Hello, hello,
How are you doing?
Today, for you all tarot and astrology lovers, I'd like to give a short and sweet summary of the tarot correspondences in the Major Arcana.
If you've never heard about it, the astrology correspondences is the idea of linking one card to one astrological thing, such as to a zodiac sign, a decan of the zodiac, a planet or one of the 4 elements.
As far as we know, the tarot correspondences were developed and popularized by the secret magical society of the Golden Dawn, about a hundred years ago.
By the way, Arthur Waite, the Waite of the Smith-Waite deck, was an active member of the Golden Dawn.
Today, I’m simply going to run through the Major Arcana and each of the cards’ astrological correspondence as given by the Golden Dawn. Diving into the correspondences with the Minor Arcana will be a whole other journey.
As we go through the correspondences, please do bear in mind that there are other astrological correspondences that exist. Feel free to disagree and to even create your own.
Apparently even within the Golden Dawn not everyone agreed with the correspondences, haha.
One final note before we dive in, but I've also made a video version of this post. So if you're in the mood of watching rather than reading, here you are:
Without further ado, let’s start this short intro to the astrology correspondences! Even though I'm following the correspondences created by the Goden Dawn, I'll be giving my own interpretation of the cards.
I'll only be giving a brief description of each card, but if you want a more lengthy description of the meaning of each correspondences, you can read my post on the zodiac correspondences and on the planet correspondences in the Major Arcana.
0. The Fool = Uranus
actually, scratch that. The Fool = elemental air
Okay, there’s a trap right from the start. Ha ha.
The Fool being linked to Uranus is an even more recent invention, as the Golden Dawn didn’t use the modern planets in their correspondences. So no Uranus, Neptune or Pluto.
For them, the Fool was elemental air or pure air .
And I haven’t found when and who first started this association, so if you know, please share your wisdom with us.
But both elemental air and Uranus represent openness, freedom of thought and being forward-thinking.
1. The Magician = Mercury
A card about creating with the mind and understanding the world around you. Mercury is about taking in the world, sorting it with your own mind and then expressing it externally. The Magician is notably about manifesting your ideas, so they very much have the same vibe.
2. The High Priestess = The Moon
Intuition, awareness of your inner world, dreams, a deep understanding of the cycles of life. Indeed, the High Priestess is very lunar. This correspondence emphasize the intuitive side of the High Priestess.
3. The Empress = Venus
Pleasure, beauty, harmony, joy. All the good stuff of lovely Venus. This card is about receiving and enjoying the good things of life.
4. The Emperor = Aries
Our first sign of the zodiac! Will power and intensity. Here’s a very fierce Aries. This correspondence is about affirming yourself, bravely.
5. Hierophant = Taurus
This one was a bit of a surprise to me, but I can see how it makes sense. A respect for traditions, taking it slowly and being grounded. Taurus embodies this deep wisdom of what makes a simple, humble and good life. For me that's one of the big lesson he Hierophant offers.
6. The Lovers = Gemini
Choices, wondering and pondering. Gemini and the Lovers are about being curious, nearly scattered. They both teach us how to keep broadening and complexifying our world, while remembering that each time we say yes to something, we're saying no to something else
7. The Chariot = Cancer
Fun fact, but Cancer is ruled by the Moon and on the Chariot in the Smith-Waite tarot you can see lunar symbols. Cancer and the Chariot are about easing in the flow of life, and finding the right balance between control and letting go.
8. Strength = Leo
Hey, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but we’re going in the order of the zodiac!
Some people believe Strength and Justice were reversed from the original Marseille Tarot in order to preserve the order of the zodiac.
The Strength card and Leo are about being true to your self. Of having the courage to shine your own light.
9. The Hermit = Virgo
Personally I’m not a big fan of this association because Virgo is already seen as a killjoy in the zodiac, and having the Hermit as its correspondence doesn’t really help, does it?
But being meticulous, gathering knowledge and experiences and only following what seems right to you Is very Virgo-esque.
