MAJOR ARCANA, TAROT SPREADS / MARCH 5, 2022 by TAROTGURUDEV
Zodiac signs on Tarot cards originated in the Rider Waite deck. Some decks have fully fleshed out the idea and dedicated a significant part of their art to the zodiac correspondences
There are Beautiful Oracle Decks like this one that are just dedicated to the art of astrology
But did you know that tarot cards also correspond to the signs of the zodiac? You can even purchase specific astrology tarot decks and Zodiac Oracle cards. These decks may further play up the relationship and the possibilities found with certain spreads.
Though you can certainly use any tarot cards to divine information about zodiac signs. It’s all up to you and how far you want to take it. The best part about zodiac signs and tarot cards is that each card in a tarot deck corresponds to a zodiac sign, planet, and element. Thus, allowing for more complex and insightful readings.
What is Your Sign of the Zodiac?
Just in case you haven’t looked up your own sign lately here is a quick review of the Sun signs by birthdate these are the twelve zodiac signs ain western astrology.
- Aries (March 21 – April 19)
- Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
- Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
- Cancer (June 21 – July 22)
- Leo (July 23 – August 22)
- Virgo (August 23 – September 22)
- Libra (September 23 – October 22)
- Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
- Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
- Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
- Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
- Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
A Word about the Chinese Zodiac
This article is a general word about the western zodiac which is keyed to 12 constellations that change every 30 days or so.
The chinese zodiac is beautiful and useful in the hands of skilled practitioner of the art, but it a completely different system.
Chinese astrology uses the imagery of animal signs of the zodiac but the signs only change once a year.
I suppose it is not surprising that a culture with such a long history of stability and cultural continuity would pick a system based on such long and ponderous patterns.
There are oracle decks that focus more on the art of the addorable little animals of the chinese zodiac and gorgeous decks that focus on the goddesses and bodhisattvas that have achieved enlightenment in the buddhist tradition but that is a subject for a whole other article and is too vast to bring up here.
Typically this site refers to the Rider Waite deck and art as well as the many heritage decks of 78 cars it has spawned.
Tarot is a vast subject with many individual areas to study but the rider waite deck usually shows zodiac symbols from Western astrological signs of the zodiac not the the chinese zodiac. Even though it may be informative to consider your horoscope from either zodiac system.
What if I don’t really identify with my Zodiac sign?
Don’t worry if you have ever read the description of your sun sign and decided you don’t really feel like you resonate with it exactly.
Astrological charts are supposed to be looked at in context and patterns identified as your sign moves through the heavens.
If you have never seen your chart I suggest pulling one at Astro.com. But it may look like a pythgorithm puzzle to you if you have never looked at one before, It may be best to have your first reading done by professional astrologers.
Professional astrologers are trained in spotting these heavenly patterns in your chart and may help work with the energy of the stars and planets as the energy they radiate interacts with the energy here on earth.
Fortunately we can help you dive into the Tarot messages about your Zodiac without all that Arcane knowledge, but it is there if you want to take a deep dive on it.
Tarot cards can help highlight these heavenly clues and help you identify patterns for yourself. Keep reading and we will show you how.
The Zodiac Signs in Tarot Cards
With roots going back to the ancient Egyptians, zodiac signs have informed much of what we know about the calendar and how time passes here on earth. For the ancient Egyptians that followed three dozen constellations in the sky, they noticed that each one would appear every hour during the night, with a new one showing up about every 10 days. With this knowledge, they were able to more accurately tell time without the sun, as well as to develop an accurate calendar by monitoring the movements of known constellations.
To this day, astrologers still divide zodiac signs into three equal parts that make up the months of the year. By starting with zodiac signs and then looking to tarot cards, readers can match up Aries, which is the first sign of the zodiac, with the first wands card in the Minor Arcana. Indeed, the Aries fire sign also matches the depiction of fire used in wands cards.
Continuing around the zodiac, the first three cards of a suit are assigned to the corresponding sign, such as 2s, 3s and 4s for Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn signs; 5s, 6s and 7s for Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius; and 8s, 9s and 10s for Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. The leftover aces correspond to all signs of that element, such as the Ace of Cups and the water signs of Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.
While this is the standard way in which zodiac signs correspond to tarot cards, you’re free to use different methodologies or even your own. It’s all up to you as a reader.
