Tarot Deck Structure – Major & Minor Arcana Breakdown

The Structure of a Tarot Deck: Major and Minor Arcana Explained

Tarot is a powerful tool for self-reflection, spiritual growth, and guidance. While many people are familiar with the idea of Tarot readings, fewer understand the structure of a Tarot deck and how its different parts work together. A standard Tarot deck consists of 78 cards, divided into two main sections: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. Each section plays a distinct role in readings, offering insights into life’s major themes and everyday experiences.

Unlock the Tarot Mysteries

The Major Arcana: Life’s Big Lessons

The Major Arcana is the heart of the Tarot deck. It consists of 22 numbered cards, starting with The Fool (0) and ending with The World (21). These cards represent significant life events, spiritual lessons, and personal transformations. They are often seen as markers of key moments in a person’s journey, reflecting deep shifts in awareness, challenges, and growth.

Each Major Arcana card carries a unique meaning, with rich symbolism that provides profound insights. The progression of these cards is often referred to as The Fool’s Journey, a metaphor for the path of personal and spiritual development.

The Fool (0): Represents new beginnings, spontaneity, and stepping into the unknown.
The Magician (1): Symbolizes manifestation, confidence, and personal power.
The High Priestess (2): Relates to intuition, mystery, and inner wisdom.
The Empress (3) and The Emperor (4): Represent nurturing energy and structured leadership, respectively.
The Lovers (6): Speaks to relationships, choices, and harmony.
Death (13): Often misunderstood, this card signifies transformation and endings leading to new beginnings.
The Tower (16): Indicates sudden change, upheaval, and necessary destruction for rebuilding.
The World (21): Represents completion, fulfillment, and achieving a goal.

When a Major Arcana card appears in a reading, it often signals an important phase in life. These cards highlight major transitions, spiritual lessons, or deep internal shifts rather than everyday concerns.

The Minor Arcana: Daily Life and Practical Matters

The Minor Arcana consists of 56 cards, divided into four suits: Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands. These cards represent day-to-day experiences, emotions, challenges, and interactions. Unlike the Major Arcana, which focuses on overarching life themes, the Minor Arcana provides details about specific situations and the energies influencing them.

Each suit is associated with an element and a particular aspect of life:

Cups (Water): Represents emotions, relationships, intuition, and creativity.
Pentacles (Earth): Relates to finances, work, material success, and physical well-being.
Swords (Air): Symbolizes thoughts, communication, intellect, and conflict.
Wands (Fire): Represents passion, action, ambition, and spiritual energy.

Each suit contains 14 cards: numbered cards from Ace to Ten and four Court Cards—Page, Knight, Queen, and King.

Aces: Represent new beginnings and raw potential within the suit’s theme.
Numbers Two to Ten: Depict different stages of development, challenges, and resolutions.
Court Cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King): Can represent individuals, personality traits, or approaches to situations.

For example, the Three of Cups symbolizes celebration, friendship, and emotional connection, while the Five of Swords suggests conflict or the need to choose battles wisely. The interpretation of each Minor Arcana card depends on its context within a spread and the question being asked.

How the Major and Minor Arcana Work Together

In a Tarot reading, both the Major and Minor Arcana interact to provide a complete picture of a situation. The Major Arcana reveals overarching themes and major influences, while the Minor Arcana adds depth and details, showing how these themes manifest in daily life.

For example, if The Chariot (Major Arcana) appears alongside the Eight of Pentacles (Minor Arcana), it may indicate that determination and hard work will lead to success. If The Tower (Major Arcana) appears with the Ten of Swords (Minor Arcana), it could suggest a sudden ending or upheaval requiring acceptance and resilience.

Understanding how these two parts of the Tarot deck work together allows readers to gain deeper insight into situations, combining big-picture themes with practical details.

Conclusion

The structure of a Tarot deck is carefully designed to provide meaningful guidance. The Major Arcana represents life’s major lessons and spiritual growth, while the Minor Arcana reflects everyday experiences and challenges. Together, they create a dynamic system that offers insight into both the grand scheme of life and the small moments that shape it.

By learning the distinctions between the Major and Minor Arcana, readers can better interpret Tarot spreads and uncover the wisdom these cards hold. Whether used for personal reflection, decision-making, or spiritual exploration, Tarot remains a valuable tool for understanding life’s complexities and gaining deeper self-awareness.