The word "arcana"
comes from Latin "arcane"
meaning "profound secret"
The Major Arcana is sometimes
referred to as the Fool's
Journey, the very 1st card
(number 0) is the fool and
every card thereafter is
a trial or person he meets
that he must conquer and/or
learn from
There are hundreds of
different Tarot decks available.
Possibly the most common
is the Rider-Waite Deck.
Decks can range from beautiful
(the Art Nouveau Tarot and
Robin Wood Tarot) to fun
and kitschy (the Housewives
Tarot and Baseball Tarot)
The Rider-Waite deck was
designed by Arthur Edward
Waite, drawn by Pamela Coleman-Smith
and published by Rider and
Sons in England
Referred to as "The
Fool's Journey"
The Major Arcana cards
are numbered from 0-21
In the Major Arcana, Cards
0-10 deal with questions
of wants and needs
In the Major Arcana, Cards
11-21 deal with questions
of emotions and feelings
The Minor Arcana is divided
into 4 suits
The Minor Arcana is thought
to coincide with the suits
of modern playing cards
Each Minor Arcana suit
contains Ace - 10, Page,
Knight, Queen and King
Each Minor Arcana suit
corresponds with the 4 directions,
the 4 elements and the 4
seasons
The suit of wands is also
called staves or staffs
The corresponding element
of the Wands is fire
The corresponding direction
of the Wands is South
The corresponding Season
of the Wands is Autumn
Its modern equivalent
of the Wands is said to
be the suit of Clubs
The Wands also represent
energy, creation and agriculture
The suit of cups is also
called the chalices
The corresponding element
of the Cups is water
The corresponding direction
of the Cupsis West
The corresponding season
of the Cups is Summer
Its modern equivalent
of the Cups is said to be
the suit of Hearts
Cups also represent love,
the emotions, happiness,
beauty and the subconscious
mind
The suit of Swords usually
doesn't go by any other
name but I'm sure you could
find otherwise
The corresponding of the
Swords element is air
The corresponding of the
Swords direction is East
The corresponding of the
Swords season is Winter
The Swords modern equivalent
is said to be the suit of
Spades
Swords also represent
ambition, aggression, force,
misfortune and strife, constructive
and destructive action
The suit of pentacles
is also called the coins
The corresponding of the
Pentacles element is Earth
The corresponding of the
Pentacles direction is North
The corresponding of the
Pentacles season is Spring
Its modern equivalent
of the Pentacles is said
to be the suit of Diamonds
Pentacles also represent
abundance, fertility, money,
material gain, industry
and fruitfulness
The Tarot may be used
to perform certain spells
Last but not least the final
and most important fact.....
Nothing is drawn on the
cards "by accident",
everything drawn on the
cards has a meaning and
purpose
