The Minor Arcana Explained

Let's take a closer look at the Minor Arcana. As previously explained in my blog of March 9th, the Minor Arcana consists of fifty cards which is divided into four suits of fourteen cards each: ten numbered cards and four court cards. The court cards are the familiar King, Queen, Knight and Jack which later evolved into the Page. The suits include the Wands, the Cups, the Swords and the Pentacles. Each suit symbolizes a specific set of similar traits.

The Wands: Creativity and inspiration. Wands are associated with the element of Fire and connote passion and heat. Think of the alchemist's fire transforming base metal into gold. They emit a masculine or yang energy. Their qualities include risk-taking, confidence, courage and a sense of adventure. Their color is red.

The Cups:  They symbolize our emotional  and spiritual life. They are assoiciatd with our inner states of feeling.Cups correspond to the yin, or feminine principle. Intuition, romance, sensitivity, psychic, introspective all correspond to Cups.  Their element is Water. Their color is blue.

The Swords:  Our intellect and our rational life reside with the Swords. They are concerned with Truth, Justice and ethical principles.  Sowrds can also signify conflict, strife and illresolution.Their element is Air. Their color is white.

The Pentacles:  Their concern is with the material and practical world. Their home is the physcial realm. All of Nature and its inhabitants fall under their domain. This suit can also be referred to as the Coins for if they show up in a reading  they indicate issues with money or finance. Their element is the Earth. Their color is green.