So, I was tackling the New York Times crossword earlier, just a regular Tuesday, nothing too wild I thought. Then I hit this one clue: “tarot card group.”
My brain immediately started churning. What do they mean by “group”?
My First Few Ideas
You know, the usual suspects popped into my head:
- Major Arcana: That’s a big group, sure. But “MAJORARCANA” is a mouthful and usually too long for a daily puzzle slot unless it’s a big themed one.
- Minor Arcana: Same deal. Important, definitely a group, but again, likely too many letters.
- Suits: Like Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles. “SUITS” is a good length, and they are groups. This felt like a possibility. I kept it in the back of my mind.
But “group” still felt a little different than just “suits.” It felt like it might be aiming for something more encompassing, or perhaps a term for the divisions themselves.
I started thinking about how tarot decks are structured. You’ve got those two main sections. What are they called again? The big ones and the little ones. Not very crossword-y, that description.
I wracked my brain for a bit. Was it a specific number? Like, maybe “FOUR” for the suits? Or “TWENTYTWO” for the Major Arcana cards? Nah, that didn’t feel right for “group.” The clue wasn’t asking for a quantity.
Then it clicked. You have the Major what and the Minor what?
ARCANA!
That’s the word! The Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. “Arcana” itself refers to these divisions, these mysteries or secrets within the deck. It felt like a perfect fit – a specific term for a “group” or “division” of tarot cards, and it’s a nice, common crossword-friendly word.
I typed it in, and the letters just looked good there. It had that “aha!” feeling you get when a clue finally resolves. You go through all these complex possibilities, and then a more general, fitting term is right there. Pretty neat when that happens.
So yeah, that was my little puzzle-solving journey for that particular clue. Always a good feeling to get those sorted.
