Tarot suits
TarotTarot suits
The suits organize the numbered and court cards of the tarot. In Rider-Waite-Smith they are wands, cups, swords, and pentacles. Each group contributes a field of images, but their cards retain scenes and nuances that should be read individually.
How it is structured
In a complete deck, each suit has fourteen cards: ten numbered and four court figures. The 56 Minor Arcana are distinguished from the 22 Major Arcana. The Spanish and poker decks have other structures, although some suit names allow for close associations.
Useful distinctions
Relating wands to activity, cups to emotions, swords to thought, and pentacles to resources can serve as a first orientation. It is not a universal rule nor does it oblige one to interpret all cards of the same suit in the same way. The scene and the question specify that association.
A practical example
In a project involving friendships, cups may open emotional exchange and pentacles the practical organization. A card from each group allows for comparing what the bond needs and what the task needs. The synthesis does not choose a winning suit: it seeks how they relate.
Bring it into your reading
What area does each suit introduce, and what detail in the scene modifies that initial idea?