What Do the Four Suits of the Tarot Mean

What do the four suits of the Tarot mean?

Let us know,
Celestian

With the hundreds of decks in print, not all decks have the same suit associations.
With that, there are still the traditional representations which are:
Cups- Water- Emotional, feelings
Swords- Air- Mental, thoughts
Wands- Fire- Spiritual, faith
Pentacles- Earth- Physical, possessions (money)
With some decks the elemental association between Wands & Swords is swapped; Wands being Air and Swords being Fire.
Time and Seasons associated with the suits also varies, but my associations are typically:
Pentacles- Midnight/Winter
Wands- Morning/Spring
Cups- Midday/Summer
Swords- Evening/Fall
There is also the Male-Female aspects of Wands and Cups. Wands is the creative, life giving energy of the Male and the Cups is the womb that nurtures that life.

Owl Ka Myst wrote:

With some decks the elemental association between Wands & Swords is swapped; Wands being Air and Swords being Fire.

Does it affect the meaning of the individual cards when swapped?

ninja_dragon wrote:

Owl Ka Myst wrote:

With some decks the elemental association between Wands & Swords is swapped; Wands being Air and Swords being Fire.

Does it affect the meaning of the individual cards when swapped?

It has been my experience that, to a degree, yes, but over all, no. Yet it is all a matter of how you see things.

For example; the 2 of Wands in its most simplest of meanings is the need to make a choice. The 2 of Swords is about being at a crossroad. Either card is basically about a decision.
Where Swords is blockage, Wands are Expressive.
These can be spiritual blockages or opportunities, they can be mental obstacles or inspiration. Depending on the deck, be it; Wd/A-Sw/F or Wd/F-Sw/A then the right card for the right situation will come up.
Wands has a creative nature about them and Swords is a suit that takes action, either way there is something of substance that comes out of both of these.

I feel it is a bit hard to explain without have two decks, one of each, and be able to throw some cards around.

Hi Owl Ka Myst,

Could you please site some decks that reverses the air and fire elements in Wands and Swords? Interesting enough.

Cheers,
Celestian

Celestian wrote:

Hi Owl Ka Myst,

Could you please site some decks that reverses the air and fire elements in Wands and Swords? Interesting enough.

Cheers,
Celestian

The only deck I can think of, off the top of my head, is 'Legends' and I think Voyager, but I can't be 100% sure on that one.
There are a few others, and there are decks that really mix things around between the suits and elements, but I do not own any of those so I could not tell you which one's those are with out a bit of research.
Then there are the decks that call 'blood' and element for the suit of Swords, again, which decks, I would have to dig up that info.

I have had many a deck pass through my hands and I have noticed these things, but I only actually own just a few.