Blog › Tarot

Tarot and Astrology: How the Two Speak to Each Other

Tarot · ~8 min read

We often practice them separately: tarot for a question of the moment, astrology to understand a temperament or a period of life. Yet both speak the same language — the language of symbols, cycles and inner tensions. Here is how they answer one another, concretely, and how to use them without turning a line of reflection into a verdict.

Two systems, one symbolic alphabet

Astrology describes a sky: planets, signs, houses, and the angles they form with one another. Tarot describes human situations: figures, stages, thresholds. What brings them together is not a shared mechanism but a shared vocabulary of archetypes. The ideas of authority, rupture, patience and rebirth exist in both systems — simply told in different ways.

It needs to be said plainly: these correspondences are not laws of nature. They were constructed, notably in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries by European esoteric movements that sought to match the 22 major arcana with the planets, signs and elements. They are reading conventions, useful because they enrich interpretation — not demonstrable truths. Depending on the school, several versions coexist.

The classic correspondences, explained simply

The four suits and the four elements

This is the most stable bridge and the easiest to remember. In the minor arcana:

• Wands – Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius): drive, desire, initiative, projects.
• Cups – Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces): emotions, bonds, intuition, memory.
• Swords – Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius): thought, speech, conflict, clarity.
• Pentacles – Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn): the body, money, work, endurance.

Concretely: if a spread turns up mostly Swords while your chart is already heavily marked by Air, the reading may suggest you are processing everything through the mind, where the situation might instead call for something tangible or emotional. It is a line of thought, not a diagnosis.

A few major arcana and their usual correspondences

Among the most widespread attributions, the following often come up:

• The Emperor – Aries: setting a framework, deciding, taking charge.
• The Hierophant – Taurus: transmission, values, what lasts over time.
• The Lovers – Gemini: choice, duality, relationship as dialogue.
• The Chariot – Cancer: moving forward while carrying one's shell and story.
• Strength – Leo: taming one's power rather than restraining it.
• The Hermit – Virgo: withdrawal, discernment, patient work on detail.
• Justice – Libra: balance, measure, the consequences of one's acts.
• The Nameless Arcanum (XIII) – Scorpio: the end of a cycle, shedding, what must transform.
• Temperance – Sagittarius: proportion, flow, meaning to be given.
• The Devil – Capricorn: attachment, matter, what holds us.
• The Star – Aquarius: hope, openness, connection to the collective.
• The Moon – Pisces: imagination, blur, what is not yet named.

Other arcana are tied to planets rather than signs: The Magician – Mercury, The Empress – Venus, The Tower – Mars, The Wheel of Fortune – Jupiter, The World – Saturn, The High Priestess – the Moon, The Sun – the Sun. Here too the schools diverge on several cases: there is no need to learn the list by heart — better to grasp the logic.

Combining the two: a four-step method

1. Start from the question, not the system. "What would help me make up my mind about this project?" An open question, turned toward you and toward action.
2. Do the spread first. Three cards are enough. Note what you see before reaching for any correspondence — otherwise you are no longer reading the cards, you are reading your grid.
3. Then look at the astrological context. Just two things: the dominant element of your chart, and the transits under way (a slow planet crossing an important sector, for example).
4. Look for echo or contrast. If both tell the same story, the theme is probably central. If they diverge, that is often the most interesting part: the tension itself is the information.

A concrete example. You are hesitating about leaving a job. The spread gives The Devil, then the Three of Pentacles, then The Star. In parallel, you are going through a period where questions of material security are strongly mobilized in your chart. The symbolic reading may evoke an attachment to what supports your livelihood (The Devil), a real and recognized skill (Three of Pentacles), and a longing for a wider horizon (The Star). What it sheds light on: the choice may not be between "staying" and "leaving," but between "what holds me back" and "what calls to me" — two things to look at separately.

What it illuminates day to day

Used this way, the tarot-astrology pairing mainly serves three purposes. Placing a moment: understanding that a period of withdrawal is not a failure but a phase. Naming a tension: putting words to what is at play between desire and caution. Breaking the loop: when you keep circling the same decision, an outside symbol shifts your gaze and reveals the angle you were avoiding.

It is also an excellent learning tool. Associating an arcanum with a sign you already know anchors the memory far faster than an abstract definition. Many people finally retain what The Hermit evokes for them the day they connect it to Virgo.

Points to watch

• Don't force the correspondence. Not every card has a stable attribution, and several traditions contradict one another. A correspondence that doesn't speak to you adds nothing: set it aside.
• Two systems are not proof. If tarot and astrology "say the same thing," that is not objective confirmation — often it is you who went looking for the coherence. Stay honest with yourself.
• No certain prediction. Neither tarot nor a transit determines what will happen. They offer possible readings of a situation; the decisions remain yours.
• No substitute for a professional. For a health question, a legal dispute or a significant financial choice, no spread and no astral configuration replaces the advice of a doctor, a lawyer or a qualified adviser. The symbolic can help you clarify what you feel, not decide in your place.
• Mind the frequency. Drawing the same cards every day on the same question mostly produces anxiety. One reading, then time to live with it.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need to know astrology to read tarot?

No, absolutely not. Tarot reads perfectly well on its own, and many practitioners never use an astrological correspondence. Astrology is an extra layer of meaning, to be added once the basics of tarot feel comfortable — not before.

Are the correspondences between arcana and signs official?

There is no official version. The most widely circulated attributions come from esoteric movements of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, and several schools propose variants, notably on the arcana linked to the elements. Treat them as reading tools, chosen consciously, and not as a fixed given.

Can you draw a card to shed light on a transit under way?

Yes, and it is often a lovely way to combine the two. Frame the question around your experience rather than the event: "How can I best move through this period?" rather than "What is going to happen to me this month?" The first opens up avenues; the second waits for a prediction no one can honestly give.