The Numbers in The Minor Arcana
The Numbers in The Minor Arcana
The Numbers in The Minor Arcana
There are 56 Minor Arcana cards in the Tarot deck – 40 numbered cards and 16
Court Cards.
The 40 numbered cards are separated into 4 Suits – Cups, Pentacles, Swords and
Wands, with each Suit running from Ace (1) to 10.
An easy way to get to know the 40 numbered cards of the Tarot is to learn basic
numerology.
By the way, if you’re interested in numerology, our friends
at numerologist.com have created a free calculator that instantly calculates the 5
most telling numbers in your numerology chart to discover your strangest
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Here are a few keywords to get you started:
1 – (Aces) New beginnings, opportunity, potential
2 – Balance, partnership, duality
3 – Creativity, groups, growth
4 – Structure, stability, manifestation
5 – Change, instability, conflict
6 – Communication, cooperation, harmony
7 – Reflection, assessment, knowledge
8 – Mastery, action, accomplishment
9 – Fruition, attainment, fulfilment
10 – Completion, end of a cycle, renewal
It also helps to know a little about each of the Suits in the Tarot:
Cups (element = water): Emotions, creativity, intuition, relationships
Pentacles (element = earth): Material wealth, money, career, manifestation
Swords (element = air): Communication, truth, intellect, thoughts
Wands (element = fire): Inspiration, energy, enthusiasm
Now, combine what you know about the numbers and what you know about the
Suits, and you’ll be able to determine what each of the 40 numbered cards mean.
For example, the Five of Cups is about conflict (5) in love and relationships (Cups).
And Four of Pentacles is about stability (4) in finances (Pentacles).
See – I told you it would be easy!
Now, you might be wondering how to interpret the 16 Court Cards with
numerology. Well, it isn’t quite as straight-forward because the Court Cards don’t
traditionally have a numerological association. So it’s best to use other techniques
(which I cover in my online training program, Master the Tarot Card Meanings) for
translating this group of Tarot cards.
For now, let’s jump into the Major Arcana cards.
THE NUMBERS IN THE MAJOR ARCANA
You can apply the same ‘Tarot by numbers’ technique for the 22 cards of the
Major Arcana.
The Fool is the first card, but starts at 0, and the final card is the World (21).
Each card in between the Fool and the World has its own numerological
association which means that you can apply what you know about the numbers to
the Major Arcana Tarot cards.
You don’t have to know double-digit numerology either. For now, keep it simple
and add together the numbers to interpret the single number.
For example, the Tower is Card 16 and 1 + 6 = 7. 7 is about assessment and
evaluation – an important aspect of the Tower card. Of course, there’s a little
more to the Tower card than just assessment and evaluation, but knowing the
basic numerology certainly gives you a start in the right direction.
While single-digit numerology can be helpful, it can also help to understand the
meanings of the numbers up until 21 to add extra depth to your Tarot card
interpretations.
For example, Death is Card 13 and both Death and the number 13 relate to
upheaval. 13 is also a Karmic Debt Number – a sign that we need to learn a life
lesson in order to evolve spiritually.
So there you have it – you now have a simple and easy way to interpret the Tarot
cards using basic numerology as your guide!