Order of the Minor Arcana suits

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Jul 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Chibi pic pic	07 Jul 2004
I've been doing tarot research for over a year now and I've noticed a few things about the order in which the minor arcana suits are placed. In most books that I've read (and even in Thirteen's interpretations) the order is Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Is there a particular reason (symbolically) why they are in that order or is it just the accepted order by the tarot world?

HudsonGray	07 Jul 2004
I don't know. Over at the ata-tarot.com site it's a completely different order. Maybe most go by how the RW decks organize theirs in their LWB since that's the most common deck in the US? Hard to say.

Rusty Neon	07 Jul 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Chibi pic pic In most books that I've read (and even in Thirteen's interpretations) the order is Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Is there a particular reason (symbolically) why they are in that order or is it just the accepted order by the tarot world? That also is the School of Etteilla's suit order. Using common element-to-suit correspondences, this order yields the element order Fire, Water, Air, Earth - which, in terms of shapes and designs of alchemy's symbols for the four elements, is one of the plausible intuitive orderings for the elements. I wonder if this is a common ordering of the elements in Alchemy. Nota Bene: I know that not everyone uses the above-described element-to-suit correspondences. Therefore, one's mileage may vary.

Fulgour	08 Jul 2004
I think rather than anything occult, the suits reflectively suggest the energies found in the elements: Fire : Big Yang Water : Big Yin Air : Little Yang Earth : Little Yin I like the way Earth, for example, can join Water and Fire being compatible with both... they all blend. In astrology, beginning with Aries in the 1st house, the elements go around: Fire, Earth, Air, Water.

Sillanza	08 Jul 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Chibi pic pic I've been doing tarot research for over a year now and I've noticed a few things about the order in which the minor arcana suits are placed. In most books that I've read (and even in Thirteen's interpretations) the order is Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Is there a particular reason (symbolically) why they are in that order or is it just the accepted order by the tarot world? I thought it was simply boy, girl, boy, girl. :)

Chibi pic pic	09 Jul 2004
When I was doing "first impressions" of the tarot suits, I ordered it Wands, Cups, Pentacles and Swords. It seemed right to me. Since Wands represented creativity and energy, I thought this would be first because it basicly describes most children. Then as children grow older, they delve into the world of emotions (Cups) like their first boy/girlfriend, close friends, etc. Then (or at the same time) people go into the work world (Pentacles) (or in an ideal world, their relationships with a boy/girlfriend becomes physical along with the emotional aspects of Cups). Then after years of circling around Wands, Cups and Pentacles for however many times one needs to, Swords comes last because as you grow older, you look back on your life and try and make sense of it. That was my little take on it. I also ordered it in that way because the suit directions went in order in a clockwise fashion (south, west, north, east). One of my friends is Wiccan and is a lot more into tarot and astrology than I am, and she told me there was symbolism when certain things went in a clockwise or counterclockwise position when pertaining to spells (I can't remember what she said though. Sorry!) I don't know if I'm totally off or not, but I've come to think that most of the interpretations in the tarot is sort of "up to debate" and if you can make a decent case, it's plausable. Any thoughts?

lunalafey	09 Jul 2004
when I call off the elements I say earth air fire water- so that would be Pentacles, Swords, Wands & Cups- but in most books- they seem to start with either swords or wands. Because of the mass differences in books and such- I just stick with the astrological order- that is a constant Fire Earth Air Water.

Fulgour	09 Jul 2004
just a note about directions in astrology _________________________________ Based on the Cardinal signs (solstices and equinoxes): Cancer North (4th house, see tropic of Cancer) Capricorn South (10th house, see tropic of Capricorn) Aries East (1st house, rising sign) Libra West (7th house, decendant) No one I know thinks of Cancer as North or Capricorn as South, but they really are.

Sulis	09 Jul 2004
I put the suits in the order they would appear if they went along with the direction correspondences for air, fire, water and earth. 1. air = swords = east 2. fire = wands = south 3. water = cups = west 4. earth = pentacles = north Love Sulis xx

The 78th Fool	25 Jul 2004
In my own deck I've ordered the suits as follows: Coins Swords Staves Cups Why ? Because it feels right for me!!! I always re - order my other decks in this sequence too. If the cap fits (in whatever shape or size) wear it!! Chris. xx

laura_borealis	25 Jul 2004
I must be a slacker... I don't care how mine are ordered. When I re-order my decks I don't even think about the sequence of the suits.

Eco74	25 Jul 2004
I'm partially on the same track as Chibi pic pic but with a slitely different twist. Firstly the Wands. The sheer creative energy which is pretty much all you have as a newborn child. Secondly the Cups. As you start interacting with others you learn about emotions, feelings and bonds. Thirdly the Swords. Concious thought starts to come into play as the child makes plans for the future and dreams of adventures. Fourth comes the Pentacles. The energy, emotion and thought work together to the ultimate goal or reward that comes from hard work done with a purpouse. *Yay* Another revelations thread that really gets me thinking AND lets me find logical thought and understanding I was not aware of until now. I LOVE these... :o) Edited to add; Not that I order my decks at all after a reading. Once shuffled they remain shuffled, but still it is nice to find some correspondence within the suits.

Cerulean	25 Jul 2004
I like to learn concepts and the first parts of learning might involve a struggle. The air element is first for me. After the learning, the energy to connect to the concepts is growth of green shoots or fired up energy for me, the association of wands. My activity to translate these things in my daily life and physical manifestaton crosses over into earnings and results in the world, which to me is earth, the pentacles or disks or coins. My adjustment of all this is my feeling and reaction--this is the final test and so, in reflection and flow of water or stillness of emotional feeling, this is my last phrase of adjustment. Just my take if there's no order specified. Regards, Cerulean

The Order of the Minor Arcana suits thread was originally posted on 07 Jul 2004 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.