You don't really need to use the minor arcana. You can do a perfectly good reading using only the major arcana. In fact, there are some schools of thought which doubt that the minor arcana was even a part of the original tarot deck, but perhaps added at a later date from some other prognostication source. In a reading, the major arcana represents states of being -- your mental, emotional, a/o spiritual condition in terms of the situation you are attempting to read. The minor arcana describes events or situations, each suit focusing on a different area of your life. So print away, if you like the deck.
I'm going to agree with mimianderly that it's totally possible and legit to do a reading with just the major arcana. You can also experiment with different card spreads if the one you currently use doesn't feel right with fewer cards than you are used to.
If it really drives you nuts to have no minor arcana, you could make most of the minor cards without too much difficulty. The court cards (kings, queens, etc) would be the hard part, unless you just chose to write the card titles on those cards. I did that once when I was working with rough drafts of some cards while trying to see how a computerized deck would work.
Minor cards don't need to be fancy. Decks before the Rider Waite deck (spelling from memory) had minor arcana that resembled playing cards more than symbolic pictures. Think, for example of the 5 of diamonds in a card deck. Just like that, many tarot decks had a 5 of cups card with just a pattern of 5 cups.
Fascinating HP deck by the way. Though Bellatrix as Death is just odd. The card maker must have very, very different associations with the Death card than I do.
I think that the problem is that most people tend to think of the Death card as literally representing death... and it doesn't. It represents change... death, of course, being the ultimate change, but there are a whole host of changes in life before we get there. Death is evolutionary change... a slow process, whereas The Tower also represents change, but a more abrupt -- and seldom pleasant -- one.
It bugs me a bit when the minor arcana cards are just a series of cups, swords, pentacles, or wands. I prefer where an artist actually takes the time to incorporate the proper number of items into a design that represents what the card is about.
Yes, I agree. I'm sure that the artist was thinking that the card represented literal death. Bellatrix as portrayed in the books is pretty much the opposite of change. She is steadfast in her loyalty and in her beliefs. I can only make sense of the card if I think of her as a catalyst for change in others.
The decks I use the most have illustrations on all the minor cards, and I'll probably always read from one of them since they are easier to use. However, since decks didn't start illustrating the minor cards until the early 1900s, I don't feel cheated by a deck done in the older style as long as the packaging lets me know that that is what I'm getting. Similiarly, I have at least one major-arcana-only deck, but don't mind since I knew that's what I was getting.
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Date: 2014-04-10 10:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-10 01:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-10 11:21 am (UTC)If it really drives you nuts to have no minor arcana, you could make most of the minor cards without too much difficulty. The court cards (kings, queens, etc) would be the hard part, unless you just chose to write the card titles on those cards. I did that once when I was working with rough drafts of some cards while trying to see how a computerized deck would work.
Minor cards don't need to be fancy. Decks before the Rider Waite deck (spelling from memory) had minor arcana that resembled playing cards more than symbolic pictures. Think, for example of the 5 of diamonds in a card deck. Just like that, many tarot decks had a 5 of cups card with just a pattern of 5 cups.
Fascinating HP deck by the way. Though Bellatrix as Death is just odd. The card maker must have very, very different associations with the Death card than I do.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-10 01:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-10 04:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-10 01:41 pm (UTC)It bugs me a bit when the minor arcana cards are just a series of cups, swords, pentacles, or wands. I prefer where an artist actually takes the time to incorporate the proper number of items into a design that represents what the card is about.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-10 04:53 pm (UTC)The decks I use the most have illustrations on all the minor cards, and I'll probably always read from one of them since they are easier to use. However, since decks didn't start illustrating the minor cards until the early 1900s, I don't feel cheated by a deck done in the older style as long as the packaging lets me know that that is what I'm getting. Similiarly, I have at least one major-arcana-only deck, but don't mind since I knew that's what I was getting.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-10 10:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-11 05:00 am (UTC)