Tarot Cards

Determining Your Birth Cards
calculator.jpg
Knowledge is Power
Whenever you're here at TarotSchool.com, you can use our handy online Birth Card
Calculator to determine anyone's Birth Cards. Just enter their date of birth and
click the "Calculate" button � it's easy!
But by learning how to do the calculations yourself, you can figure them out
anytime whether you're near a computer or not. This is especially useful when
you're conducting in-person or phone readings. Knowing a querent's Birth Cards can
add a lot to the reading.
Understanding how to calculate Birth Cards can be a big hit at parties and other
social gatherings, too!
When working with The Tarot School system of Birth Cards, please use the method
described here even though you may have seen it done differently elsewhere. We have
found that the difference between this method and others produces slightly
different results, and that most people identify more closely with the results we
get by using the formula below.
The Basic Formula:
You can determine your Birth Cards by doing a numerological reduction of your birth
date in the following manner: MM + DD + 19* + YY.
* For people born from January 1, 2000 � December 31, 2099, the constant will be 20
instead of 19.
For example, let's say that your birthday is February 21, 1950. Add the numbers
like this:
02
21
19
50
�
92
Then add 9 + 2 = 11.
Key 11 is Justice, the first Birth Card for this date. 11 reduces to 2 (The High
Priestess), which is the second Birth Card.
Three-Digit Sums:
Here's how to handle a birth date that adds up to 3 digits. The first two digits of
the three are considered as one number, which is added to the third digit. Let's
look at August 20, 1969, for example. The formula would be 08 + 20 + 19 + 69 = 116.
Or you can look at it this way:

08
20
19
69
�
116
Then add 11 + 6 = 17.
11
06
�
17
Key 17 is The Star, the first Birth Card for this date. 17 reduces to 8 (Strength)
which is the second Birth Card. If the three numbers are 103, for example, add 10 +
3 = 13 (Death) = 4 (Emperor).
Single-Digit Sums:
Almost everyone should have 2 birth cards. One of the cards will have a single
digit and the other a double digit. If your birth date sum reduces to a single
digit (e.g. 90 = 9 + 0 = 9) its pair is implied, in this case, 18 (The Moon) = 1 +
8 = 9 (Hermit). See the table below for a complete list of Birth Card Pairs.
The Exception to the Rule:

The one exception is if your birth date sum = 19. In that case, you will have 3
Birth Cards: The Sun (19), The Wheel of Fortune (10) and The Magician (1).
Clarification:
Confusion about calculating Birth Cards is very common. Even though the math is
simple, the concept can be difficult to grasp. In case we've lost you, consider the
following:
If a birthday adds up to a digit plus a zero, it reduces immediately to a single

digit. But each single digit is paired with a double digit between 10 and 21, from
which it is derived. The numbers 1 through 21, of course, are the complete universe
of positive numbers that make up the Major Arcana. So all Birth Card pairs must be
a combination of two of these numbers. 9, for instance, can only be arrived at,
within the numbers of the Major Arcana, from the number 18 (1+8=9).
If you begin with a single digit and you search for the double digit that is its
pair, you will find that there is only one possibility, with a single exception. If
your birth date adds up to 30, it reduces to 3. Three can be arrived at by a
reduction of either 12 (Hanged Man) or 21 (World), but we have found that where
this choice exists, 12 works best.
Table of Birth Card Pairs:

18 reduces to 9 (1+8)
Moon / Hermit
Star / Strength
Tower / Chariot
Devil / Lovers
Temperance / Hierophant
Death / Emperor
Hanged Man / Empress

Justice / High Priestess

Wheel of Fortune / Magician

Again, there is one exception where you will have three Birth Cards. If the birth
date sum = 19, it will reduce first to (19), then to (10), and finally (1). Sun /
Wheel / Magician
Additionally:
Judgement / High Priestess

World / Empress
What About The Fool?

In most decks, The Fool is either un-numbered, or is assigned the digit 0. Since no
sum of positive numbers ever equals 0, we do not consider The Fool as part of a
Birth Card pair. Likewise, we do not accept the sometimes-used convention of
assigning the number 22 to The Fool since there is no such trump. However, we do
consider The Fool to be the universal birthright of us all.
Birth Card Notes:

Moon / Hermit
Moon / Hermit
MoonHermit
Imagery � Things to Look at and Contemplate:
Postures � crawling / standing

(the rawness of beginnings vs. the fullness of completion)
Colors � dark blue, purple & deep bright yellow / luminous blue & grey
(deep, lurid vs. high, clear consciousness)
Landscapes � valley / peak

(low vs. high; travelling far vs. climbing up)
Symbols � Moon / Star, Path / Staff, Pool / Mountain, Rich and varied
landscape / Simple, uncluttered landscape
(all these contrasts suggest the difference between dark, rich, mysterious
beginnings and light, abstract, exalted endings)
Foreground Figures � Crayfish / Hermit

(the two extremes of the journey of personal growth and spiritual evolution)
Astrology:
Pisces (Moon) � sleep and dream; darkness � light and shadow; fluid, shifting
images; profound yearnings; deep waters
Virgo (Hermit) � observant, analytical and smart; rooted in detail; patient,

industrious; a perfectionist, idealist and purist; reaches for the high ground
Predilection:
The importance of night vs. The importance of day
The importance of pain / pleasure; beauty / ugliness vs.

