DIV-201 Lessons

As the students enter the room, Professor Fayge is not anywhere to be seen. Her desk is uncharacteristically cleaned off and hushed whispers ponder her whereabouts. Just as the bell chimes for the start of the lesson, Professor Fayge emerges from the back room wearing a curious velvet cardigan in sage green. It seems to be speckled with a faint shimmer of gold and lined at the bottom with tassels that sway with an ethereal essence. She dims the lights with her wand as she walks, then sits on the edge of her desk to address the class with a smile.

Welcome, welcome! It is so lovely to see you all. As predicted, those of you who studied fared well on the midterm exam. Well done! Today we will be discussing the Minor Arcana, which is quite a misleading name as the Minor Arcana contains 56 cards - many more than the Major Arcana! There are so many cards to discuss, but rather than bombard you with a multitude of card meanings, I will instead focus only on a few cards from a single suit. This will mean you will need to research the cards yourself in your own time. Luckily, I have made some extra credit assignments available for those of you who would like to strengthen your knowledge and earn house points while doing so! Personal research is personally my preferred method of solidifying spiritual concepts such as these. With time and practice I know you will learn all of the cards; however, there is no rush! As with all things, your Inner Eye will need time and practice. Now, on your desk you will find a wide representation of these cards. Please look, admire, and acknowledge the selection you have.

What is the Minor Arcana?
As we have discussed, the Minor Arcana is divided into four suits: wands, swords, cups, and pentacles. The aforementioned suits represent different aspects of everyday life as well as temporary situations. Events represented by these cards in your readings tend to occur or resolve fairly quickly. Below you will find the same chart that was introduced in Lesson Three. Today we will be explaining it in more detail and going in depth into a small selection of cards, while the rest we will save for your homework.

Wands
Wands is a suit that often represents actions, similar to how we use our wands to enact magic. Its associated element and realm help us to remember this by relating back to it. It relates to the fire within all of us that fuels our drive. Wands embody our own personal spirit - the things within us that give us strength and hope to continue on. This suit often will address our primal passions and ambitions, awaken spiritual consciousness and inner wisdom, or even reveal facets of our personality that actively operate as obstacles. There are endless possibilities, though, so please remember to always keep your Inner Eye when doing a reading. Oh, and when in reference to a significator (a card that represents a person), wands tend to represent people born under a fire sign. These are Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius.

Pentacles
Pentacles is a suit of money, wealth, and manifestation. A trick to remember this is to note the round, coin-like shapes that bring to mind various types of currency from all over the world. If you find your reading is filled with pentacles, this could be pointing to a sudden influx (or loss!) of money. It can also serve as a warning that you are being too greedy. Because of pentacles’ association with money and the Earth, they also often refer to the physical world, such as one’s career or overall surroundings. Pentacles tend to represent people born under an earth sign. These are Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn.

Cups
Cups is a suit of emotion and relationships. Our emotional state tends to ebb and flow like the water of a river or ocean and should be monitored with attentive intuition. Because emotions often stem from the heart, introspection is key. The suit of Cups encourages openness, creativity, and romanticism.  An abundance of cups may show that an inner cleansing is in order, or that there are overlooked feelings that will bubble over if not addressed quickly. Cups tend to represent people born under a water sign. These are Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. 

Swords
Swords is a suit of logic. It is often found that cups and swords do not go together well, as swords are the exact opposite of cups. (Think about it for a moment: does your heart not often clash with logic?) Swords cards draw their power from intellect and reason.  People who are guided by swords want to feel prepared; they want to know that when they go into a situation, they have all the necessary facts to be successful in their endeavours. Finding a lot of swords in your reading may indicate that you must prepare to take courageous action soon, that success can be found through a thorough analysis and strategic thinking, or that you need to work on thinking more logically about your ongoing conflicts. Swords tend to represent people born under an air sign. These are Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius.

Number and Faces
Each number or court card (page, king, etc.) also holds a certain type of meaning across the four suits. Aces or ones are the first cards in each suit and therefore often represent a beginning - the start of something new such as a relationship or a journey. Twos can represent unease and restlessness. Perhaps things are happening and you want to be out there in them, even though you may find yourself unable to be there. Threes represent inherent strength. Sometimes this can be power you may not realise you already have, in which threes might invite you to call upon it. Fours are cards of harmony and togetherness. They show us that things are running smoothly. Fives are the opposite, being cards of strife and discord. Sixes, however, are cards of great victory and challenges overcome. Sevens represent obstacles on the horizon that may cross your path. Eights are the card of activity, be it mental or physical, which can signal either progress or chaos. Nines are cards of recuperation and taking time to yourself. Tens are cards of burden and things being put upon you that you may not want. Pages (also known as Knaves) are receivers of messages, often secret and important. Knights are defenders, naturally, but can also aid you on your journeys. Queens embody emotional maturity, self-control (as well as controlling events around you), and composure. Finally, the kings of the deck imply intensity, leadership, and ultimate authority.

