How to learn the Minor Arcana through keywords

The Minor Arcana can feel overwhelming when you first start learning tarot. Forty cards, four suits, endless meanings—where do you even begin?

Those who know me and my tarot, knows that I used many years in "memory limbo" before I gave in and let my intuition guide me. One of the most powerful ways to connect with the cards is not through books or memorization, but through intuition. This exercise will help you build a personal bond with the suits, numbers, and images, while creating a practical list of keywords you can return to in your practice and study of the Tarot.

What You’ll Need

• A tarot deck

• Pen and paper

• A quiet space

Step One: Gather the Cards

Take out the Minor Arcana cards from Aces through Tens (the court cards can stay aside for now). Separate them into their four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles.

Step Two: Make Your Lists

On a sheet of paper, write down the numbers 1 to 10 for the first suit you choose—for example, Wands. Leave some space after each number for your key word/intuitive word.

Step Three: One Word Per Card

Take the first card (start with the ace), look at it for a few seconds (long enough for you to discover what is happening in the card, but not long enough to start overthinking anything). What single word comes to you? What is the core of this card, the atmosphere or feeling it instantly portrays to you? It can be something like idea, blessing, beginning. Write that word down next to “1.”Do the same for each card in the suit, working your way through to the ten. The key here is not to study or analyze, but to feel. Let the images speak to you directly.

Repeat this process for each of the other suits until you’ve gone through all forty cards.

Step Four: Your Intuitive Keyword List

By the end, you’ll have a list of intuitive keywords for every numbered card in the Minor Arcana. This is your personal list of key words, built from your own connection with the cards.

What to Do With Your List

• Keep it as a reference. Use it when you do readings, so the words are fresh and personal.

• Go deeper. Notice which words surprised you. Do they differ from traditional meanings? What does that tell you about your intuitive lens?

• Refine over time. As you grow as a reader, you can expand your list, or keep it as a snapshot of your first impressions. Both are valuable.

Why This Works

Tarot is a conversation between the deck and your intuition. While books can guide and inspire, the deepest wisdom often comes from your own first impressions. This exercise lets you bypass mental noise and start trusting what arises naturally.

Suit of swords, Divine & Play Card Deck

My Example: The Suit of Swords

Here’s what came up for me when I did this exercise with the Swords suit. Notice how short and simple the words are, and how some of them differ from traditional meanings, as they are colored from my own life experiences and "reference bank":

1. Ace of Swords – Ideas

2. Two of Swords – Manipulation

3. Three of Swords – Heartache / Sorrow

4. Four of Swords – Resting

5. Five of Swords – The Bully

6. Six of Swords – Escaping

7. Seven of Swords – Holding on to Destructivity

8. Eight of Swords – Trapped

9. Nine of Swords – Insomnia / Mental distress

10. Ten of Swords – End / Defeat
    

As you can see, the list looks familiar to traditional meanings, but some of the words differ, and that’s the beauty of intuitive tarot reading. Your unique perspective is what matters most, so trust what is coming to you. You can always go back to the exercise and do it again as your relationship with the tarot develops. Changing life experiences can (and will!) change how you read the cards over time.