The importance of wisdom/ignorance; persistence / giving up
The world as mysterious and uncertain vs.

The world as challenging and straightforward
The Moon and The Hermit share extreme qualities � low and high, vague and precise,
yearning and ambitious, obscure and clear, far and near, many voices and one voice,
fluid and solid.
For both, the journey's the thing. For both, the heights are the objective. For
both, illumination is the essence, while darkness is the matrix. One faces the
darkness of the untraveled path ahead, while the other faces the darkness of the
heights beyond reach. The light available to each leaves their darkness intact.
The Moon is the uncertainty at the heart of things, the unrealized and phantom
possibility, the power of mutation and transformation. Shape-shifting
unconsciousness and identity offer multiple realities that reflect inner rather
than outer landscapes. The job of The Moon is to evolve, to move forward by
inhabiting ever more subtle and elaborate forms, to experience challenge, growth
and renewal with each new version of itself.
The Hermit is the finished, final clarity that shines at the center of things, the
distillation of knowledge gained through effort, persistence, intelligence, and
courage. Perfect faith and endless labor are rewarded by being lit from within. He
becomes a steady, continuous, living light, a beacon to those who seek the
outermost boundaries of personal growth. For those on the upward journey, the way
is lit by those who have gone before.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, The Moon can be filled with nameless terrors
and subject to depression. It may not trust what it sees or what it hears, and it
is prone to believing the worst. It can be gulled into believing fantastic claims
and stories, and may be drawn onto false paths with little or no reward at their
end. It is subject to nightmares, and may come to fear sleep.
The Hermit can be ambitious, and lose sight of or never see how perfectly he can
serve a higher power, or how pure he can become himself. He can be immersed in
detail, careful of every step on the way to serving his own interests. He may be so
practical and down-to-earth, that mysterious and unlikely paths are rejected out of
hand. He can become so absorbed in making his own way that he has little time or
patience for anyone else, and thus becomes isolated and emotionally barren.
Together, they travel from the depths to the heights, exploring the shadows and
precipices that wait for every traveller on the path to knowledge. They promise
faithfully that the great journey of personal evolution can be completed, and they
will show you the way.
Birth Card Notes:

Star / Strength
Star / Strength
StarStrength
Postures and Gestures � kneeling and emptying / bending and controlling

(relaxed and gentle vs. focused and strong)
Colors � flesh tones and blue / white, yellow and orange

(ease vs. intensity)
Clothing � nude / robed and girdled

(unselfconscious vs. highly self-aware)
Symbols �
Star: pitchers and pouring streams make patterns in the pool and on the ground
that balance the pattern of the stars above
(the effortless equality of Above and Below, near and far, humanity and nature)
Strength: girdle of roses, lemniscate, controlling hands of female figure, teeth,

mane and tucked tail of lion
(the difference in opposition between the human and the natural, and the constant
tension between them)
Foreground Figures �
Star: nude blonde goddess
(the same woman as in Strength but unopposed by any contradictory impulse)
Strength: lion and clothed blonde goddess

(visual allegory of the relationship between power and control)
Landscapes � prominent pool, sky, and stars with integrated foreground

