Minor Arcana 1 to 10: learn four cards at once

Each of the four suits runs from one to ten, making 40 number cards.

Learning them separately, they easily blur together. Comparing the same number side by side makes them easier to remember.

A silver cup, a wooden staff, a short sword and a gold coin engraved with a pentagram, on green silk

The number is "how far along it is"

Number	Stage	In a phrase
1	Seed	Energy not yet used
2	Two sides	A choice, a partnership, or a standoff
3	Growth	A first result, or one more person
4	Holding steady	Guarding, pausing, sometimes stuck
5	Imbalance	Conflict, loss, discomfort
6	Repair	Giving and receiving, catching your breath
7	Testing	Assessing, holding out alone
8	Movement	Speeding up, focusing, moving on
9	Almost there	Nearly complete, often a result you reach alone
10	Full	Complete, passing it on, or too much to carry

The suit is "where it happens"

Wands are what you want to do. Cups are what's in your heart. Swords are what's in your head. Pentacles are what you can touch.

Put them together: for the Three of Cups, you can link 3 (developing together) and water (feelings) to a shared celebration, then look at the three figures raising their cups in the picture. This is a memory aid, not a substitute for looking at the picture.

The four Fives

Five of Wands: five people tangled in a fight with wooden staves — Five of Wands

Five of Cups: a figure looks down at three spilled cups — Five of Cups

Five of Swords: one person gathers up the swords while two others walk away — Five of Swords

Five of Pentacles: two people walk through the snow past a lit window — Five of Pentacles

A fight, a loss, an ugly win, the cold.

All uncomfortable. But each kind of discomfort looks different. That's what the suit does.

The four Tens

Ten of Wands: a figure carrying ten staves, walking forward — Ten of Wands

Ten of Cups: a family with arms open beneath a rainbow — Ten of Cups

Ten of Swords: a figure lying face down with ten swords in their back — Ten of Swords

Ten of Pentacles: an old man, a family and dogs beneath an archway — Ten of Pentacles

The Ten of Wands is too full, too much to carry. The Ten of Cups is a full heart. The Ten of Swords is often used to talk about an ending, or a situation that's hard to go on with. The Ten of Pentacles is a home built up over generations.

All of them are "full": one overloaded, one fulfilled, one ended, one handed down.

How to practise

Pick a number, lay its four cards side by side, and write one sentence about what they share.
Then write one sentence for each on how it differs from the other three.
After comparing all ten sets, go back to the cards you mix up most.

The number is how far along you are.
The suit is where you're walking.

The full exercise is in the tarot study room: minor cards unit, or try the "56 minor cards" option in the quiz.

Common questions

Do I have to memorise the minor cards?

Start by comparing numbers and suits, then look at the figures, actions and backgrounds. You don't have to memorise them all at once, and don't treat the number formula as the only answer.

Do the numbers mean the same thing in every book?

Not necessarily. Some authors divide up the numbers quite differently. Practise with one system first, then compare how other books explain it.

If you'd like to talk about your own situation, start with the readings on offer.

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