There are seventy-eight cards in most tarot decks, divided into two categories: Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. The word “arcana” means “secrets or mysteries.”
Major Arcana
This group consists of the first twenty-two cards, star. These cards depict archetypes, big ideas, and qualities that create the landscape of one’s life.
Minor Arcana
These are the other fifty-six cards. They represent our daily victories, mindsets, and struggles. These cards are organized in four suits with corresponding elements and meanings:
- Wands: fire, action, energy, creativity, warmth, the light in another’s eyes, connection to the Sun and Mars. Magical Nature Tarot (MNT) wand cards depict both wands and golden “fire” (created by dropping Copper oxide in Coreopsis ink).
- Cups: water, tears, flow, emotions, intuition, waves, tides, connection to the Moon and Venus. MNT cup images come in a variety of colors and shapes. Copper oxide ink (light blue-green color) is in most cups cards.
- Swords: air, the mind, fortitude, a strong spine, cutting or slicing, boundaries, intellectual activity, connection to Saturn. The MNT sword images vary in size, style, and color and are often made out of Acorn cap or Black walnut ink.
- Pentacles: grounding, gratitude, soil, interconnectivity, moving at a slow pace, connection to the Earth and Mercury. These MNT cards have round, crystalline talismans created by dropping Copper oxide in different inks (usually Black walnut).
Coven (“court”) Cards
These sixteen cards are included in the suits and are also known as the “court” or “face” cards. They are the last four cards in each suit. In the MNT deck, these cards are the Seeker, Apprentice, Mentor, and Ancestor. They correspond with the court cards in a traditional deck as follows:
- Seeker = Page
- Apprentice = Knight
- Mentor = King
- Ancestor = Queen
Magical Nature Tarot 