The 16 minor arcana of the Persian tarot: concrete events

The minor arcana are the cards of the concrete. They are the numbered cards of the four families — and the Persian tarot keeps only four per family: the 3, the 5, the 6 and the 10.
Where the major arcana give the theme and the intermediate cards the people, the 16 minor arcana say what happens.

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The 16 minor arcana: the facts of a reading

In the Persian tarot, the minor arcana play the part of the detail. A major arcanum tells you a cycle is ending; a minor arcanum tells you how that will show up: a journey, an unplanned expense, a reconciliation, a contract going through.

They are always read paired with their family: the same number changes meaning completely depending on whether it falls in Sickles, Scimitars, Hearts or Shields.

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The 16 minor arcana and their meanings

Four numbers, four families: sixteen concrete situations.

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What the minor arcana reveal in a reading

A reading dominated by minor arcana describes an operational stretch: no great turning point, but facts to handle, steps to take, errands to run.

• The 3 is the card of what comes through: a project approved, a joy, a step up.
• The 5 speaks of a cost or a relief — there is always a counterpart.
• The 6 is the card of the brake: delay, setback, an ordeal to get through.
• The 10 closes its family's path: material comfort in Shields, passion in Hearts, the end of a crisis in Scimitars, departure in Sickles.

A family that comes back several times in one reading points to the area to watch: three Shield cards, and it is your wallet leading the dance.

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Your questions about the Persian tarot minor arcana

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