Suit

One of the four families of the Minor Arcana: Wands, Cups, Swords, or Pentacles.

A suit is one of the four families of the Minor Arcana, just as a playing deck has hearts, clubs, diamonds, and spades. Tarot's four are Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles, and each carries an element and a theme.

Knowing the suits lets you read half a card before you know anything else about it: Wands are fire and drive, Cups are water and feeling, Swords are air and thought, Pentacles are earth and the material world. When one suit dominates a spread, its element is the weather of the whole reading.

Related terms

• Wands
• Cups
• Swords
• Pentacles
• Minor Arcana

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