10. The Wheel of Fortune = Jupiter
Jupiter, the bigness of life, the meaning of life, having faith in what will happen and a deep desire to always go beyond. Jupiter puts a positive spin on the Wheel of Fortune. It reminds us that whenever things go down, they'll go up again.
11. Justice = Libra
I love this one. Libra is ruled by Venus, and here we see the righteous side of Venus. Venus is not all about cuddles and candles. Venus wants peace and she’s ready to fight for it. This correspondence is abut how justice must be fair and always attentive to both parties involved.
12. The Hanged One = elemental water
Or you’ll often see the Hanged One associated with Neptune, which is a very watery planet. Pure water, Neptune and the Hanged One are about being completely immersed in your inner world and just feeling it. They're about those inactive and necessary times.
13. Death = Scorpio
Wow, scary Scorpio. This card is about deep and true endings in all their sorrow, richness and glory. It's about the intensity of our feelings and about their stagnation, which ferments and mature to give birth to something different and unexpected in ourselves.
14. Temperance = Sagittarius
Expand, go beyond, but in a temperate and jovial way. In my humbled opinion, Temperance an Sagittarius really are a good fit. They both have an optimistic yet very wise energy. They encourage you to move forward but in a slow and steady way.
15. The Devil = Capricorn
My, my, poor Capricorn being associated with deep obsessions, being too rigid and a problem with boundaries. Granted, both the Devil and Capricorn have a harshness, an extremeness to them. They're about pushing the limits and truly getting to know what works, what is healthy for you and only you.
16. Tower = Mars
Burn it all to the ground! Mars is the planet of war and anger. It's this outpouring of energy. So it's a match made in hell with the Tower, hoho. Both those cards speak about this raw fuel in us and in the world that can destroy so much. But destruction is sometimes very much needed.
17. The Star = Aquarius
A very sweet take on Aquarius as the one who brings hope, the one who wishes for better times in the future. Aquarius is the idealist of the zodiac. The Star and Aquarius belive they can bring change.
18. The Moon = Pisces
Our last sign of the zodiac! The Moon is a very slippery but grandiose card. The Moon stretches beyond everything to see something more, just like Pisces. The Moon and Pisces invite you to dissolve your prejudices and see what is really important at a human level.
19. The Sun = The Sun
Pretty obvious, no? Maybe not, since the Moon is associated with Pisces and not the Moon.
The Sun is about seeing things in a clearer way. It's about touching this core true self and finding new ways to express it in the world, with wamrth and serenity.
20. Judgment = elemental Fire
Or Pluto. Again I don’t know since when folks associated Judgment with Pluto, and maybe it should be demoted since Pluto is no longer auplanet, hi hi hi.
Judgement is about shifting into a new chapter in your life, simply because you've grown out of your current cycle. Pluto is about power, secrets and radical honesty. They're both about moving towards something that feels truer to you.
21. The World = Saturn and Elemental Earth
I guess the Golden Dawn messed up somewhere and had to assign two meanings to the World. Damn, if only we had 23 major cards!
I’m kidding. I really know anything about the logic of the Golden Dawn for giving the astrology correspondences.
There’s most certainly a perfectly good reason behind this.
But it’s funny to end with the element of earth, because earth is traditionally (at least in traditional astrology) the lowest of the elements.
Anyways, Saturn and the World is, in my humble opinion, an awesome match.
Because Saturn is the most distant of the traditional planets.
Saturn represents the limit of things but also the what is beyond that limit.
Saturn is the hard wisdom of time and endings, much like the World.
Final words:
We did it, we went through all the Major Arcana!
Now if you want to dive deeper, I’ll be making some articles and videos on the planetary correspondences, the zodiac correspondences and practical ways to actually use those correspondences in your tarot practice.
So stay tuned for more ♪
As a little parting gift, here's a summary of the correspondences.
This was radio Jin the Wizard, tarot, astrology and fun times.
Have a lovely day and I’ll be seeing you soon.
Jin the Wizard
Thunder and Coffee