Secrets or mysteries. Arcana is the plural form of arcanum, although its usage may be singular or plural. A standard Tarot deck features two sections, the Major Arcana (usually 22 cards with images on them) and the Minor Arcana (usually 56 cards with 16 being “face” cards similar to a pack of playing cards and the remainder being either number or “pip” cards or fully illustrated).
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Sandra Kynes, author of several books, including The Herb Gardener's Essential Guide, Plant Magic, and the new Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical Plants, among many others.
Although a few old books...