figure / indistinct, unobtrusive landscape with prominent foreground figures
(the self-regulation of nature vs. the importance of effort)
Astrology:
Aquarius (Star) � peaceful and optimistic; visionary and original; open and
approachable; virginal and trusting
Leo (Strength) � charismatic and energetic; loud, proud, powerful and willful;
cheerful and confident; sexually potent
Predilection:
Optimistic and relaxed vs. Vigilant and concerned
Flexible and soft vs. Insistent and strong
Accepting vs. Demanding
The Star and Strength share a root in the creative motherhood of The Empress. The
women in all three cards are one divine form in different costumes, with different
tasks. To The Empress, all her children are beloved, and seen and treated equally.
The Star sees benign beauty and goodness in nature and herself. She trusts what she
sees and leaves it alone. Strength sees the raw, immediate power in nature and in
herself. She controls and contains it like a dam works with a river.
The Star is remote, cool and calm. Strength is hot, intense and close. For the
unclothed Star, the world and her own nature are fine as they are, and can only
suffer from interference. For Strength, fully clothed, the world and her own nature
need restraints to work properly.
The Star is the innate perfection in things, their natural rightness and goodness,
and their connection with what is highest and deepest in the creative process. She
fears nothing in nature because for her, there's nothing in nature to be afraid of.
She sees nothing in nature to fix because nothing in nature is wrong. Her motto is
"Leave things alone and they'll be alright." The job of The Star is to cooperate
with the nature of things, to witness its perfection, and to resist the urge to
improve it.
Strength is the two-fold power at the center of things, the expansive and the
contractive power, force and form. She knows they must be kept in balance, and that
takes constant vigilance and effort. She cannot press too hard on the source of
power or she'll cut off its breath and make it weak. She cannot relax her grip on
it, or it will expand violently and swallow her whole. The job of Strength is to
keep the power of nature in check, and release it as needed and necessary.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, The Star can be amoral, eccentric and
cranky. She may be undiscriminating, and unaware and in denial when things get
broken or go wrong. She may routinely support lost causes and put herself in harms
way, in the belief that she'll be OK no matter what. And she can be peevish,
whiney, and aggrieved when things don't work out.
Strength can be moody, sullen and prone to fits of temper. She may eat too much or
starve herself. She can be a voracious lover or become celibate without warning.
She can go from baseless self-confidence to irrational timidity. She can make
herself weak and frightened, a pussycat with a weak meow or she can be larger than
life, throw her weight around, laugh, cry and howl at peak volume, a lion out of
control.
Together they are graceful, beautiful, peaceful and strong, with their powers and
talents in perfect balance and harmony, and all their virtues at the service of the
world.
Birth Card Notes:

Tower / Chariot
Tower / Chariot
TowerChariot
Postures � falling / standing

(melodrama, upset, crisis vs. poise, balance, control)
Colors � foreground: grey / green

background: black (dark blue) / yellow
details: red & blue, orange & yellow / light blue & gold, black & white
(stark and frightening vs. cheerful and confident)
Clothing � loose robes and wild hair / armor and crown

(personal and unready vs. formal and prepared)
Symbols � tower, crown and cloud (or smoke), lightning & flames / chariot,
sphinxes, river and city
(vertical, up-in-the-air, unstable � danger and drama in progress vs. horizontal,
grounded, safe � danger and drama left behind)
Landscapes � simple / complex

(intense and immediate vs. patient and long-term)
Astrology:
Mars (Tower) � brilliant, flashing, in-the-moment; violent emotions and activity;

male sexual potency; pride, war; full speed ahead
Cancer (Chariot) � self-sufficiency & protection; nurture & care; coolness &
courage; focus & determination; initiates activity but steps sideways
Predilection:
Hot in everything vs. Cool in everything
Direct in everything vs. Indirect in everything
Instinctual action vs. Considered action

Protect by confrontation vs. Protect by getting out of the way
The Tower and The Chariot share the issues of balance, control, energy, solidity
and war. They contrast in their ways of handling every issue. The violent overthrow
of rigid and ambitious structure contrasts with the invisible battle for balance
and self-control. External contrasts with internal energy. The vulnerability of
fortification contrasts with the durability of character.
The Tower is the tumultuous power at the center of everything. It is the constant
potential for an occasional experience of the unexpected, the violent and sudden
disruption of normal conditions; the power of complete surprise and the feeling of
head-over-heels. The job of The Tower is to uproot dug-in positions and vested
interests, to be the event horizon beyond which lies the unpredictable and
unaccountable. The Tower is the end of complacency.
The Chariot is the steady flow of ceaseless intention that is the warrior in
everything. Its job is to harness all competing impulses and energies, to overcome
all obstacles and resistances, and against all odds, carry everything to its
destiny. On this journey, everything becomes what it must become and nothing is
lacking.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, The Tower can be capricious, frightening and
disastrous. It can rob effort of its proper reward, and destroy faith in both
justice and mercy. It can be melodramatic, or it can be pointless, random and
gratuitously painful.
The Chariot can vacillate and side-step, or turn tail and run. It can be
vainglorious and posturing, or overly sensitive and ineffectual. It can lose heart
in the middle of a task, and mope.
Together, they are afraid of nothing, can stand successfully against any opponent,
either internal or external, and when the time comes, they will rise to the
ultimate challenge and be equal to it.
Birth Card Notes:

