The minor arcana has four suits, and each suit, very broadly, represents a different facet of our lived experience.
Because of that last bullet point, pentacles are often associated with money.
The reason for this post, however, is to look into a strange detail that exists throughout the entire tarot deck.
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Last week I was depressed. Not the usual all-the-time low-grade depression that’s been normal for me since childhood, but instead something hard and intense and ruthless.
It came out of nowhere and instantly took me down into the depths of sadness and despair. I had entered a new, unfamiliar reality where every person despised me and I was a horrible burden to anyone I locked eyes with.
I’ve been there before, but I hate it. When I’m in it, it feels so real. Much more real than even this moment now. Like a veil has been lifted and I can now see actuality.
I can’t, of course, but that’s what it feels like.
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For the uninitiated, a tarot deck contains 78 cards that are used for divinatory purposes. These cards are split into two main sections: the major and the minor arcanas. The major arcana consists of 22 named images, starting with 0 – The Fool, and ending with 21 – The World. It’s in the major arcana that we find notable cards such as Death and The Lovers.
The minor arcana, on the other hand,consists of four suits, each numbered ace-10 and followed by four court cards.
Eliphas Levi said that if you were locked in solitary confinement and the only book you had access to was a deck of tarot cards, you could, eventually, learn everything there was to know. Tarot, according to Levi, is a book of universal symbols that are intended to convey universal laws.
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