The Suit of Pentacles
For the rest of class, we will be looking at a suit in particular -- pentacles in this case -- and examining how the general meaning and implications of pentacles meshes with the general meanings ascribed to various cards of the deck to create much more detailed, nuanced readings. Before we do so, we will have a quick refresher on pentacles to get you in the mindset, as well as cover a few more details and connections common to this suit.

Pentacles: A Deeper Look
Located within the Minor Arcana, many believe the suit of pentacles is representative of money. Also known as the suit of coins, each card usually includes the image of a pentacle (that is a five pointed star) on the card face, however in some decks no pentacle is present. Despite the connection to money and wealth, the suit of pentacles is also representative of prosperity and the search for monetary well being, not just increasing your balance at Gringotts!  Whilst prosperity is the most important aspect associated with the cards that comprise the suit, we can also see a connection to ideas of physical comfort, security, stability, and growth in one’s situation. In some circumstances, this stability and security may be mistaken for boredom at the monotony of life. Overall, I see the suit of pentacles as representative of a life of stability - be it financial, spiritual, or emotional - and a means by which to live a life to its absolute potential. Ultimately, the suit of pentacles is associated with the element of earth, a very common element in many divinatory methods.

As with the other suits, the suit of pentacles contains fourteen cards. As stated earlier, each card usually includes an image of a pentacle somewhere on the card face and is typically the focal point of the image. Whilst the depiction of the suit of pentacles on the handout includes visual representations, it must be reiterated that tarot decks differ in artistic representations though not usually in meaning. Of course, some decks do add personalised information to a reading. For example, our handout shows the two of pentacles as two floating balls bearing pentacles, whereas the following card clearly depicts hands outstretched, offering them up. Therefore, I suggest familiarising yourself with a range of tarot decks until you find one which feels like a part of you, like another Eye if you will.

Now, looking at your handout you can see a very brief (and incomplete) explanation for each of our cards in the suit of pentacles. This is not an accident, as I wish for you to research the suit yourself to better understand the various meanings attributed to each card. If I were to detail each card during class, we would be here past suppertime and, in my opinion, that would simply be unacceptable. Therefore, I will select my favourite five cards from the suit of pentacles to show you the level of research I will expect in your assignment for this lesson. 

The Ace of Pentacles:                                       
I personally like this card due to the fact it represents a new opportunity when in its upright state. Considering I see this new professorship as a new opportunity, I am rather surprised it did not appear in my reading just last week! In its reversed form -- remember, as we discussed in Lesson Three, “reversed” means that it is drawn upside down, and can have a multitude of implications for the card’s meaning -- the card represents a lack of consideration or preparation for the future, or a missed opportunity.

The Three of Pentacles:
This card appeals to me due to the assigned meaning of working hard and being appreciated for it. This may mean achieving mastery or perfection in a given field. In the reversed form, the three of pentacles represents a delay in progress or a lack of appreciation for work completed. Also, the reversed card may represent a disregard for the ability or teamwork involved in completing a task.

The Eight of Pentacles:
I consider this my teaching card. The eight of pentacles is known to represent an engagement in one’s education and possible job opportunities to come. However, when reversed the eight of pentacles is representative of unhealthy perfectionism or a lack of focus in education and training.

The Ten of Pentacles:
If you are looking for a card to show success, this is the card for you! The ten of pentacles represents the idea of accomplishment and wellbeing. Be it familial prosperity, financial abundance, or newfound contentment, seeing the ten of pentacles in a spread is quite a good omen. However when in a reversed state, the ten of pentacles depicts the burden of chasing wealth, such as debt or exhaustion. It reminds you to challenge your current goals and consider truly authentic desires for yourself.

The Queen of Pentacles:
The most motherly of the suit of pentacles, this card represents relaxed composure and security in a situation. Though the queen of pentacles represents luxury, it also suggests the sharing of wealth. In a reversed state, the queen of pentacles shows imbalance in a family or work situation, often through neglecting assigned duties.

Closing Time
Before you all go for the day, I’m sure you will have noticed that we only talked about one suit today, when there are three others! I have done this because you really don’t need me to stand over you and give you a lecture on every single card's meaning. As has been touched on earlier, tarot decks frequently come with guidebooks. These guidebooks, though they differ in terms of nuances of meaning, are excellent resources. You can find an abbreviated guidebook here. This “cheat sheet” is from the Rider-Waite deck, which is the most common deck in the tarot world because it is so approachable for beginners, as I mentioned earlier in the year. If you use a different deck, that is absolutely fine, and please simply use your own guidebook, but if you do not have one, this can be a substitute! Use it well!

That concludes today’s class. I hope you have enjoyed this look further into the world of tarot. Next lesson we will move on from looking at individual card meanings and instead look at other necessities of doing a reading. In closing, you have two assignments this week: a ten question quiz and a research project where I am asking you to research another selection of cards from the Minor Arcana. Do not fret, it is not as hard as it seems!

Original lesson written by Professor Jessica Marrow
Additional portions written by Professor Inarid Fayge
Image credits here