The Astrological Major Arcana Part I
Happy Sunday, fam! Here we are at the end of another month on this wild + exhilarating journey through the zodiac year.
Since the Spring Equinox, March 20th of this year, I’ve been nursing a small idea from spark to seed, then sprout to bloom, and now bloom to harvest. That might seem like a cool minute to be cultivating a new idea since we’re sauntering into June this week. But the truth is, behind the scenes of my birth chart basics series, I’ve found myself winding down the devotional path of learning + connecting with the tarot.
Sure, I’ve owned a tarot deck for almost 3 years now and in those 3 years pulled many cards and asked a million + 1 questions and googled the meaning for almost any card that came up….but it’s different now. This new feeling for connecting to the tarot, not unlike the nervous excitement I felt starting the birth chart basics series almost 5 months ago, is a soul-level call back to connecting with my intuition.
For almost every astrological + spiritual + personal insight I’ve given on the blog, the thru-line here is cultivating a connection to self. That’s all parts of the self: intuition, spirit, emotion, ego, and our physical body. Through the cosmos (astrology), through deep reflection (personal insight), and through the energy existing between all of it (spirituality), I am learning (and hopefully teaching) how to exist with my intuition, my spirit, my emotions, my ego, and my body working together—allies, partners in crime, coworkers, comrades, enemies...whatever their relationship happens to be at any given moment will vary.
I would venture to say that through the birth chart basics series, I have an amateur but developed understanding of the foundational pieces of astrology, the most understanding for the zodiac signs + planets specifically. What does this even have to do with tarot? I’m getting back to that, I promise.
When I’ve dedicated myself to a new area of study + evolution (fixed air sign over here), I seek to understand new subjects through the lens of something I already understand—combining prior knowledge with new ideas, letting the new ones shed the old ones, letting the old ones flavor the new ones, leaving room for surprises but also baking myself deeply in metaphors. This is how I process + communicate information the most effectively (thanks, Mercury!).
So that brings me back to the tarot. In February, I accidentally stumbled into a tarot renaissance. I pulled the moon card, and instead of my typical google search for insight, I decided to listen to a podcast episode about the moon from the soul tarot guru, Linsdey Mack. Her podcast, Tarot for the Wild Soul, is available on all streaming services and, from this point forward, is my #1 recommendation for anyone looking to start a new relationship with the tarot.
In the 3 years prior to February, I showed up to my deck like an apprentice seeking insight from the master. I tenderly set up rituals with incense, with candles, with crystals, with tiny pieces of chocolate and spooky chalices of red wine. It was all sexy + ritualistic, but also very much me wanting to be told what to do by my deck….seeing it as something very separate from me, separate from spirituality, and separate from astrology (Neptune would be pissed). Ah, but of course, as I’ve learned + written about for the past 11 months on the blog….these pieces of us are divinely intertwined.
What goes down in the cosmos is embodied + carried out here in the earthly space + simultaneously within our own inner landscapes. Our connection to the planets, to the natural cycles of life, to the mysterious + powerful archetypes which influence and enhance our own personal narratives….they are all connected, they are all speaking to each other, they are all happening in our favor.
I didn’t really embody this Piscean + Neptunian way of living until I started overlapping my understanding of myself with my understanding of astrology, and now my understanding of those two things are overlapping with my infantile understanding of intuitive + self-guided tarot.
Don’t take this lightly, I really mean it when I say that I have an infantile understanding of tarot. That’s why I’ve been nursing the idea to write about tarot on the blog since the Spring Equinox… 1, I wanted to do a lot of research (#Aquarius) and 2, I wasn’t ready and imposter syndrome was super-prevalent for me.
I kept thinking, I’m no Lindsey Mack...I’ve only been this connected to tarot for like a month….there’s no way I have the credibility or the right to talk to other people about tarot when I’m just now starting to get it myself.
Well that was my traditional idea of the tarot talking, the beautiful + well-respected + entirely valid history of the tarot across multiple cultures, peoples, and belief systems. I bow to this history, I bow to those who have interpreted the meanings of the 78 cards long before the tarot deck was ever physically manifested. Energetically, the tarot is as old as us….as old as everything. It was this shift in perspective, the notion that tarot is an energetic + spiritual realm instead of a physical, human-crafted tool, that made me realize that speaking about tarot as a infantile newbie is 100% a journey I would love to go on.
I thought to myself, Samantha! You did this exact thing with astrology. You felt the call to learn + teach astrology simultaneously! That was the entire purpose of the birth chart basics series. I never once told you guys I was in any way an astrological authority. I’ve been honest about my amateur level, about my sources, about my own confusion...and that makes us peers, that journey of discovery is what binds us together.
That connection is literally the reason I started Into-It in the first place: to journey with community through the wild + cyclical + unknown energies of life. So naturally, I began to view my study of the tarot through the same lens I did with astrology….and I fucking loved it.
So this week on the blog, we’re kicking off a new side plot to the into-it universe: understanding the tarot through the lens of astrology.
Let’s get really explicit here:
I will not be referencing any deck in particular, or any imagery that isn’t unanimously tied to the tarot cards being discussed.