Devil / Lovers
Devil / Lovers
DevilLovers
Card Structure �identical. Each is a 3-figure tableau consisting of two naked

human figures, one male and one female, standing below a raised central archangel.
Angelic Gestures � Uriel's sleight of hand / Raphael's gesture of blessing
Human Figures � partially demonic / fully human; chained / free-standing;

separated / connected; fire & fruit
Background � transparent / solid; torch-lit / sunlit; double-cube altar /

mountain; fire & fruit)
Astrology:
Capricorn (Devil) � sophisticated, ambitious and relentless; driven to possess and

achieve; always competitive, every gain matched by an equal loss; practical and
self-sufficient, happiness is in accomplishment
Gemini (Lovers) � young, fresh and curious; charmed by life and its possibilities;
always connected to a living partner or a vibrant abstraction; all joy is in the
sharing
Predilection:
Self-determined vs. Relationship-oriented
Self-expressive vs. Cooperative creative effort
Self-important vs. What's best for one's partner
Some things are better than others vs. It's all good
The Lovers and The Devil are two images that alternate in a mirror, and each has
two faces. Look once, and you may like what you see; look again and you may be
dismayed. Whichever image looks back at you, it takes both faces to make you whole.
One image seeks the bliss of coming together, while the other enjoys the pleasures
of solitary achievement. One enjoys what it has, while the other knows what it
wants.
The Devil gives each member of every pair its freedom, but links each to the other
by need and desire. Pairs are separated and each half is given its own separate and
competing value. Each individual stands alone against the world, a separate
interest, with all the power and possibilities of uniqueness. Life and death, good
and evil, pleasure and pain, health and illness, fight pitched battles in which no
victory is possible. Each individual feels incomplete, aware of having some things
but not others, of liking some things but not others, of knowing some things but
not others.
The job of The Devil is to separate and individualize, giving to each the glory and
the vulnerability of being one by itself, incomplete but capable of fulfillment.
The Lovers see themselves in everything. They are always aware of the twoness of
things. They delight in the alternation of day and night with their paired deities
of sun and moon. The ways of the birds and the bees enchant them. And they
acknowledge the solemn necessity of death following life.
Their job is to witness and accept all the marriages of opposites that make the
universe what it is, and with every marriage, to release the orgasmic joy of making
two into the original one.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, The Devil can be at once beautiful,

brilliant and seductive, and cruel, destructive and terrifying. He has what
everyone needs and desires but sells at a punishing price. His motto is "I'll give
you three wishes," and he laughs uproariously at his own joke.
The Lovers can be naive and irresponsible, shallow and inconsequential, vain and
deceitful. They may join in impermanent liaisons and enjoy or suffer as these
liaisons come and go. Their energy can be a storm in a teacup in which they are
forever in danger of drowning.
Together, The Lovers and The Devil know all the secrets of the visible universe,
and can give the gift of harmonious power.
Birth Card Notes:

TemperanceHierophant
Postures � hovering / sitting

(Raised on high, mythic, unreal vs. grounded, conventional, real)
Colors � white / red

(Purity and knowledge vs. passion and devotion)
Clothing � flowing gown, bare feet / full robes, slippers

(Natural, intimate and personal vs. formal, distant and ceremonial)
Symbols �
wings, sun disk, chalices and streams, path and glory, irises / triple crown and
staff, surplice with crosses, pillars, gesture, kneeling devotees with roses and
lilies, dais and keys
(Shared involvement in different forms with spiritual teachings, mysteries, and
rewards through personal effort)
flaming hair / ear flaps

(Blazing attention vs. inner listening)
Foreground Figures � one angel / three religious figures

(Single integrated focus on spiritual attainment vs. multiple approaches and
perspectives)
Astrology:
Sagittarius (Temperance) � adaptable, restless, volatile, quick to anger, freedom-

loving, and drawn to philosophical abstraction
Taurus (Hierophant) � rooted, steady, slow to anger, simultaneously loyal and

jealous, appreciator of true value
Predilection:
Free-thinking vs. Traditional
Explosive effort vs. Steady progress
Warrior vs. Academic

Temperance and The Hierophant share a passionate nature, a concern for purity of
intention and action, faith in personal evolution and perfectability. Both are
impatient with wrong-doing and lack of effort.
They contrast as natural vs. formal, personal vs. hierarchical, righteous vs.
moral, individual vs. communal. Self-knowledge contrasts with received lineage. The
path of mighty effort contrasts with the path of perfect surrender.
The Hierophant listens to the inner voice and allows it to speak through him. He
knows the secret path that connects the inner and the outer, the hidden and the
visible; and he is a sure guide to anyone traveling from one to the other. The
Hierophant's job is to clearly separate right from wrong, to create and lead the
rituals of the spirit, to teach the true knowledge, to open the door to the chamber
of the heart; and to initiate all who have done the outer practices into the inner
mysteries. He is the guardian of the gates of Paradise.
Temperance is the captain of the armies of the spirit, the beam of light in a dark
room. He combines the powers of opposite intensity � of hot and cold, of light and
dark, of dry and wet, of weightless and heavy � into the passionate impulse of the
center. He is the drawn bow of the arrow of Sagittarius, aimed at the bulls-eye.
His job is to know first-hand every danger and pitfall of the right and left-hand
paths, and then to find and travel the middle way. His energy, passion and purity
are the shortest, surest way out of the prison of our personal limitations, and
into our freedom and true power.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, The Hierophant can be intolerant, inflexible

