Module 3 — Minor Arcana

The Everyday Cards

If the Major Arcana tells us about life's big themes, the Minor Arcana fills in the details — your love texts, your bank account, your morning anxiety, your creative spark. The 56 Minor cards cover everything that happens between the cosmic moments.

Reading by Number

Each suit has the same structure: Ace through Ten, plus four court cards. The number tells you the stage of the situation:

• Ace — pure essence, new beginning, raw potential
• Two — duality, choice, partnership
• Three — first growth, expansion, creation
• Four — stability, foundation, sometimes stagnation
• Five — challenge, conflict, change
• Six — harmony restored, generosity
• Seven — reflection, choices, illusion
• Eight — mastery, movement, refinement
• Nine — fulfillment, almost complete
• Ten — completion, the cycle closes

Reading by Suit

Combine the number with the suit's element:

• Five of Cups = challenge in emotions = grief, loss
• Five of Pentacles = challenge in money = financial hardship
• Five of Swords = challenge in mind = conflict, defeat
• Five of Wands = challenge in passion = competition

Once you understand this system, you can read any of the 40 numbered cards even if you have never memorized them.

The Court Cards

Page, Knight, Queen, King — these often represent people in your life or aspects of your own personality:

• Page — youthful, learning, beginning
• Knight — active, on a mission, sometimes impulsive
• Queen — mastery from within, nurturing, embodied
• King — mastery expressed outward, leadership, authority

The court cards are the trickiest part of tarot. With practice you will learn to spot whether a court card represents a real person, a quality you should embody, or an energy entering your life.