Tarot Court Cards and Signs of the Zodiac
There are those who say we come to earth as these signs to develop the characteristics of the description. Astrology should inform our path to enlightenment not be considered an iron clad predestination.
The Zodiac signs on the cards can often help in readings where timing is the basic question.
Many readers swear the cards don’t give timelines but they do if you understand your deck and know how to read the signs.
When it comes to the tarot court cards, things get a little more complicated. Instead of being tied to zodiac signs, each court card belongs to an element in addition to its suit. For example, Pages correspond to earth, Knights to fire, Queens to water, and Kings to air.
But that’s not all. The zodiac signs influence tarot cards by connecting Queens to cardinal elements such as Aries and the Queen of Wands and Cancer and the Queen of Cups; Knights are connected to fixed elements such as Leo and the Knight of Wands and Pisces and the Knight of Cups; and Kings are connected to mutable elements such as Sagittarius and the King of Wands and Scorpio and the King of Cups.
There are also other associations between zodiac signs and tarot cards, whereas each court member belongs to multiple signs. These connections are useful in readings when a specific card keeps coming up — that could indicate an astrological connection to the past. Astrology can also help inform tarot readings by calling attention to an upcoming time of year.
The Zodiac Signs of Tarot Cards
Here are all the tarot cards and corresponding zodiac signs in a tarot deck, which includes six cards per sign.
- Aries tarot cards include The Emperor (IV). The Queen of Wands. The Knight of Pentacles. The Two of Wands. The Three of Wands and the Four of Wands.
- Taurus tarot cards include The Hierophant (V). the Knight of Pentacles. the Knight of Swords. The Five of Pentacles. The Six of Pentacles and the Seven of Pentacles.
- Gemini tarot cards include The Lovers (VI). The Knight of Swords. The Queen of Cups. the Eight of Swords. the Nine of Swords and the Ten of Swords.
- Cancer tarot cards include The Chariot (VII). The Queen of Cups. The Knight of Wands. The Two of Cups. The Three of Cups and the Four of Cups.
- Leo tarot cards include Strength (VII). The Knight of Wands, the King of Pentacles, the Five of Wands, the Six of Wands and the Seven of Wands.
- Virgo tarot cards include The Hermit (IX). The King of Pentacles, the Queen of Swords, the Eight of Pentacles, the Nine of Pentacles and the Ten of Pentacles.
- Libra tarot cards include Justice (XI). The Queen of Swords, the Two of Swords, the Three of Swords and the Four of Swords.
- Scorpio tarot cards include Death (XII). The Knight of Cups, the King of Cups, the Five of Cups, the Six of Cups, and the Seven of Cups.
- Sagittarius tarot cards include Temperance (XIV). The King of Wands, the Queen of Pentacles, the Eight of Wands, the Nine of Wands and the Ten of Wands.
- Capricorn tarot cards include The Devil (XV). The Queen of Pentacles, the Knight of Swords, the Two of Pentacles, the Three of Pentacles and the Four of Pentacles.
- Aquarius tarot cards include The Star (XVII). The Knight of Swords, the King of Cups, the Five of Swords, the Six of Swords and the Seven of Swords.
- Pisces tarot cards include The Moon (XVIII). The King of Cups, the Queen of Wands, the Eight of Cups, the Nine of Cups, and the Ten of Cups.
Zodiac Signs for Major Arcana Tarot Cards
As you can see above, each Major Arcana card corresponds with a Zodiac sign. For instance; The Emperor (IV) for Aries. The Hierophant (V) for Taurus. The Lovers (VI) for Gemini. The Chariot (VII) for Cancer. Strength (VII) for Leo. The Hermit (IX) for Virgo. Justice (XI) for Libra. Death (XIII) for Scorpio. Temperance (XIV) for Sagittarius. The Devil (XV) for Capricorn. The Star (XVII) for Aquarius. And lastly The Moon (XVIII) for Pisces.
Furthermore, aces correspond to zodiac sign types. Such as the Ace of Wands for the fire signs of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. The Ace of Cups for water signs such as Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. The Ace of Swords for air signs such as Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. And the Ace of Pentacles for earth signs such as Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn.
To learn more about how zodiac signs and tarot cards work, visit our Tarot Guru card meanings.
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