Minor Arcana - Themes and Elements Flashcards
Cups
Water— feminine energy— emotion, love, relationship, imagination, happiness, sadness, family.
Swords
Air— mind— mental activity, conflict, heroism, grief, justice and injustice.
Pentacles
Earth— body— nature, work, money, possessions, security.
Aces
Pure energy of the suit, a gift of the Spirit. In each card, a hand emerges from a cloud and holds out the emblem of the suit, as if we just need to reach out and take it. The aces are the simplest of the ten numbers.
Twos
Choices or the attempt to find balance. Wands have to choose between security and adventure, Cups find balance in relationship, Swords resist choice by blindfolding the mind, while Pentacles balance aspects of life in a loop shaped like infinity.
Threes
A flowering or something created from the energy of the suit. For Wands, this is rootedness; for Cups, friendship; for Swords, heartbreak; for Pentacles, masterful work.
Fours
Structure— from the simple bower of Wands (Fire does not like to be contained), to Cups’ hesitation to try something new, to Swords’ retreat into restfulness, to Pentacles’ use of money or possessions to protect and define our lives.
Fives
Life’s difficulties. While fiery Wands get energized by conflict, Cups grieve, Swords suffer a humiliating defeat, and that couple in Pentacles find themselves crippled, penniless, and walking barefoot through the snow. This disturbing theme comes from a famous Kabbalistic diagram known as the Tree of Life. The Tree actually appears as the layout of the disks on the Ten of Pentacles, but we find glimpses of it elsewhere, including the top half on the Five of Pentacles.
On the Tree, the fifth position is a place of harshness, and so the fives become the most difficult group of cards.
Wands
Fire— masculine energy— action, optimism, sexual desire, adventure, forcefulness, competition.
Sixes
Unequal relationships, but out of that may come the possibility of generosity. In each card, one person stands above and superior to a single person (Cups), a pair of people (Swords and Pentacles), or a whole group (Wands). From this position, however, they act generously to those around them. The Wands horseman shares his optimism and confidence with those who walk alongside him; the older child in the Six of Cups gives a flower to the younger; the man in Swords ferries the figures in the boat; while the Six of Pentacles shows us an image of charity.
Sevens
Action or maybe just the contemplation of action. The figure in Wands knows he must stay on top; the Cups person fantasizes about possibilities; the Swords character sneaks off with an armful of swords; and the Pentacles farmer looks at his garden with satisfaction or concern (depending how you read his expression).
Eights
Movement. Wands fly through the air; a man leaves cups behind; a blindfolded woman in Swords finds it hard to move at all; and an artisan develops his skill, creating one pentacle after another.
Nines
Intensity, the element at a high degree. Wands shows courage and strength; Cups, satisfaction; Swords, grief; and Pentacles, discipline that produces success.
Tens
Excess. The responsibilities of Wands bends the back; Cups celebrate family happiness; Swords suffers; and Pentacles live in splendor but possibly do not see the magic outside their material comfort.
Pages
Element: Earth
The pages are beginnings. We often think of them as students learning the quality of their suit. The fiery Page of Wands is eager, excited, ready to enter the world. By contrast, the watery Page of Cups is contemplative, fascinated, quiet. One hallmark of the pages is that they do not carry a great deal of responsibility; they simply experience.
Knights
Element: Air
The knights represent the next stage, one of adventure and dedication. Knights are idealistic, perhaps best characterized by the courageous Knight of Swords charging into battle. The knights have more responsibility than the pages. Yes, they get to ride off and have adventures, but we expect them to slay the dragon or find the treasure and then come back.
Queens
Element: Water
Queens are masters of the element. They understand it and give themselves to it at the highest level. The Queen of Swords points her blade straight up (as with Justice and the Ace) for absolute commitment to truth. The Queen of Wands, in the happier element of Fire, loves life. She sits with her legs apart, holding up her bright sunflower, and as if in return for her positive nature, a black cat has come to protect her.
Kings
Element: Fire
The kings, on the other hand, carry more responsibility, for in the old medieval system it was the kings who had to make the decisions, hear petitions, and lead the nation. The queens represent mastery; the kings, authority. Of the four, the one most comfortable with this role is the King of Swords, for the suit of mind gives itself to decisions and commands. He is the only court card to look directly at us.
