Tarot Suits

Before the Rider Waite Smith deck pumped Tarot full of western esotericism like it was botox, Tarot used the same suits as Italian playing cards: Cups, Coins, Rods, and Swords. Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith replaced Coins with Pentacles and Rods with Wands, presumably because it looked more mystical and occulty. I find this tawdry, but I’ll forgive them because Smith’s work revolutionized Tarot as a visual artform and she doesn't get enough credit for that.

Most European playing cards use the four-suit structure. I assume you’re familiar with Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades? Those are French. Acorns, Hearts, Leaves, and Bells are German. Beer, Donuts, Skateboards, and Saxophones are the suits I would use if I designed a Tarot deck based on The Simpsons, which is irrelevant but I wanted to tell somebody.

Where Do The Suits Come From?

In the days of yore, when humans had tails and the dinosaur stock market was on the verge of crashing, the clouds parted and a voice said, “Life’s about four things! You should make some cards with four, like, sections. And those sections will represent the four things life is about. You know, the ones I just mentioned. See how tidy that is?”

Beyond the fact that Tarot shares a common ancestor with playing cards and that, somewhere along the way, the four-suit format stuck, we don’t really know where the suits came from. Historians weren't meticulously documenting the evolution of playing cards, probably because they were busy with thing like famine and coups.

The best theory we have is that the four suits represent different social classes, with Cups being the clergy, Coins the merchants, Rods the peasantry, and Swords the nobility or military. I say this is the best theory because 1) I like it and 2) I think it makes sense, but it’s more speculation than fact. That being said, the suit-to-class parallels are relevant to how we interpret Tarot. So, even if the suits were not designed to represent social class, I still think this theory is worth bearing in mind for the purposes of Tarot reading.

Cups

Cups take charge of the emotional realm. Love, joy, family, friendship; In Tarot, all sentimental matters are the purview of Cups. Under the Suits-As-Social-Class hypothesis, Cups represent the clergy. I realize clergy brings up some unsavoury history, but let’s launder that out for the sake of the metaphor and solve the patriarchal weaponization of religion later. Once upon a time, spiritual leaders were one of the closest existing professions to a modern-day therapist, being responsible for their community’s emotional, personal, and spiritual wellbeing. Traditionally, Cups are read as a positive suit, but I wouldn’t take good news as a given just because there’s a banquet’s worth of Cups on the table. However, while I’m skeptical of broad positive-or-negative interpretations for any suit, I will say that Cups represent the most rewarding and valuable aspects of human experience. What are we without love, fellowship, and community? It’s soppy, but when Cthulhu rises let’s see how well you fare without a tribe.

Coins (Pentacles)

Most literally, Coins are about money. How to get it, whether you’ll have it, how you’re handling it, money, money, money. But the thing about money is that it’s not inherently valuable. It’s only valuable because of what it can provide. Thus, while Coins do represent money, they also represent resource, comfort, and luxury. They signify the merchant class, the money experts. In a post-Rider Waite Smith world, Coins (or Pentacles) recognize the relationship between profit and skill, and we count craftsmanship and expertise among their themes.

In more contemporary interpretations, Coins deal with the material. I won’t argue with this read. It broadens the scope of the suit while staying close to the Coins’ traditional themes. At their core, Coins represent the building blocks of comfortable living: housing, income, skill, business affairs, free time, health. In matters of stability, look to the Coins.

Rods (Wands)

There’s something inherently physical about the Rods. Before being referred to as Rods, they were called batons (a bludgeonding weapon) or polo sticks (a piece of sporting equipment). This is apt, as Rods deal with themes of labour, ambition, and motivation. They’re about getting things done, and would probably deliver a hell of a motivational speech.

Rods represent the labour class, those getting through life by the grace of their sweating brows and aching hands; milking fields, tilling livestock, and other peasant things. In classical Tarot, the labour aspect of Rods is emphasized, and they’re considered a bad-news suit. That being said, while Rods as labour is a perfectly valid read, so is Rods as passion, creativity, and determination. The Rods represent where we put our effort, and a reading full of Rods is likely trying to communicate whether we’re exerting in the right direction.

Swords

Swords are divisive. (The pun was legitimately unintended, I’m horrified). Traditionally, Swords are almost exclusively bad. Conflict, strife, betrayal, Swords embody all the things we don’t want. Contemporary Tarot takes a lighter view, seeing Swords as being about intellect and problem-solving. As someone who wears black head-to-toe even in the height of summer, I don’t often advocate for adding brightness to things. However, while the more forgiving version of Swords is a little flat for my liking, the sweeping doom-and-gloom of the Renaissance interpretation is heavy-handed and not particularly helpful. I think there’s a middle ground that allows the suit of Swords to stay true to its struggle-bus roots while still being constructive.

Swords are supposed to represent the nobility or military classes. It doesn’t matter which because they both have the same aim: maintaining order. Read this way, Swords address how adversity can be confronted with logic, strategy, and critical thinking. The Swords are a brainy suit. The function of the brain is to anticipate obstacles and deal with them. It’s not unfair to say that more Swords means more problems. (I believe there’s a rapper who said that). But even if the horizon is full of knives, we get to choose whether to accept the blows or map a better route. Swords suck, but they give us the opportunity to plan better.

Conclusion

Oh, sorry, you wanted a shorthand? Fine.

·      Cups: Emotions, sentimentality

·      Coins: Resource, luxury, the material

·      Rods: Action, labour, ambition

·      Swords: Strife, cognition, problem-solving

That’s the long and short of it. Understanding the broad themes of the Tarot suits can help define the tone of a reading at a glance. A reading dominated by Cups and Coins might suggest the enjoyment of creature comforts, whereas Coins and Swords might indicate that our comfort is threatened. The specifics will, of course, be determined by the cards at play, and chances are you’ll be focusing on connecting the individual cards more than what percentage of the spread is Rods. But when the nitty-gritty isn’t clear, and the reading looks like gobbledygook, it can be helpful to take a broader view and look first to the suits.