Blog Archives

Major and Minor Arcana

2/24/2014

I want to share a little more about Tarot because there are some excellent decks coming out, which shy away from the more traditional variety giving Tarot a gentler and positive feel. Authors have done this by incorporating different character names for the major arcana cards, removing some of the harsher one like hang man, death or devil. These less traditional decks instead have created cards to replace them. It is not that any of these decks has strayed far from traditional meanings; they have just stated the message in a more upbeat way. My favourite of these is Doreen Virtue’s “Archangel Power Tarot” deck.

Tarot decks are divided into major and minor arcana cards. The word “arcana” is derived from the latin word Arcanum meaning secret. Therefore the cards showing you secrets. Decks typically have 78 cards – 22 major arcana cards and 56 minor arcana cards, with many different spreads to find the answers to your questions.

It is said that the order the major arcana cards mirror the stages of life. It begins with the fool who is the spirit seeking life followed by the magician representing birth. Ending with the world – the end of a cycle. When these cards appear in your spread it is to bring attention to the subject as they represent matters of higher purpose.

Divided into 4 suits the minor arcana cards make up the other 56 cards in the deck. The suits each represent different aspects of our lives. Therefore more of one particular suit appearing in your spread will ask you to bring attention to this aspect of your life. Also the numbers have meaning, ie. 2’s rep relationships, 5’s changes or challenges or 10’s endings and new beginnings.

All this information will help you to interpret your spread whether your deck is traditional or not. I have included a list of the Major Arcana cards and the suits and what they mean. Enjoy!

Major Arcana Cards

0 or 22 The Fool
1 The Magician
2 The High Priestess
3 The Empress
4 The Emperor
5 The Hierophant
6 The Lovers

7 The Chariot
8 Justice
9 The Hermit
10 Wheel of Fortune
11 Strength
12 The Hang Man
13 Death

14 Temperance
15 The Devil
16 The Tower
17 The Star
18 The Moon
19 The Sun
20 Judgement
21 The World

Minor Arcana Suits

Wands / Batons /Clubs / Staves - Creativity and will (element - fire)

Coins / Pentacles /Disks / Rings - Material body or possessions (element - earth)

Cups / Chalices - Emotions and Love (element - water)

Swords - Reason (element - air)

0 Comments

Tarot vs Oracle

2/17/2014

0 Comments

What’s the difference?

Good question… Although their purpose is the same, they are quite different.

Tarot is derived from a deck of regular playing cards and originated in the 15th century. There are 78 cards to a deck - 22 major arcana cards and 56 minor arcana cards, which are divided into 4 suits. Within the four suits, the cards are marked “1” to “king”, as would be found in a deck of regular playing cards.

There are many versions of tarot decks, but they all follow the same layout - major and minor arcana with 4 suits. The major arcana cards have a specific progression of characters on the cards that is followed. Each has specific meaning and come in a certain order to create an evolution of self recognition and discovery.

Oracle cards are much newer, coming into popularity in France about 200 years ago. The number of cards in an oracle deck will range; being decided by the creator. There are no suits, but they typically have an overall theme of a spiritual, mystical or healing nature.

As I said in the beginning, the purpose of both types of decks are the same. They are both divination tools used to foretell the future. How both decks is where the difference lays.

Spreads (the way you lay the cards out to read them) are specific in tarot, as well as whether the card is placed upside right or upside down has specific meaning and can drastically change the outcome of a reading. As for the cards meaning, these too are specific and will be consistent across the different types of traditional tarot.

The one thing I do not like about traditional tarot and has turned me away from using them is the negative cards, like death. That being said, there are many decks of tarot popping up over the last few years which shy away from the negative cards of the traditional decks – John Holland’s Psychic Tarot or Doreen Virtue’s Angel Tarot.

Oracle decks offer greater freedom in how they are used both with spreads and card meaning. Personally I like this approach, as it allows me to do what is best for my question or client.

Depending on what you are looking for clarity about, there are many spreads available to divine the answers. (Want to learn more? Check out my class) Plus the cards typically share a positive message, even when suggesting caution, wrong direction or re-evaluate. In general there is a lot more room for personal interpretation of the meaning based on the cards message and picture, as well as how you lay them down to read.

Personally, I am more drawn to oracle decks, but have been enjoying some of the new, less traditional tarot decks lately. Check out next week’s blog – more about tarot!

0 Comments

Major and Minor Arcana

Major Arcana Cards

Minor Arcana Suits

Tarot vs Oracle

Musings of a Soulful Mystic ~

Archives

Categories