Major and Minor Arcana- Earth, Wind, Fire, Water and the Whole BIG Picture

This evening I wanted to talk Major and Minor Arcanas. What they are and what they mean when cards from each of these groups show up in your Tarot readings. Lets start with the Minor Arcana. 

As my good buddy Charles puts it below, the Minor Arcana consists of four different suits. Each of the four suites represents one of the four elements. The four elements each in turn represent an aspect of our day to day lives and general humanness- that word makes me want hummus... yum- sorry, carrying on- when you pull these cards or have a reading that has a lot of them in it, this usually means that your day to day life is using up more of your energy than your spiritual side or the universe in general. 

“It’s said that the shuffling of the cards is the earth, and the pattering of the cards is the rain, and the beating of the cards is the wind, and the pointing of the cards is the fire. That’s of the four suits. But the Greater Trumps, it’s said, are the meaning of all process and the measure of the everlasting dance.” - Charles Williams

The dapper man pictured above is Charles Williams, who was a British novelist and has summarized what the Major and Minor Arcanas are all about much more eloquently than I ever could. On top of that he also wears round spectacles far better than I ever could as well, but I suppose thats not related to this post. 

A quick overview of the suits:
Pentacles- Earth-  Pentacles are all about your day to day life. Anything ranging from work to home life. They usually have something to tell you about your money or job situation. Sometimes they are there to tell you to be careful or to expect money coming down the road. I find most people are happy to see these little buddies pop up because who doesn't like learning the scoop on their money situation or learning about possible raises etc?
Wands- Fire- Wands are really fun cards- most of the time. They are all about energy and what you are passionate about. Its about the things in your life that you WANT to do not what you HAVE to do. They can tell you about future trips or perhaps let you know you are wasting your energy on things that do not need you attention. They can also signify some passion or a hot to trot (who says that anymore? lol) sex life- ohh lala!
Swords- Air- Swords are the "darker" suit if I were to say one was darker than the others. This is because they represent our minds and thoughts. As much as we try to all be innocent sweet angels most of us have  wee bit of a dark side. The swords have no problems laying it all out there for you- like that friend who has no problem dishing out the serious advice- you know who that person is in your life. There are positive swords as well of course. These little buddies are there to tell you when you need some rest or to when to keep quiet about secrets.
Cups- Water-  I saved my favourite suit for last. Cups. Lovey-dovey cups. Cups are about our hearts and our emotions. They are the cards that trigger your feels- I think this is what the hip kids are saying these days, "feels". They talk about love and who doesn't love to hear about love. Also hiding in this suit is the card of good sex. I am not just talking about your run of the mill old fashioned love making friends. I am talking about brag to your friends or randomly start smoking afterward sex (seriously don't start smoking though). This suit also talks about loved ones who've passed away as well as relationships and there is even a lucky card, the Four of Cups where you can make a wish. As you can see, I am sure you understand why this is my favourite suit.

This is a very  basic and short overview of what the Minor is all about. I plan to go through each of these cards in greater detail in future posts.

The Major Arcana is a little bit more, shall we say esoteric. They are all about the nature of "Man". These cards are like your old philosophy professor, a little out there but at the end of the day they make perfect sense. Here is a good quote from A.E Waite (the Waite part of the Rider Waite) taken from the book, Mastering the Tarot by Eden Gray, "The true Tarot is symbolism. It speaks no other language and presents no other signs... on the highest plane it offers a key to the ancient mysteries." If you are going to take one word from that, please think on the word key. Thats exactly what the Major Arcana is all about. It is comprised of 22 Keys that are going to show you different aspects of yourself. The ones that show up in your reading were chosen for a reason and they all heed very important messages. 

The Major starts with the Fool numbered zero. The Fool is really a representation of you, me and everyone else walking around. As the Fool travels through life he meets the other characters in the deck along the way. The higher up the deck in numbers you go the more enlightened the Fool becomes eventually getting to the end at The World. The Major Arcana when looked at this way, will tell you a story all about how we change and become more enlightened as we age. 

The imagery of the Major Arcana is my favourite personally. I love all of the characters that are in there. From the Hanged Man to the Lovers. Of course inside these cards is probably one of the most infamous of all, the Death card- *shriek! Gasp! Runs away*. One thing you will learn quickly about the Major suit is that not all is what it seems on the outside and the Death card is a perfect example. If we were to believe in horror movies and the like getting the Death card is basically a one way ticket to the afterlife and you will be handed your "Handbook for the Recently Deceased" Beetlejuce style. Surprisingly the Death card has little to do with physical death and so much more with change one cannot control. Keep this in mind if you ever get a reading and this little buddy pops up. I would be much more afraid of the 10 of Swords. 

Before I leave you for the evening and go back to my life and possibly the fridge for some hummus... I wanted to give you a little bit of information on what my plans are for this blog. Now that I have explained about the Major and Minor Arcanas I would like to get into the cards themselves. I am thinking of writing about a card one day and then the next or in the same entry write a little meditation to go with the card so you dear reader, if you are out there *crickets*, can take the meditation and think of the card. I want you to get your own ideas of what it is about. I also plan to throw in some non-Tarot stuff as well. I am thinking meditations on the seasons or just general chatter about other witchy things. If you want to stick with me for this broomstick ride, I think you will be happy when we reach our destination, wherever that may be.