What Are The Classic Tarot Card Suits?

The Minor Arcana of Tarot cards consists of four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Cups. Each suit contains different messages designed to guide us on our path towards liberation. The suits are divided into four groups: Wands (fire), which represent creativity, passion, action; Swords (air), which represent thoughts, logic, and communication; and Cups (water), which represent emotions.

The meanings behind each suit can be found in the four elements: Wands (motivation, energy, inspiration, and matters of the soul); Pentacles (career, work, finances, and practical matters); Swords (intellect, conversation, truth, and matters of the mind); and Cups (emotions, relationships, and money).

Cartomantic Tarot cards derived from Latin-suited packs typically have a Minor Arcana of 56 cards, with 14 cards in each suit: Wands (alternately batons, clubs, staffs, or staves), Cups (chalices, goblets, or vessels), Swords (or blades), and Pentacles (coins, disks, or rings). Pentacles govern money, health, material circumstances; Swords govern thought, speech, and communication; Cups govern emotions, relationships, and money.

Each suit represents a different set of ideas or values. Swords and Wands are the male cards in a traditional tarot deck. Modern Tarot decks have a suit of hearts (cups), a suit of spades (swords), a suit of clubs (wands), and a suit of diamonds (pentacles).

In Truly Teach Me Tarot, we will focus on the 10 Cards (Ace to 10) in each of the Four Suits (Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles) of the Minor Arcana. By understanding the symbolism and interpretations of each suit, we can enhance our Tarot practice and gain clearer insights into our life’s journey.


📹 How to Read the Tarot Suits & the Elemental Correspondences – What do the suits of tarot mean?

Today’s is a much-requested video: an overview of how I understand the tarot suits and their elemental associations. Of course …


What are the suits in card terms?

The international standard deck comprises two black and two red suits: spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds. The term “spade” is likely a reference to the Old Spanish “spado,” while “club” is a direct translation of “basto,” which indicates the presence of Spanish suits.

What are the traditional tarot suits?

The Minor Arcana, also known as Lesser Arcana, are the suit cards in a cartomantic tarot deck. Originating in northern Italy in the 1440s, these cards consist of four suits each of 10 unillustrated pip cards numbered one to ten, along with four court cards. French Tarot is the second most popular card game in France after Belote. Cartomantic tarot cards emerged in France in the late 18th century, popularized by occultists like Etteilla. The terms “Major” and “Minor Arcana” originate from Jean-Baptiste Pitois, writing under the name Paul Christian.

What do the 4 suits of cards mean?
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What do the 4 suits of cards mean?

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What are the suits in a pack of tarot cards?
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What are the suits in a pack of tarot cards?

Tarot cards are ancient Chinese divination tools used for fortune-telling. The minor arcana consists of 56 cards divided into four suits, each with 14 cards. The suits are wands, batons, cups, swords, and coins. Each suit has 4 court cards and 10 numbered cards, with the value progression from ace to 10. The adaptation of tarots to occult and fortune-telling began in France around 1780. Each card in the minor arcana has a meaning, with wands primarily relating to business and career ambitions, cups with love, swords with conflict, and coins with money and material comfort.

The tarot deck is shuffled by the questioner, and the fortune-teller then lays out a few cards in a spread pattern. The meaning of any card is modified based on its position in the spread and the meaning of adjacent cards.

What are all the suits in cards?
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What are all the suits in cards?

A standard 52-card French-suited deck is the most common pack of playing cards used today, consisting of 13 ranks in each of four suits: clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥), and spades (♠). Each suit includes three court cards (face cards), King, Queen, and Jack, with reversible images. The main feature of most playing card decks that empower their use in diverse games and activities is their double-sided design, where one side, usually bearing a colorful or complex pattern, is exactly identical on all playing cards, ensuring anonymity and fungibility when their value is to be kept secret.

In English-speaking countries, the English pattern pack is the only traditional pack used for playing cards. In many countries, however, it is used alongside other traditional, often older, standard packs with different suit systems such as those with German-, Italian-, Spanish-, or Swiss suits. The most common pattern of French-suited cards worldwide and the only one commonly available in English-speaking countries is the English pattern pack. The second most common pattern is the Belgian-Genoese pattern, designed in France but whose use spread to Spain, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans, much of North Africa and the Middle East.

Commercial decks often include from one to six Jokers, which are often distinguishable from one another, either in design or color, as some card games require these extra cards. The Jokers can also be used as replacements for lost or damaged cards.

What are the clubs in Tarot suits?

Clubs and diamonds are two cards in a tarot deck, representing change and swift action. Clubs symbolize change and swift action, while diamonds are about money, confidence, and finances. The Joker card signifies folly and new beginnings, and can be used in spreads to represent the person receiving the reading. Experiment with your own spreads and use tarot spreads with these cards to enhance your reading experience.

What are the suits in Tarot vs playing cards?
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What are the suits in Tarot vs playing cards?

In 1938, George Coffin wrote an article in Games Digest titled “Taro: Ancestor of Whist”, explaining the struggle he faced while researching divination cards, which were originally used for games. He found someone from Italy to talk to and learned not only about il tarocchi cards still used for games but how to play a game with them that was not too different from Whist.

Playing cards have four suits: Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, each made up of numbers 1 (ace) to 10, then the “Court” cards of the Jack, Queen, and King. Tarot cards in the Minor Arcana also have their four suits with ace to ten as well, then the Page, the Cavalier, the Queen, and the King. S. R. Kaplan in Tarot Cards for Fun and Fortune Telling states that the ordinary pack of playing cards is a direct descendent from the fourteenth century tarot deck.