and hypocritical, concerned with form instead of essence, permitting vice while
forbidding heresy, exchanging the inner kingdom for a personal following.
Temperance can be given to extremes � of self-righteousness and self-contempt, of

anger and pity, of action and lethargy, of asceticism and license. He can be self-
involved, lazy, sloppy, and given to fantasies of personal greatness.
Together, they can be focused, inspired and charismatic. They can be both trusted
leaders and loyal followers. They know, speak and act from their own highest truth.
Birth Card Notes:

Death / Emperor
Death / Emperor
DeathEmperor
Postures � riding / sitting

(Changing vs. maintaining, future vs. present)
Colors � black and white / red and orange

(Stark and minimal vs. passionate and full-blown)
Clothing � armor only / armor, robe and crown

(Personal, intimate and absolute vs. formal, ceremonial and imperious)
Symbols �
horse / throne
(things as they will be vs. things as they are)
banner / orb and scepter

(different symbols of the same higher authority in whose name both perform their
respective functions)
Landscapes � complex / simple

(detailed reality vs. abstract principle)
Astrology:
Scorpio (Death) � dark, deep, cold, seductive, frightening
Aries (Emperor) � bright, clear, hot, attractive, reassuring
Predilection:
Anarchy vs. Order
Democracy vs. Hierarchy
Necessity vs. Logic
Death and The Emperor have in common the qualities of polar absolutes: both are
crystal clear in the definition of their function, territory and authority; neither
can be moderated or softened in the performance of their duties; each balances the
other perfectly � one deconstructs and wipes away, the other organizes and
establishes. They are both utterly dependable.
The Emperor makes Death lawful, and gives him pride of place in the scheme of
things. Death makes everything mutable, so that the law itself is constantly
changing, adaptive and alive.
The Emperor is armored, a warrior in the service of the light. His job and
responsibility is to make sense of things, to bring order out of chaos, to refute
the bogus, to make peace between the usual and the exception. The Emperor permits
no secret or special powers to challenge the authority of his law. His motto is:
"There's a perfectly good explanation for everything."
Death is also armored, a warrior in the service of the dark. His job is to
establish the edge of the known, and to push everything over that edge into
mystery. He unfurls the banner of the realm of darkness, in which the rules are so
different from those of the kingdom of light that they seem like chaos. He is the
master of the unknown and the fear and adventure of the unknown, and his banner is
the veil of the unknown.
Death pulls the rug out from under the feet of all comfortable assumptions and
established procedures, and sends them tumbling into the abyss. He is the ultimate
anarchist against whose activity all laws are meant to protect. He makes the
possible The Empress' continuous production of life, and The Emperor's continuous
organization of life, by removing it as fast as it is created. Without the
bottomless pit of mystery, the known and knowable universe would choke on itself
and grind to a halt.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, The Emperor is a tyrant and stick-in-the-
mud, controlling and manipulative, unable to let things take their course or go
their own way. He equates mystery with ignorance, and can be afraid of the dark.
What he doesn't know or can't account for he believes does not exist. He resents
criminals and upholds the established order.
Death can be vicious and gratuitously cruel. He will make false claims and
promises, and spread ruin and upheaval wantonly. He has no fear of consequences,
and his reasons for things can be akin to madness. He supports any kind of change
for its own sake, cloaking anarchist impulses in a cracked or specious
reasonableness.
Together, they make life both orderly and fresh, peaceful without tyranny,
prosperous without stagnation, always believable but constantly fascinating.
Together, their motto is: "The only things you can depend on are death and taxes."
Birth Card Notes:

Hanged ManEmpress
Postures � hanging / sitting

(Serene, original vs. comfortable, conventional)
Colors � red and blue / white and gold

(Passionate, deep, inward-looking vs. immaculate, perfect, outward looking)
Clothing � fitted / loose

(Controlled effort vs. effortless expansion)
Symbols �
cross and halo / throne and crown
(spiritual vs. secular authority)
living wood / trees

