The four suits
Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles. The same elements as astrology.
- WANDS: fire. Drive, ambition, work, the urge to make. "What do I want to do?"
- CUPS: water. Feeling, relationship, intuition. "What do I feel?"
- SWORDS: air. Thought, speech, truth, conflict. "What do I think?"
- PENTACLES: earth. Money, body, work, the tangible. "What do I actually have?"
The same four elements
If you did the astrology chapter this will look familiar: the same four elements. If a spread is heavy on Swords the matter is in your head; heavy on Cups and it is in the heart. Even without knowing card names, that much gets you started.
Swords are the harshest suit and they scare beginners. But a sword is not for cutting: it is for SEPARATING: telling what is true from what is a story you told yourself.
Which suit covers money and the body?
Pentacles are earth: everything you can touch.