Four suits · 56 cards

Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana are the 56 cards of the four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Each suit runs from Ace to Ten and then four court cards, Page, Knight, Queen and King. Where the Major Arcana are the great turning points, the Minors are the days in between: the argument, the offer, the bill, the good evening with friends.

Pamela Colman Smith's deck was the first widely published tarot to give every Minor card a full scene rather than a pattern of pips, which is why these cards can be read by looking at them. Most modern decks follow her pictures, and most readings are mostly Minor cards: they are where the practical advice lives.