Tarot Cards - Tutorial for Reading Tarot Cards

The tarot is comprised of Minor Arcana cards in four suits and Major Arcana cards, which are not in suits. The four suits of the Minor Arcana are Wands, Swords, Cups and Plates, which match the four elemental tools. Minor Arcana cards are the numbered cards in each suit (ace through 10) plus the court cards (page, knight, queen and king).

Major Arcana cards are all the other cards in the deck and are related to but not tied to a particular suit. They represent principles, concepts or ideals while minor arcana cards represent the many ways that those principles manifest in the everyday or mundane world. The ideas expressed in the major arcana cards are not taught in our culture so we have lost touch with them and we have no foundation for them. Therefore, we have to be careful not to apply present day meanings to these past time symbols.