Major Arcana

The Major Arcana, which consists of 22 cards, is often referred to as the core part of a tarot deck. While all tarot cards are equally meaningful, the Major Arcana is indeed the heart of the deck.

Unlike the Minor Arcana, the tarot card meanings of the Major Arcana describe monumental events and key milestones in one's life. In the skilled hands, it can predict one's entire life journey.

Every Major Arcana tarot card has its unique name, such as The Fool, The Sun, or The Wheel of Fortune.

Minor Arcana

In contrast, the 56 tarot cards of the Minor Arcana, which include 40 pip cards and 16 court cards, address the day-to-day events and challenges.

The card meanings of the Minor Arcana might seem less significant (which isn't necessarily true). However, they are indeed better suited for short-term predictions and analysis and can't offer a roadmap of one's entire life.

All Minor Arcana tarot cards belong to one of the four suits listed here—the Suit of Wands, the Suit of Pentacles, the Suit of Swords, and the Suit of Cups.

Suit of Wands

The tarot meaning of the Suit of Wands cards is creativity, action, and inspiration. This suit is associated with the element of fire, which is reflected in all Wands tarot cards meaning.

The card meanings of the Minor Arcana might seem less significant (which isn't necessarily true). However, they are indeed better suited for short-term predictions and analysis and can't offer a roadmap of one's entire lifeThey typically represent passion, ambition, and pursuit of one's dreams. The ultimate meaning of tarot cards within the Suit of Wands is to challenge one to follow one's instincts and act on one's desires..

Suit of Cups

Finally, the Suit of Cups' tarot cards meaning is everything that has to do with emotions, relationships, and feelings. Cups cards are associated with the element of water, and they typically describe or predict emotional choices, responses, and developments.

If a person keeps drawing a Cups tarot card over and over again, it suggests that the deck wants them to remember the importance of intuition, compassion, and understanding in nurturing relationships.

Suit of Swords

The tarot meaning of the Suit of Swords is intellect, communication, and challenges. Associated with the element of air, Swords cards address things related to mental activity and decision-making.

Basically, every card on the tarot card list of the Suit of Swords represents the power of thoughts and words. However, for a more detailed and accurate analysis, we encourage you to study the entire Swords tarot cards list and meaning.

Suit of Pentacles

If you look up the tarot card meaning list of all tarot cards in the Suit of Pentacles, you'll see that all of them represent material aspects of life, such as work and finances.

Associated with the most grounded element of the four, earth, Pentacles tarot card meanings match earth's energy in that they typically describe manifestation, stability, and the results of hard work.

While this obviously depends on the individual tarot meaning of each card, as a whole, the Suite of Pentacles encourages building a solid foundation and being resourceful.

How a Detailed and Accurate Tarot Card Meanings List Can Help Your Reading

Even if you want to have a guided tarot reading session with a professional reader, it's always a good idea to look up all tarot cards meaning beforehand to have at least a basic understanding of each of the cards.

This way, you are more likely to comprehend and memorize the important insights you get from the tarot reader.