order of the cards

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Sep 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

nexyjo	05 Sep 2001
first, in case anyone is worried about me, i'm in dallas, getting some heavy duty electrolysis done - 4 days of it. this place uses novacane, so it painless, though my face is all swollen from the first day of it. i brought my laptop, so i can logon and check email, but when i get back to the room at night, i have to put an icepack on my face - no there's not a lot of time to surf. anyway, on to my question. does anyone know if there is some "official" order to the cards? obviously, the trumps have an order as they are numbered. but do they come first in order before the minors? do the suits have an order? and do you go from ace to king, or king to ace? or is there really no order, just in the majors? luv and light, nexy

joya250	05 Sep 2001
hiyah Nexy, Hope you're out of there - and feeling better soon! I don't know for sure if there is an "official" order, but I always have arranged my cards as follows: Major Acana, Wands Ace-King, Cups Ace-King, Swords Ace-King, Pentacles Ace-King. I think this might be how the cards come when you first open them, I dunno. But it seems to make sense in terms of process. For example, you are inspired by the "divine spark" of the Wands, which is then tempered by the "Love" of the Cups, then you need the Order and Clarity of the Swords to analyze and plan, and finally, it all manifests in the Physical Realm of the Pentacles. zzzzzzzzz, is it Friday yet?

tarotbear	05 Sep 2001
Nexy, I hope you are feeling better and the new you is great! I don't know if there is an 'official order' either. I always put the Majors first with the Fool first through the World. I always do the Ace through the King, but do not have a preference for a Suit order. I dislike it when a book starts with the King and goes through the suit backwards, ending with the Ace, which is the card of beginnings! GOOD LUCK, NEXY!!!

MeeWah	05 Sep 2001
Nexyjo: I use the same "order" as Joya. The Major Arcana is first for they epitomize the principles or the life lessons. The minor arcana are from Ace--Aces being the raw energy of the suit that is gradually utilized or diffused or from the numerical progression 1 through 10, or completion. Court cards begin at the beginning or lowest denominator of Page & ascend through King. As for the suits--Wands pertain to Spirit from where it all begins; the inner promptings as Joya expressed it aptly: the "divine spark". Cups pertain to feelings & emotions, as one feels first before being able to articulate. Swords pertain to the mental realm where thought or intellect processes the foregoing & makes assessments. Pentacles pertain to manifestation or fruition--the "done deal". The order encompasses the concept of "as above, so below". What is manifested in the material/physical world cannot exist without it first being present in Spirit, & it filters down through the other levels.

jade	06 Sep 2001
nexyjo, best of luck with your many changes. in light, jade :-)

Kiama	06 Sep 2001
First of all... GO NEXY! GO NEXY! BE YOU! BE YOU!!!! (Your true self I mean!) Secondly, I put my Majors from Fool to World. My Minors I put from Ace to King, although I know some decks and people who prefer Ace to Queen.... and Magician to Fool... In suit order, I usually do it with respect on which suit I like the best in that deck. So with my Robin Wood, I go Cups, Wands, Pentacles, Swords... Hope you're feeling great soon! Kiama

nexyjo	06 Sep 2001
thanks for your responses, and for all your well wishes. i'm hanging in there, my face looks like a red balloon, though more than half my facial hair is gone (woohoo), though since it grows in cycles, i'm sure i'll be back. of course they're booked for months in advance. and at over $100 an hour, per electrolysist, they are racking in the bucks. sheesh, i'm in the wrong business... anyway, i like the order of wands, cups, swords, and pentacles, after the majors - it makes sense. i've gotten decks in a variety of "orders", so i figured there was not an official order. i also see the minors from going from ace to king, but a few come out of the box reversed, and a few books run through them reversed. does anyone use the entire deck's numerology this way, from 0 to 78, or is that 0 to 77? yes, 0 - 77... luv and light, nexy

The order of the cards thread was originally posted on 05 Sep 2001 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.