56 everyday cards
Minor Arcana Tarot Cards: the Four Suits
The Minor Arcana are the 56 cards split into four suits — Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles — each running Ace through Ten plus four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King). Where the 22 Major Arcana cover big life themes, the Minor Arcana handle everyday detail: a specific conversation, a specific decision, a specific mood, rather than a sweeping life chapter.
Each suit maps to a classical element and a domain: Wands (Fire) for action and will, Cups (Water) for emotion and relationships, Swords (Air) for thought and conflict, Pentacles (Earth) for work and money. Within every suit, the numbered cards trace the same rough arc — a spark (Ace), building (2–4), tension (5–7), and resolution (8–10) — just filtered through that suit's theme.
The 4 suits
Major Arcana
The 22 archetypal cards →
Full deck
All 78 cards →
How the Minor Arcana are organised
The 56 Minor Arcana are built the same way in all four suits: ten numbered cards from Ace to Ten, followed by four court cards. That gives 14 cards per suit and 56 in total. Because the structure repeats, learning it once helps with every suit.
Think of each suit as the same story told in a different setting. The Ace is a beginning, the middle numbers show effort, tension or a decision, and the Ten shows the result. Wands tell that story through action and ambition, Cups through feelings and relationships, Swords through thought and conflict, and Pentacles through work, money and the material world. Our suit pages walk through each of the ten numbers for one suit at a time.
Number and court cards
Numbers give you the stage of a situation, and the suit gives you its area of life. A Five usually marks friction or a test in any suit; a Five of Cups is emotional loss, a Five of Swords is a conflict, and a Five of Pentacles is financial strain. Court cards (Page, Knight, Queen and King) are often read as people, as personality styles or as the way a situation is being approached, depending on the question.
Court card names vary by system. In the Thoth Tarot they are Princess, Prince, Queen and Knight, and the suit of Pentacles is called Disks, so check which system your deck follows before borrowing meanings. The terminology map keeps these labels apart.
Quick answers
How many Minor Arcana cards are there?
There are 56: four suits with 14 cards each (Ace to Ten plus Page, Knight, Queen and King).
Do I need to memorise all 56 meanings?
No. If you know what each suit covers and the theme of each number, you can build a sensible reading for any Minor Arcana card, and then check the card page for the details.
What is the difference between Pentacles and Coins?
In most English-language decks the suit is called Pentacles. Coins is a common alternative name, and some systems use Disks or Deniers, which reflect different traditions.