(derivative vs. original; transformative vs. natural)
rope / cushions
(distant connection vs. intimate support)
Foreground Figures � male / female (son � mother)
Astrology:
Water (Hanged Man) � deep, dark, formless and elemental
Venus (Empress) � emergent, light, beautiful and real
Predilection:
Spiritual vs. Physical
Detached vs. Involved
Abstract vs. Specific
The Hanged Man and The Empress have in common a concern with birth and life �
physical birth and mortal life, and spiritual rebirth and immortal life. Venus
(Empress) is born from the waves of the sea (elemental water). The Hanged Man is
born from the womb of The Empress. Being driven at birth from a vessel of blood
matches in intensity rebirth by the immersion of baptism in a body of water. The
experience of entering the world at birth is equaled by the experience of
withdrawing from the world through meditation.
They contrast as detachment vs. involvement, relaxation vs. contraction,

tranquility vs. turbulence, concern with simplicity vs. preoccupation with details.
The Hanged Man is focused on purifying, cleansing and deepening himself. Distancing
himself from the details of creation, he offers the experience of enlightened
detachment and inner illumination to whoever is willing to share it.
The Empress is actively creative, nurturing, protective, and has an intense,

immediate, hands-on connection with all her creations.
Unintegrated and unrealized, The Hanged Man can be self-involved and insensitive,
self-indulgent and passive, depressed and addictive, grandiose and impractical,
lonely and in need of support.
The Empress can be domineering and meddlesome, small-minded and abusive,

melodramatic and possessive, demanding attention and feeling abandoned.
Together they are generous, loyal and protective to a fault, and they can be
creative and original to the point of genius. They raise caring, selflessness, love
and devotion to transcendent levels.
Birth Card Notes:

JusticeHigh Priestess
Postures � both seated and facing forward

(Their actions are in the form of observing thinking, and speaking.
Both are direct and straightforward.)
Colors � red, green, purple, gold / blue, white, yellow

(Outward, passionate, involved vs. inward, calm, withdrawn)
Clothing � both are robed and crowned.

(Both are formal, ceremonial, and imperious; public vs. impersonal)
Symbols �
thrones and crowns
(strong conviction of personal authority & correctness)
pillars and veils

(guardians and initiators � gateways to the unknown and the hidden)
sword and scales / scroll and cross

(sharp & demanding vs. deep & permissive)
Foreground Figures � blond haired / dark haired (clear vs. obscure)
Astrology:
Libra (Justice) � balance, the center, no excess, no exaggeration
Moon (High Priestess) � cyclic, inclusive, nothing left out or rejected
Predilection:
Analytical vs. Contemplative
Harsh vs. Gentle
Loud vs. Silent
Justice and The High Priestess have in common that everything is accounted for.
Justice examines everything for flaws in order to find its flawless essence. The
High Priestess knows the secret of everything as it is in order to encompass
everything.
Justice demands of everything its true nature and essence, with nothing concealed,
withheld or distorted. It tirelessly weighs and measures, satisfied with nothing
less than the clear, the absolute, and the irreduceable in everything.
Justice is adamant and uncompromising with its sword and scales, loud and clear in
its redness, fearless and certain on its throne, guarding the entrance to the
temple of the secrets of perfection.
The High Priestess finds what is the same in everything, the secret unifying core
hidden in the endless variation of detail. She patiently discovers in all
differences what is true, original and undisturbed in everything.
The High Priestess is accepting and inclusive with her scroll and cross, calm and
quiet in her blueness, fearless and certain on her throne, guarding the entrance to
the temple of final knowledge.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, Justice can be given to rage and haste; it
can become arrogant and hypercritical, aggrieved and vengeful, or uncertain and
vacillating.
The High Priestess can be a conceited know-it-all, moody and taciturn, secret and
unapproachable; she can be despairing and lost, or given to excess and careless of
consequences.
Together, they dream of the perfect, the ultimate, and pursue it in more than one
kind of undertaking. They continuously seek the truth, and in its service they are
drawn to esoteric studies and unusual paths.
Birth Card Notes:

Wheel of FortuneMagician
Postures � pointing / spinning (sequential vs. cyclic � equally active)
Colors � white, red, gold / blue, grey, orange (high vs. low contrast; standing
out vs. blending in)
Shapes � wand, line / wheel, circle (masculine vs. feminine)
Symbols � four implements / four corners (mutable vs. stable, variable vs.
constant)
Foreground Figures � human / mythic (intimate, familiar vs. distant, strange)
Astrology:
Mercury (Magician) � adaptable, lucky in the moment, clever, manipulative, quick
Jupiter (Wheel) � extreme, fortunate in general, expansive, authoritative,

