Tarot keywords

A great way to start exploring the tarot is to get a basic understanding of the classic Rider Waite deck. For myself, the way I started to do this was by creating flashcards for each of the cards. Writing it out while looking at the cards really helped me solidify a kernal of meaning. Over time I've expanded my interpretations, often depending on what other cards show up in the reading and the question being asked, but coming back to these keywords is always helpful. With the keywords below you can have a jumping off point for all of the minor arcana. I'll post major arcana keywords in a different post.

The minor arcana has 4 suites. Traditionally those are wands, swords, cups, and pentacles. Each of these corresponds to an element. Each element has an area of focus.

Wands - Fire - passion and creativity

Swords - Air - thoughts and communication

Cups - Water - emotions and connections

Pentacles - Earth - money and tangible things

The cards in the minor arcana use numerology to help with the meaning of the card.

1 - beginings, spark of inspiration

2 - relationships, duality

3 - progress, growth

4 - structure, refresh

5 - struggles, conflict

6 - support, community

7 - choices, perseverance

8 - action, deliberate

9 - assessment, wisdom

10 - completion, maximum effort

The court cards which are traditionally: page, knight, queen, king also have general meanings. They also have their own element.

Page - earth - student/learning

Knight - fire - taking deliberate actions

Queen - water - nuturing/creating

King - air - leadership

So the king of swords is double air energy, where as the king of cups is air and water energy combined. Not everyone uses the secondary element for the court cards, but I find it helps me with understanding the energy even more.

I hope you find these keywords helpful in your learning journey.