Insights Into
the Tarot Card Suits
The purpose of the Tarot card suits is to categorize four major areas of life. The underlying thought here is that we are each quite different, yet all of us are ultimately the same, and undergo similar life experiences on our journey.
That is to say, almost all of us deal with thoughts, emotions, finances, health, and relationships on a daily basis. These core features of life are inevitable and inescapable for every human.
The creators of the Tarot understood this, and so created Tarot card suits to classify each of these separate issues so that interpreters of the cards could more clearly grasp the essence of the larger picture.
Tarot card suits are divided into four classifcations:
This is an ingenious system to assist the mind, psyche, and soul in more deeply interpreting the subtle nuances of reality.
By dividing out the four major aspects of the human saga, our psyche is able to magnetize all the pieces together into a full-featured masterpiece.
That’s what the psyche does best. It transforms choppy bits of data into a fluid, unified stream of full awareness. This is also the process of Tarot interpretation. Essentially, the Tarot is designed much the same way our psyche in constructed. This is why the Tarot, to this day, is still the most utilized oracle and psychic development tool.
In this light, we can see the value of separate Tarot suits. It is when we delve deeper into each suit meaning that our understanding surpasses category, and flows into the unique wholeness of wisdom that the Tarot can provide.
The following is a chart of associations and symbols for the Tarot card suits. Most associations are self-explanatory. A.K.A. stands for “also known as” and notes other terms to which each suit might be referred. Also included in this comprehensive chart are playing cards associated with the Tarot suits, as well as color, season, and other associations.
| Pentacles | Wands | Cups | Swords | |
 |  |  |  | |
| a.k.a.: | Coins, Discs | Rods, Staves | Goblets, Chalices | Blades, Athame’s |
| Symbolism: | Health, Wealth, Physical | Creativity, Action, Passion | Love, Emotion, Empathy | Thought, Challenge, Observation |
| Colors: |  Green |  Yellow |  Red |  Indigo |
| Seasons: | Fall | Spring | Summer | Winter |
| Zodiac: | Taurus Virgo Capricorn | Aries Leo Sagittarius | Cancer Scorpio Pisces | Gemini Libra Aquarius |
| Elements: |  Earth |  Fire |  Water |  Air |
| Realm: | Home | Spirit | Heart | Mind |
| Playing Cards: |  Diamonds |  Clubs |  Hearts |  Spades |
| Gender: | Female | Male | Female | Male |
| Direction: | East | South | West | North |
Click here to read about how I determined the Tarot and playing card suit correspondences.
You may also be interested in this page on the Native American
Medicine Wheel and Tarot Suit Correspondences
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Tarot suit images shown in the above chart are from the Morgan-Greer deck. Permission for image use granted by US Games, Inc.
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