deliberate
Predilection:
Will vs. Destiny
Control vs. Acceptance
Skill vs. Fortune
The Magician and The Wheel of Fortune share the qualities of balance and
universality. They both know there is value and power in everything, that anything
can be made or can become important at any moment.
The Magician uses skill and intention to manipulate everything. The Wheel revels in
every experience and accepts everything.
The Magician awakens and enlivens whatever he pays attention to. The Wheel is
excited by whatever happens to it.
The Magician, human in form and scale, stands in one place and brings great things
to pass with small gestures. The Wheel, galactic in size and shape, spins endlessly
and experiences the smallest details of every unfolding drama.
The Magician makes things appear and disappear like rabbits out of a hat. With
focused awareness and skill, he opens up possibilities and closes them. Graceful,
eloquent and logical, he charms the willing and persuades the unwilling. Armed with
unbending intent, he approaches obstacles with serene confidence and faith in his
powers. His motto is "I will," and he discounts the possibility of failure. The job
of The Magician is to make intention into reality, no matter how unlikely or
improbable, and in the process, to amaze all who watch him do it.
The Wheel is restless, driven to move ceaselessly from place to place, from drama
to drama. At once actor and audience, it is simultaneously involved and detached.
At the mercy of what it cannot foresee or prevent, it alternates between
exhilaration and lassitude, high spirits and depression, good and bad fortune.
Aware of the patterns and repetitions that link seemingly random events, it is
unimpressed by them and is capable of patience. The motto of The Wheel is "Wheeee!"
The job of The Wheel is to enjoy, both the intensity of the unpredictable moment
and the serenity of grand and dependable cycles.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, The Magician can be willful and petty. A
controlling perfectionist, he can demand the impossible from himself and others.
Given to self-deceit and out-and-out lies, he pretends to powers he does not
possess in order to enhance his image and instill unwarranted confidence in others.
The Wheel can be fatalistic and melodramatic. Helpless in the face of events, it
feels alternately victimized by circumstance and unaccountably lucky. It accepts
what happens as destiny, fate or fortune. It experiences everything that happens to
it as intensely important, but with no sense of control, it seeks reassurance from
seers and oracles, and believes what they say. When things are going well, it hopes
that they will continue. When things go badly, it waits for them to get better. The
Wheel lives on hopes and fears, guides itself by past experience, and never stops
moving.
Together, The Wheel and The Magician are exciting and intense, always interesting
and full of surprises. Between them, they make things happen and constantly extend
the range of the possible. They keep the world from getting stale.
Birth Card Notes:

Sun / Wheel / Magician
Sun-Wheel-Magician
SunWheelMagician
Postures �
Sun-Wheel: riding / spinning
(versions of change � continuation vs. repetition, one-way vs. round-trip)
Wheel-Magician: spinning / standing

(circular, cyclic vs. linear, sequential)
Sun-Magician: riding / standing

(mutable, adaptable vs. unchanging, absolute)
Colors �
Sun-Wheel: gold, white, red-orange / orange, blue, grey
(bright, insistent, direct vs. muted, subtle, indirect)
Wheel-Magician: orange, blue, grey / gold, white, red

(low contrast vs. high contrast; blending in vs. standing out)
Sun-Magician: gold, white, red-orange / gold, white, red

(equally intense, insistent and irresistible; similar in optimism and simplicity)
Clothing �
Sun-Wheel-Magician: nude / symbolic / robed
(simple vs. complex vs. formal)
Symbols �
Sun: horse, wall, sunflowers and banner
Wheel: letters, spokes, books and beasts
Magician: wand, table, lemniscate, roses and lilies
(natural vs. ceremonial vs. functional)
Foreground Figures �
Sun: child and sun
(young and cheerful; steady and bright)
Wheel: wheel
(timeless and mysterious, dependable and energetic)
Magician: magician
(mature and impassive, effective and focused)
Landscapes �
Sun: prominent foreground with indistinct background and implied continuation of
foreground
(past, present and future � all active)
Wheel: middle distance only

(timeless detachment)
Magician: foreground only

(the intensity and immediacy of the moment to the exclusion of all else)
Astrology:
Sun (Sun) � central, the source of all fortune, cheerful, conclusive, spontaneous
Jupiter (Wheel) � authoritative, consistently fortunate, expansive, deliberate
Mercury (Magician) � adaptable, lucky when luck is needed, clever, manipulative,