I will not be giving any history lessons on the traditional meanings of the cards, but will be providing resources for that flavor of knowledge if you are interested in it! In my own time, I am listening + reading about the traditional practice of the tarot in order to assist my new perspective on the cards...but it’s not what I want to focus on in this series.
These interpretations are self-guided + intuitive and when they are not, I will be specifically referencing the sources of what I’m communicating. I will not be taking credit for other’s spirit-influenced interpretations of the tarot.
These interpretations are astrologically inclined. As I said before, I like to learn new things by comparing them to what I already understand. In doing so, I’ve found that using astrological knowledge to study the archetypes + symbols in the tarot has enriched + expanded + transformed my ability to relate to the cards I am pulling. It also gave me the courage to interpret cards for myself + feel confident in my own relationship with those cards instead of googling meanings or seeking a professional reading.
That leads to the 5th, and most important, PSA: here on this blog, tarot is a form of self-guided care + reflection + evolution. It is not a place to get lessons or training on how to become a tarot reader (for anyone but the self0. It is not a history lesson (but there will be resources). I am not currently interested in reading or interpreting cards for anyone other than myself at this stage of my tarot journey.
My interpretations are the fusing together of: my own intuition + experience + embodiment of the cards, astrological + elemental + numerological overlaps that further enhance the meaning behind each card, and the teachings of soul-tarot mentors who I will credit fully when credit is due (and provide resources, similar to the birth chart basics library I’ve been growing at the end of each blog post).
Let’s get into-it!
The 12 zodiac signs (and the ten planets) each correspond to a trump in the 22-card major arcana of the tarot. through various teachers + intuitive downloads + the insightful lens of astrological/elemental correspondences, we’re looking at how the spring through summer zodiac signs inject new meanings into the major arcana.
This is part 1 of a 3 part series breaking down the astrological correspondences of zodiac signs to their partnered tarot trump. The overlap of iconography + characteristics + elements between the signs + their given card are invaluable for enriching (and even quickening) our understanding of the often intimidating + conflicting energy of the major arcana.
There are 78 cards total in the tarot, and if you’re looking for detailed + historical insight on each card in order, I recommend Rachel Pollack’s book: Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot. It is from this book where I learned how the major arcana begins with The Fool (at 0, at the top) and breaks into 3 lines of seven cards.
Line 1: Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot.
Line 2: Strength (or justice), Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice (or strength), Hanged Man, Death, Temperance
Line 3: Devil, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Judgement, World (Universe).
In this 3 part series, we’ll begin with Aries (naturally), Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer (all cards in the first line of the major arcana). We’ll cover the remaining 8 signs + cards in the next 2 posts. But for now, it seems fitting to understand these first 4 signs of the astrological year in the context of the first line of the major arcana: a line of cards which are distinctly human, where the ego + self is injected into physical reality, where life is externally generative + evidential + motivated (think of Spring + Summer...signs of life and growth and the heat of creation in the air).
For each zodiac sign, we’ll relate the given modality + element + planet + symbol + house to the archetype of the associated tarot trump.
these are not traditional interpretations and credit is due to:
-My own intuition + bank of birth chart research accumulated through my BCB series as well as
-My tarot guru, Lindsey Mack, and
-The analytical audio lessons provided by the Fortune’s Wheelhouse podcast.
Aries
I am. I act. I lead.
Fire
as instinct, fire as passion, fire as power, fire as intuition.
“Fire doesn’t think, it just burns.” - Rick Levine
Cardinal Fire
To initiate, to exert, to will something into existence, to create.
Mars
What we do and how we do it. Action. Instinct.
First House
Our identity, our surface personality, our cloak of self in leadership position. An exemplification of our self worth.
The Ram
Spiraling horns, like a crown, attached to the Ram = “my authority is a part of me.” To climb a mountain, to gain a higher perspective, to rule above land in a sense. To be headstrong (Mars, Fire, Cardinal).
The Emperor
Yang: commanding power authentically. To wear the crown, comparable to the horns of the ram: my authority is an extension of my identity. A throne, elevated, like the ram on the mountain. To rule, in alignment and in creative (cardinal) energy, is to act (Mars) with integrity (I am). To have external manifestations of personal will (first house, identity).
The ownership of personal power. The throne which solidifies our own active role in creation and in our personal journey. This throne also signifies the role of leadership: to guide others forward with Aries instinct and will. A growing of personal power that nurtures the ego (first house) while serving collective progress (cardinal). Unapologetic reclamation of identity backed by the fiery + pioneering energy of Aries.
Taurus
I have. I value. I curate.
Earth
Earth as presence, earth as receptivity, earth as sensation. To receive the present moment as it is, to accept reality on a sensual level.
Fixed Earth
Staying power, consistency, manifestation, to become absorbed by a task/project/belief system.
Venus
What we value and how we invest in it—financially and energetically. The curation, investment, and sense of what we value most in ourselves, in others, and in physical reality.
Second House
Our values, our possessions, our own sense of worth—self-esteem. What we curate + why and how we protect it.
