The Library · 56 Cards

Minor Arcana

Fifty-six cards across four suits. Each suit is tied to one of the four classical elements and to a domain of everyday experience. Within each suit, ten pip cards (Ace through Ten) describe situations, and four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King) describe the people who carry them.

  1. Ace of Wands tarot card illustration

    Wands

    Element of Fire

    The suit of Fire. Wands cover ambition, drive, and the moment before a project begins, the spark that becomes a flame. Fourteen cards trace the suit from its first impulse through the people who personify it.

    Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten

    Page Knight Queen King

    Read the Suit of Wands

  2. Ace of Cups tarot card illustration

    Cups

    Element of Water

    The suit of Water. Cups cover feeling, relationships, and the inner tides that move under the surface of a reading. Fourteen cards carry the suit from its opening offering to the figures who hold it.

    Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten

    Page Knight Queen King

    Read the Suit of Cups

  3. Ace of Swords tarot card illustration

    Swords

    Element of Air

    The suit of Air. Swords cover intellect, conflict, and the cuts a clear thought makes through confusion. Fourteen cards arc the suit from its first realisation to the minds that wield it.

    Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten

    Page Knight Queen King

    Read the Suit of Swords

  4. Ace of Pentacles tarot card illustration

    Pentacles

    Element of Earth

    The suit of Earth. Pentacles cover work, money, and the slow accumulation of a built life. Fourteen cards follow the suit from its first opportunity to the figures who steward it.

    Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten

    Page Knight Queen King

    Read the Suit of Pentacles

How the Suits Relate

Pip and Court

Three of Wands tarot card illustration

Pip · Ace through Ten · 40 cards

The pip cards describe situations the reading is about: a beginning, a choice, a quarrel, a long patience. They are the weather of the day.

Queen of Cups tarot card illustration

Court · Page through King · 16 cards

The court cards describe the people the reading invokes: the messenger, the seeker, the steward, the sovereign. They are the figures inside the weather.