The exact origin of tarot cards is often debated, but there is plenty of written evidence dating the use of tarot cards from well before the 15th century. Historians generally refer to the 1440s and the Italian cities of Venice, Milan, Florence, and Urbino when providing a starting point. The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards, believed to be the earliest surviving tarot cards, date back around 1442 and are believed to be the strongest historical analytical evidence.

The original game, now usually referred to as ill tarocchi, involved bidding, melding of points, and taking of tricks. Although tarot games have varied through the centuries and are still played in some parts of Europe, the rules always vary depending on who is playing.

What were the original 4 suits of cards?
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What were the original 4 suits of cards?

The 52-card deck of the 16th-century French deck, known as the “French suits”, retains the four original suits of clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥), and spades (♠). These graphic symbols, or “pips”, were easier to copy than more lavish motifs. Historically, pips were highly variable, giving way to different sets of symbols rooted in geography and culture. They bore symbolic meaning, much like the trump cards of older tarot decks. Unlike tarot, pips were meant as diversion rather than divination.

Despite this, these cards preserved much of the iconography that fascinated 16th-century Europe: astronomy, alchemy, mysticism, and history. Some historians suggest that suits in a deck were meant to represent the four classes of Medieval society, with cups and chalices (modern hearts) standing for the clergy, swords (spades) for the nobility or the military, coins (diamonds) for the merchants, and batons (clubs) for peasants.

However, the disparity in pips from one deck to the next resists such categorization. Paul Bostock, an IPCS council member, believes that the early cards were commissioned by wealthy families, reflecting noblemen’s tastes and interests.

What are the 4 different suits of cards?
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What are the 4 different suits of cards?

Early European playing cards had a lack of uniformity, with decks consisting of 52 cards in four suits: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. The suits were adopted from French playing cards, which were standardized by the mid-fifteenth century. Suits in Italy were similar, and decks in late medieval Germany did not have standard suit symbols or hierarchies.

No cards survive from earlier than about 1430, but contemporary texts suggest that the earliest cards from the fourteenth century had figures borrowed from the social structure at court, including kings and queens, knaves, officials and functionaries, and members of diverse occupations. All were ranked in a distinct order, usually indicated by numbers.

The exhibition The World in Play: Luxury Cards, 1430–1540, focuses on decks of playing cards in late medieval Germany, which did not have standard suit symbols or hierarchies.

What do the four suits represent?
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What do the four suits represent?

The four suits in playing cards represent different aspects of the economy, such as the military, church, merchant class, and agriculture. The Spades suit represents the military, the Hearts suit represents the church, the Diamonds suit represents the merchant class, and the Clubs suit represents agriculture. While most card games, like poker, do not follow a suit order, some, like Bridge and Seven Card Stud, follow suit order from highest to lowest.

Vijaya Bharti, a gaming writer, has a passion for virtual worlds and interactive storytelling, and her understanding of game design and culture is evident in her compelling content. She finds leisure in playing online games, writing about games, and watching web series.

What are the four suits in a Tarot deck?
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What are the four suits in a Tarot deck?

Cartomantic Tarot cards, derived from Latin-suited packs, typically have a Minor Arcana of 56 cards, with 14 cards in each suit: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. The four court cards are page, knight, queen, and king. Some variations have princess and prince cards, while others have damsel and mounted lady cards. The historical Tarot of Marseilles contains 56 cards, while later packs based on French suits have only three court cards per suit. The Minor Arcana is believed to represent mundane life features, while the court cards may represent people one meets. Each suit has distinctive characteristics and connotations.


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What Are The Classic Tarot Card Suits?
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Pramod Shastri

I am Astrologer Pramod Shastri, dedicated to helping people unlock their potential through the ancient wisdom of astrology. Over the years, I have guided clients on career, relationships, and life paths, offering personalized solutions for each individual. With my expertise and profound knowledge, I provide unique insights to help you achieve harmony and success in life.

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4 comments

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  • Brilliant!! 👏👏👏 I watched this twice in a row, the second time to take notes. I’ve long been dissatisfied with the gendered associations of the suits/elements, and even with active/passive associations, but had never come up with anything to replace them. This reactive/responsive and inward/outward system is what I’ve been looking for! Thank you so much! 💖💖💖 You’re a genius. 😘

  • Very eloquently put. I noticed while I was going through the exercises in Tarot on Earth..that if you think about the tarot suits and the words we use to define them, they can run together – the meanings and what they describe – passionate – can be wands or cups, thoughtful can be swords, cups or even pentacles, drive – wands or pentacles…it gets harder to separate them the more you think about it…the elemental description definitely helps.

  • Hi Katey, I’m going to borrow Simon’s word here and say this was BRILLIANT…I can’t tell you how much everything you said here resonated w/me…I want to keep listening to it over and over…lol…you’ve taken all of my thoughts and organized them perfectly. I know I sound like a nut but you know when something just speaks to you…thank you so much for this article!!! You’re awesome!!

  • I also stay away from using genders as associations with anything in tarot and my practice. I had never thought of it in the sense of reactive and responsive though, and this really fits and clicks with me! I was before going off of a yin and yang point of view but something just always felt missing. Thank you for blessing us with your eloquence!

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