The Bull
Grounded and patient. Called to move at its own pace (harmony) and unapologetically stubborn when action is not deemed necessary or in alignment (fixed). A willingness to remain rooted in presence, to indulge in all that comes and goes in their chosen posture. To stand your ground, to value your position on earth.
The Hierophant
A balanced + receptive position in the duality of existence—the bull in its pasture. Where the hierophant directs attention is where time and energy is devoted. As with Taurus, the hierophant is fixated on the teachings and the beliefs that are valuable to their spiritual development.
Like the stubborn bull, misplaced value and inflexible beliefs could inhibit the evolution of self—indulging in the sensual desire to enjoy what is present in our own, known pasture (our comfort zone). How do we know what awaits us in those rumored “greener pastures.”
The hierophant is devotional, an inner teacher, a collector of knowledge on earthly levels; taking what is esoteric and holding space for it on a grounded plane. To manifest, to worship, to receive, and to protect our values. The active choice to remain present and to master what we believe in.
Gemini
I think. I speak. I mediate.
Air
Air as intellect, air as interpretation of presence. Air as objective and direct communication. Understanding the world by analyzing it.
Mutable Air
To adapt, to assess with objectivity and to pivot toward the ideal new outcome. To modify and to evolve with grace.
Mercury
What we think and how we communicate. Our analytical approach to information, our personal style of absorbing + sharing it.
Third House
Our thoughts, our ideas, our immediate environment. Our chosen style of communication, how we interpret what exists in the present moment + our own decision to engage (or ignore) it.
The Twins
A duality of self and of perspectives. To assess all sides of a given situation. To be faced with a choice. To mediate and to communicate objectively, to hold space for oppositions, to be flexible.
The Lovers
Between the two lovers, we become a third mediator with the Mercurial choice over what we decide to engage with and must interpret information from seemingly oppositional energies. The choice at hand calls for intuitively following what is true. Our own style of absorbing (Mercury) information will influence our ability to objectively make a decision.
Like the twins, the lovers serve the purpose of deconstructing a decision at face value. Such is the quality of air in Gemini, which seeks to intellectualize the present moment in order to understand it. It is aligned action (mutable) which would serve our own evolution in this dilemma.
The lovers ask us: what do we think about this dilemma? How do both sides inform those thoughts? How do we communicate what is best for us when we reach a crossroads? What is our relationship to adaptability and evolution? Others could decide these things for us if we are not able to think or communicate our own firm + authentic beliefs.
Cancer + The Moon
I feel. I sense. I protect.
Water
Water as immersion, water as deep emotional connection, water as unwavering intuition. To ground into the present by feeling it.
Cardinal Water
Actively on defense. Intuitively driven decision-making. Nurturing and nourishing means of leadership. Pioneers of emotion.
The Moon
What we feel and how that emotion nourishes + sustains us. Our ability to connect with, interpret, and communicate our deeper feelings—intuition.
Fourth House
Our roots: familial, emotional, ancestral. What we call home (security) and how it nourishes us (emotion).
The Crab
A secure shell which protects a softer interior. The crab is the armor and the sensitive interior. It is the protector and the protected. It is the keeper of what is malleable within and the raw + tender center of it all. A creature that instinctually defends the true nature hidden underneath the surface. To harbor a tenderness only accessible when the shell is cracked or consciously shed.
The High Priestess
A gatekeeper of the spiritual waters beyond, adorned with the phases of the moon on top of their head. To be cyclical, to be rooted in the natural ebb and flow of all life. To be fully present (full moon) and perceptibly invisible (new moon) without hesitation or explanation.
Like the crab, the high priestess embodies the guard and the sensitive interior of the guarded—where the true self lies beyond the veil of shadows, where all we ever need to know resides. To go within, to surrender to the water. To embrace that tender, Cancerian center. To nourish our own knowing and to reclaim + protect what we know to be true.
To seek knowledge from our own wells of emotion. To sense what is right and to protect it. To seek our own nourishment and to be our own maternal resource (a Cancerian nature available to us all). To become immersed in that which is light-giving (full moon) and that which is darkening (new moon). Surrendering to the subconscious in order to evolve from the inside out.
This is a scary + studious new leap to take so publicly, just as scary as starting my astrology series last year, but I know a calling when I feel one and I want to talk about the tarot + astrology + intuition + evolution all in tandem with one another. I want to explore my own understanding of the cards and share these insights with all of you. I want to take my crazy + enthusiastic + joyful + painful pages of notes, thoughts, fears, inquiries, and excitement out into the open.
I hope you learn something here, and I hope to help you connect deeper with the lessons of the tarot (even if you don’t have a deck and never want one). The divine lessons present with the tarot do not need to physically manifest to teach us something. The tarot is storytelling, the tarot is energetic, and the tarot comes from within.
I can’t wait to share + grow + connect with you all through the devotional + dope study of astrology and self-guided tarot.
Drop me a DM on instagram so we can talk more nerdy esoteric shit.
Stay curious, stay confident, and stay in your magic.
SELF-GUIDED TAROT RESOURCES
WEBSITES
PODCASTS
BOOKS
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot by Rachel Pollack