Alright, let’s talk about mixing tarot and astrology. I kept hearing people say you could get these super deep ‘master answers’ by mashing them together. Sounded good, right? So, I decided to figure it out myself, see if it was all talk or actually useful.
Getting Started Was Messy
First off, I grabbed my trusty tarot deck – the one I’ve used for ages, all worn in. Then I dug out my astrology notes and books. My idea was simple: figure out how each card lined up with planets, signs, houses, the whole shebang. I thought I’d just find a chart online, you know, Card X = Planet Y, Card Z = Sign A, and boom, done.
Well, it wasn’t that easy. Seemed like everyone had a slightly different idea about which card meant what astrologically. The Major Arcana were kinda sorta agreed upon sometimes – like the Sun card obviously linking to the Sun, okay, got that. But even then, some folks argued about specifics. And don’t get me started on the Minor Arcana or the court cards. It felt like trying to solve a puzzle with pieces from different boxes.
- I tried mapping the suits to elements – Wands/Fire, Cups/Water, Swords/Air, Pentacles/Earth. That part felt okay, pretty standard.
- Then I tried linking the numbered cards to planets based on old systems like the Golden Dawn’s stuff. It got complicated fast. Remembering which number went with which planet in which sign… ugh.
- Court cards? Some said pages were Earth, Knights were Air, Queens Water, Kings Fire. Others linked them to zodiac signs or modes (cardinal, fixed, mutable). My head was spinning.
I spent weeks trying to memorize these correspondences. I’d do a reading and try to cross-reference everything. “Okay, I pulled the Five of Cups… that’s Mars in Scorpio energy, right? But how does that connect to their actual Mars in Leo in the 10th house?” It just added layers of confusion. The readings felt clunky, forced. I wasn’t getting clearer answers; I was just getting lost in the weeds.
Finding My Own Way
I got pretty frustrated. Honestly, I almost ditched the whole idea. Thought maybe tarot is tarot and astrology is astrology, and trying to force them into one box just ruins both. But I’m stubborn.
So, I took a step back. Instead of trying to create a rigid, one-to-one system, I started looking for overlaps in themes and feelings. Like, if I was looking at someone’s birth chart and saw a really prominent Uranus aspect suggesting sudden changes, and then The Tower card jumped out in a reading – okay, that felt like a real connection. It wasn’t about a strict rule, but about the vibe matching up.
I stopped trying to map every single card perfectly. Instead, I started using astrology more as background information. Before a reading, I might glance at the person’s key placements – their Sun, Moon, Rising sign, maybe any big transits happening for them. Just to get a general sense of their current landscape.
Then, I’d do the tarot reading pretty much as usual. But if a card came up that strongly echoed something I saw in the chart, I’d pay extra attention. For example:
- Pulling the Empress when someone has strong Venus or Taurus/Libra energy.
- Seeing the Hermit pop up for someone with significant Virgo or Saturn placements.
- The Moon card appearing when lunar themes (Cancer, 4th house, natal Moon aspects) are dominant in their chart or life.
It became less about “this card MEANS this planet” and more about “this card’s story resonates with this astrological theme right now.”
What Works For Me Now
So, did I find the ‘master answers’? Nah, not really. Not in the way I first imagined, like some secret code. What I found was a more flexible way to let these two things talk to each other.
My process now is simpler:
- Look at the astrology (chart, transits) for context, the ‘weather report’.
- Do the tarot reading, focusing on the story the cards tell.
- Notice where the tarot story strongly echoes the astrological weather report. Those are the points I emphasize or explore deeper.
- Sometimes, I just use them separately. If I need a practical, grounded answer, maybe just tarot. If I need the big picture life themes, maybe just astrology.
It’s less about forcing connections and more about noticing the natural ones. It feels more intuitive this way, less like mental gymnastics. The answers I get feel more grounded in the person’s actual experience, not just some abstract system. It took some trial and error, a lot of frustration, but I eventually landed on something that works for me. Maybe it’s not the ‘master’ way, but it’s my way, and it helps.
