Several recent callers have asked me to explain the difference between the Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. An in-depth answer to this question would take more space than today's blog allows, so here's a very short and sweet answer - along with a list of reference books to check out.
The standard tarot deck consists of 78 cards. These cards are divided into 2 basic subsets. The first division is the Minor Arcana, which consists of four suits that loosely correspond to the four suits of modern day playing cards. In the deck I use, these four suits are called Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles. Each suit is made of up 10 number cards (Ace through Ten) and four royalty cards (Page, Knight, Queen & King), for a combined total of 56 cards.
The cards of the Minor Arcana generally concern themselves with the day to day business of life. This is not to say that they aren't important, just that they represent the people and events that fill our everyday experiences. These are the smaller details that help to make the big picture of our lives.
Now, we come to the Major Arcana. This is a smaller subset, consisting of 22 picture cards that don't belong to any of the four suits of the Minor Arcana. Each of these 22 cards stands alone, but if you lay them out in order from 0 to 22, they tell the story of the Fool's journey through life. Each of the cards of the Major Arcana represents an important archetype, such as love, hope, deity, tradition, life, etc.
This group of cards represents the pivotal events of our lives, and as such, they carry more individual weight in a reading than the Minor Arcana. At least in my readings, they do. Other readers may assign them a different degree of significance.
Another way to express this concept is that the Major Arcana represent that which we all have in common, while the Minor Arcana represent that which makes each of us unique. If you imagine life to be the same song covered by many many different artists, then the Major Arcana would be the basic structure of the melody, while the Minor Arcana would be the endless possible variations on that melody.
Here's the list of resource books I promised:
"Jung And The Tarot: An Archtypal Journey" by Sallie Nichols
(If you can only read one book on the Major Arcana, I suggest this one!)
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The standard tarot deck consists of 78 cards. These cards are divided into 2 basic subsets. The first division is the Minor Arcana, which consists of four suits that loosely correspond to the four suits of modern day playing cards. In the deck I use, these four suits are called Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles. Each suit is made of up 10 number cards (Ace through Ten) and four royalty cards (Page, Knight, Queen & King), for a combined total of 56 cards.
The cards of the Minor Arcana generally concern themselves with the day to day business of life. This is not to say that they aren't important, just that they represent the people and events that fill our everyday experiences. These are the smaller details that help to make the big picture of our lives.
Now, we come to the Major Arcana. This is a smaller subset, consisting of 22 picture cards that don't belong to any of the four suits of the Minor Arcana. Each of these 22 cards stands alone, but if you lay them out in order from 0 to 22, they tell the story of the Fool's journey through life. Each of the cards of the Major Arcana represents an important archetype, such as love, hope, deity, tradition, life, etc.
This group of cards represents the pivotal events of our lives, and as such, they carry more individual weight in a reading than the Minor Arcana. At least in my readings, they do. Other readers may assign them a different degree of significance.
Another way to express this concept is that the Major Arcana represent that which we all have in common, while the Minor Arcana represent that which makes each of us unique. If you imagine life to be the same song covered by many many different artists, then the Major Arcana would be the basic structure of the melody, while the Minor Arcana would be the endless possible variations on that melody.
Here's the list of resource books I promised:
"Jung And The Tarot: An Archtypal Journey" by Sallie Nichols
(If you can only read one book on the Major Arcana, I suggest this one!)
"The Tarot Court Cards" by Kate Warwick-Smith
Tarot And The Tree of Life: Finding Everyday Wisdom in the Minor Arcana" by Isabel Radow Kliegman
"The Renaissance Tarot: Legends Of The Past Now Reveal The Future" by Jane Lyle
"Dictionary of Symbols" by J.C. Cirlot
"The Tarot Handbook" by Angeles Arrien
Tarot And The Tree of Life: Finding Everyday Wisdom in the Minor Arcana" by Isabel Radow Kliegman
"The Renaissance Tarot: Legends Of The Past Now Reveal The Future" by Jane Lyle
"Dictionary of Symbols" by J.C. Cirlot
"The Tarot Handbook" by Angeles Arrien