Connecting with the Wands and the Pentacles

Joanne Matthew and I are in a loop of inspiring each other’s posts on this site. In her most recent post, she says that the Cups and the Swords are the most important suits, because most of us spend our time in our head, and in our hearts.
I absolutely agree this is the way it is in our culture. I don’t think it’s always a good thing.
I would argue, too, that all the suits are equally important, we Westerners just tend to focus more on thinking and feeling than we do on doing and be-ing.
In fact, we can use this line of thought to bring better balance to our lives.
Joanne makes the wise point that if we can use the elements of Air (Swords) and Water (Cups) in healthy ways, we will be able to experience more fully the blessings of the Fire (Wands) and Earth (Pentacles.) Again, I agree.
If we control our thought and words, and keep them positive and uplifting, we will prosper. If we fill our hearts will love, we will prosper.
I will add to Joanne’s concept the following thought.
What would happen if we spent some time directly focusing on Fire and Earth, instead of living in our minds and hearts all the time?
How would we do that? Well, first, through meditation. If we, in meditation, worked to directly connect ourselves to the Earth that sustains us, would we not be more grounded, and more prosperous?
If we, in meditation, worked to directly download inspiration from the Universe, would we not be more active, more creative, more passionate, and more spiritually attuned?
We would be able to connect more directly with Fire if we made creativity and playfulness more of a priority in our lives.
We would be able to connect more directly with Earth if we spent more time gardening, walking in the woods, appreciating nature and honoring our bodies with good nutrition and exercise.
Through all of these practices, we would bring balance to our lives.
There is a negative aspect to each suit. With Cups (Water) we can experience depression and sadness. With Sword (Air) we can experience anxiety and what the Kabbalists call “Evil Speech.” With Earth (Pentacles) we can experience poverty and drudgery, and with Fire (Wands) we can experience obsession and oppression.
When we focus on each of the four elements of life, we live life in balance. We experience the gifts of each element; clear thought and communication from Air, love and compassion from Water, creativity and passion from Fire, and prosperity and groundedness from Earth.
As we study tarot, and view it in these creative ways, we find new ways to use tarot to bring peace, balance and healing in our lives.
Thank you, Joanne, for your thoughtful and wise concepts about the Minor Arcana.