When I’m writing posts for this blog, I often try to think of the information I needed when I was just starting out: what do I wish someone had explained to me right from the get-go?
Today I’m going to share with you a realisation I came to while studying the cards, about the two halves of the Tarot and not only why each is important, but also how they work together.
When I was a beginner, I loved the Major Arcana with a passion – they are so rich in symbolism and have such depth of meaning! If poetry could metamorphose into art, it would look like the Major Arcana. So naturally, when I began to seriously study the Tarot, I began with the Major Arcana and progressed merrily in leaps and bounds. But when the time came to study the Minor Arcana, my enthusiasm wilted and I became a little overwhelmed by the cards. There are so many! But within the space of one suit, I realised that the Minor Arcana is just as much a treasure trove as the Major Arcana – it’s just a different kind of treasure!
The Fool – Rumi Tarot
What is the Major Arcana?
The Major Arcana is a series of 22 cards (confusingly beginning with 0 and working up to 21) that track the story of the Fool (card 0), who is a metaphor for the querent.
How does the Major Arcana relate to life?
When a Major Arcana card appears n a spread, it tells us that the querent is learning some important lessons about who they are – not the person they are in their day-to-day life, but who they are in their heart and soul. The Major Arcana shows the querent what they should be turning their attention to and the life lessons they should be trying to learn.
In anthropological/story telling terms, the Major Arcana would be our myths: they’re the stories we tell ourselves to explain our inner world and also our role in the universe.
Seven of Pentacles – Llewellyn Tarot
What is the Minor Arcana?
The Minor Arcana consists of four suits and each suit is made up of 14 cards: Ace to 10, followed by Knave/Page, Knight, Queen and King. Sound familiar? Playing cards are based in the Minor Arcana, but they skip the knight.
The four suits are:
- Wands: creativity and sexuality; fire.
- Cups: emotions and spirituality; water.
- Pentacles/coins: practicality and the material world; earth.
- Swords: tensions and intellect; air.
How does the Minor Arcana relate to life?
When Minor Arcana cards appear during a reading, they create a map of what the querent is going through from dawn to dusk to dawn again: their job, their studies, their relationships; their hopes and their fears. They offer the querent the opportunity to ‘check in’ and explore how satisfied they are with their daily life and they usually offer help and encouragement, when you know where to look!
In anthropological/story telling terms, the Minor Arcana would be fairytales: stories that teach us how to get from A to B and how to interact with the world we live in – be kind, be wise, be brave!
Unknown Deck
How do the two halves of Tarot work together?
This one is a little tricky to explain, as it’s a skill that comes with practice. But I’ll do my best!
The Minor Arcana will show the trials and tribulations of the querent’s life, while the Major Arcana cards will instruct the reader how to apply the Minor Arcana to the querent’s inner world and also the lessons they need to learn from them, the fears they need to face and the resources they already have.
Can the two halves work apart?
Yes, but it’s limiting. Imagine the Tarot to be like a song: Anyone can project their own emotions on to an instrumental piece of music, but when we know the words of the writer, we learn the message they want us to hear. So it is with Tarot: if we only read the lyrics, we’d lose the emotion. If we heard just the instruments, we’d lose the message. The song is much more powerful when the melody is woven with words.
Don’t be afraid of the Minor Arcana: I know the sheer volume of cards can be daunting and sometimes it can feel a bit repetitive, but I promise the endeavour will be worth while when you can look at the spread of cards in front of you and not only be aware of all the nuances, but also of how to apply them to your life. My main advice is this: keep an open mind and avoid decks where the artist couldn’t be bothered drawing illustrations for the minor cards – you can always pick one of these decks up later when you feel more confident. But most importantly: stay excited, stay brave and stay curious!
