Page Page of Wands Page of Wands: news, curiosity and the youthful expression of fire. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its courtly role.
- Knight Knight of Wands Knight of Wands: impulsive movement, departure and rapid change. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its courtly role.
- Queen Queen of Wands Queen of Wands: warm authority, vitality and magnetic self-possession. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its courtly role.
- King King of Wands King of Wands: mature fire directed through conscience and command. The card joins the fire nature of Wands to its courtly role.
Cups 14 cards · Ace to King
- Ace Ace of Cups Ace of Cups: emotional and spiritual abundance offered at its source. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Two Two of Cups Two of Cups: mutual recognition and the bond formed between two people. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Three Three of Cups Three of Cups: shared joy, support and the completion of a social undertaking. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Four Four of Cups Four of Cups: discontent that prevents a new possibility from being recognised. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Five Five of Cups Five of Cups: grief focused on what is lost while something valuable remains. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Six Six of Cups Six of Cups: memory, childhood and the emotional influence of the past. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Seven Seven of Cups Seven of Cups: imagination offering many visions without secure substance. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Eight Eight of Cups Eight of Cups: leaving behind an investment that no longer carries its former meaning. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Nine Nine of Cups Nine of Cups: satisfaction and comfort made visibly available. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Ten Ten of Cups Ten of Cups: emotional fulfilment shared through family and community. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Page Page of Cups Page of Cups: feeling and imagination taking an unexpected communicable form. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its courtly role.
- Knight Knight of Cups Knight of Cups: an invitation or emotional approach carried with grace. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its courtly role.
- Queen Queen of Cups Queen of Cups: deep receptivity joined to imagination and active care. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its courtly role.
- King King of Cups King of Cups: emotional steadiness and creative intelligence amid change. The card joins the water nature of Cups to its courtly role.
Swords 14 cards · Ace to King
- Ace Ace of Swords Ace of Swords: clarity and decisive force capable of creation or destruction. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Two Two of Swords Two of Swords: a guarded equilibrium that postpones rather than resolves conflict. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Three Three of Swords Three of Swords: painful division made direct and impossible to ignore. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Four Four of Swords Four of Swords: withdrawal and stillness used to recover from conflict. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Five Five of Swords Five of Swords: victory that leaves loss, alienation and dishonour behind. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Six Six of Swords Six of Swords: a deliberate passage away from strain toward another condition. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Seven Seven of Swords Seven of Swords: strategy and uncertain advantage pursued indirectly. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Eight Eight of Swords Eight of Swords: restriction that feels total but may be temporary and escapable. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Nine Nine of Swords Nine of Swords: fear and grief intensified by the solitary mind. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Ten Ten of Swords Ten of Swords: an exhausted conflict reaching an unmistakable ending. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Page Page of Swords Page of Swords: alert thought scanning for information, risk and change. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its courtly role.
- Knight Knight of Swords Knight of Swords: intellect and action advancing with speed and little hesitation. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its courtly role.
- Queen Queen of Swords Queen of Swords: discernment shaped by sorrow, independence and clear boundaries. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its courtly role.
- King King of Swords King of Swords: judgment, law and the authority to make consequential decisions. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its courtly role.
Pentacles 14 cards · Ace to King
- Ace Ace of Pentacles Ace of Pentacles: material opportunity appearing as a concrete beginning. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Two Two of Pentacles Two of Pentacles: adaptation required to keep changing material demands in motion. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Three Three of Pentacles Three of Pentacles: skill becoming recognised through serious collaborative work. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Four Four of Pentacles Four of Pentacles: security gained by holding tightly to what has been accumulated. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Five Five of Pentacles Five of Pentacles: material hardship and exclusion occurring beside possible shelter. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Six Six of Pentacles Six of Pentacles: resources circulating through generosity, dependence and measured power. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Seven Seven of Pentacles Seven of Pentacles: patient evaluation of work whose harvest is not yet complete. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Eight Eight of Pentacles Eight of Pentacles: competence developed through repetition, attention and practice. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Nine Nine of Pentacles Nine of Pentacles: self-sufficient material well-being cultivated over time. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Ten Ten of Pentacles Ten of Pentacles: wealth understood as inheritance, household and continuity. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its place in the numbered sequence.
- Page Page of Pentacles Page of Pentacles: study and practical attention directed toward material possibility. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its courtly role.
- Knight Knight of Pentacles Knight of Pentacles: patient responsibility and the dependable pace of material work. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its courtly role.
- Queen Queen of Pentacles Queen of Pentacles: material care joined to generosity, intelligence and inward value. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its courtly role.
- King King of Pentacles King of Pentacles: material mastery expressed through stewardship and practical intelligence. The card joins the earth nature of Pentacles to its courtly role.
