You’ve probably seen Tarot cards before, haven’t you? You know, those interesting cards most psychics use to help “predict” your future? Well, did you know that they are very closely tied to astrology? It makes sense; both are used in predicting outcomes in your life as well as telling you more about yourself.
What Exactly Are Tarot Cards?
Tarot cards originated in the 15th century in numerous parts of Europe and were initially used as playing cards. However, it was during the 18th century that mystics and occultists began to use the deck of cards as sources of divination as well as a map of mental and spiritual pathways.
From the 18th century to present time, tarot reading (i.e. cartomancy) has been used to provide insight into the past, present, and future situations by simply posing a question to the cards and having the cards “answer”.
Tarot decks contain 78 cards, and are divided into the Major and Minor arcana.
The Major Arcana are the 22 “trump cards”, each of which depicts a scene, mostly featuring a person or several people, with many symbolic elements.
The Minor Arcana are the other 56 cards, each divided into four suits: Pentacles, Swords, Cups, and Wands. The Minor Arcana are believed to represent relatively mundane features of life. Similar to Astrology, each suit is assigned an element.
- Pentacles (Coins, Rings, Disks) = Earth
- Swords = Air
- Cups (Chalices) = Water
- Wands (Batons, Clubs, Staves) = Fire
Below is a chart that I constructed to help illustrate the relation not just between the suits and elements, but as well as their correlating French suit (found in your typical everyday playing cards), their class, and their faculties.
Artistically made by my own hand using Paint, thank you.
So how does this tie back to Astrology?
Each zodiac sign is linked to a trump card within the Major Arcana. These cards contain archetypal characters that serve to represent each sign’s personality traits. Find yours below!
As you can see, only 12 of the 22 trump cards are chosen specifically for the zodiac. However, each trump card also has its own set of symbols and meanings! For more information, visit this website.
Recently, for my birthday last month, my friend bought me a book called Tarot and Astrology by Corinne Kenner, and I’ve found that it’s a very good source of information and frankly quite interesting by itself. If you’re interested in learning more, consider checking it out!
I hope you guys enjoyed learning about how these two divination practices tie together, because I know I sure did!
See you next time!
–Jessy
featured image taken from this website
gallery images all taken from here
astrology fix 