The Arcanas

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 include numbered cards in each suit (ace through 10) and court cards (page, knight, queen and king).

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

Anyone can learn the art of reading tarot cards - it's not difficult. You will learn it with taking practice and a strong desire like any art or science. One easy way to start learning the tarot is to get the Esoteric School Tarot Home Study course, which will teach you everything covered in this article, including the art of reading tarot cards, Tarot Spreads, meanings for tarot cards and two real tarot card spreads.

One of the best and most personal ways to develop meanings for the cards is to actually study the cards themselves while there are lots of books out there that give you the meaning of tarot cards. The cards were developed with symbols and pictures that represent the concept being expressed.

Once you intuit this meaning, looking for places in your life or in everyday life where you or someone else is losing power. you will never forget the meaning when the concept is translated into everyday life and becomes real.