quick
Predilection:
To show things as they truly are
vs. to accept things as they must become
vs. to make things as they are intended to be.
The Sun, The Wheel and The Magician share a concern with and expression of the
importance of time and change. The Sun adds its roundness and constant periodicity
to the circularity and endless revolutions of The Wheel. In this, they share the
femininity of cycles and dependable repetition. The Sun adds the linear directness
and the overwhelming power of its rays to the perfect focus and unbending intent of
The Magician. In this, they share the masculinity of limitless energy and
unwavering certainty.
The Sun reveals the shape and nature of everything, and fills whatever it touches
with confidence and energy.
The Wheel experiences and accepts everything, and is excited by whatever happens to
it.
The Magician manipulates everything with skill and intention, awakening and
enlivening whatever he pays attention to.
The Sun is clear, steady, bright and simple. It dispels fear and doubt with its
presence, lending energy and optimism to the task at hand. Its rising is the source
of all optimism and brings with it the joy of awakening and continued existence. It
is the certainty at the center of things, the clear awareness of what is and is
not. The motto of The Sun is "I am." The job of The Sun is to be the engine that
turns all the wheels of the world.
The Wheel is restless, driven to move ceaselessly from place to place, from drama
to drama. At once actor and audience, it is simultaneously involved and detached.
At the mercy of what it cannot foresee or prevent, it alternates between
exhilaration and lassitude, high spirits and depression, good and bad fortune.
Aware of the patterns and repetitions that link seemingly random events, it is
unimpressed by them and is capable of patience. The motto of The Wheel is "Wheeee!"
The job of The Wheel is to enjoy, both the intensity of the unpredictable moment
and the serenity of grand and dependable cycles.
The Magician makes things appear and disappear like rabbits out of a hat. With
focused awareness and skill, he opens up possibilities and closes them. Graceful,
eloquent and logical, he charms the willing and persuades the unwilling. Armed with
unbending intent, he approaches obstacles with serene confidence and faith in his
powers. His motto is "I will," and he discounts the possibility of failure. The job
of The Magician is to make intention into reality, no matter how unlikely or
improbable, and in the process, to amaze all who watch him do it.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, The Sun's directness can cast shadows as
intense as its light. It can be pitiless and absolute, dismissing what it cannot
see as worthless, foolish or insane, and it can be an implacable enemy of whatever
is hesitant or weak. Unable to abide a secret, it can be indiscreet. Impatient with
frailty or innuendo, it can fail to see the humor in a joke.
The Wheel can be fatalistic and melodramatic. Helpless in the face of events, it
feels alternately victimized by circumstance and unaccountably lucky. It accepts
what happens as destiny, fate or fortune. It experiences everything that happens to
it as intensely important, but with no sense of control, it seeks reassurance from
seers and oracles, and believes what they say. When things are going well, it hopes
that they will continue. When things go badly, it waits for them to get better. The
Wheel lives on hopes and fears, guides itself by past experience, and never stops
moving.
The Magician can be willful and petty. A controlling perfectionist, he can demand
the impossible from himself and others. Given to self-deceit and out-and-out lies,
he pretends to powers he does not possess in order to enhance his image and instill
unwarranted confidence in others.
The Sun, Wheel and Magician form the sides of a triangle, the only triumvirate in a
universe of pairs. It contains that universe's only nonlinear interior space, a
place of privacy, complexity and reserve.
Together, they coruscate � unpredictably glistening, flashing, darkening,

reflecting and revealing, multiplying the unexpected and expanding the boundaries
of the known and normal by a whole dimension.
Birth Card Notes:

JudgementHigh Priestess
Postures � standing, facing upward / seated, facing forward

(Distant, incomplete, uncertain and in process vs. immediate, complete and
confident in the moment.)
Colors � gold, red and white, above grey and blue / blue, white and yellow,
flanked by black and white
(The clear, high and brilliant calling to unfolding, unformed, unclear potential
vs. mystery embedded in mystery)
Clothing � nude / robed (Natural vs. formal)
Symbols �
coffins / pillars and veil
(Awakening vs. initiation)
white banner with red cross / scroll and cross

(New awareness vs. ancient knowledge)
trumpet / crown
(Loud inner imperative vs. silent inner certainty)
Foreground � the angels and nudes / priestess

(Complexity of beginning vs. simplicity of completion)
Astrology:
Fire (Judgement) � the natural, visible force of light and heat
Moon (High Priestess) � the keeper of mysteries and secrets

Predilection:
Loud and Active vs. Quiet and Patient
Raw and Direct vs. Subtle and Discreet
Open to the new and experimental vs.

A preference for the ancient & timeless
Judgement and The High Priestess share the energy of beginnings, the beginning of
an awakening and the beginning of an initiation. And so they also share the
finality of endings, since each marks an irrevocable boundary between levels of
awareness. The Priestess guards the gate to the last secrets of self and world.
Judgement is the door to the beginnings of the secret knowledge of self and world.
On the far side of Judgement everything is sound asleep in the dream of the
everyday. On the far side of The Priestess everything is wide awake at the end of
the final journey.
Judgement listens to the sound of a call so loud that it cannot be ignored. It

emerges from the ordinary, stripped of everything it previously held precious and
identified with. It begins a brand new life in a world made new by a new awareness,
awakened and motivated by a distant energy it hears and obeys but doesn't
understand. It finds itself in a state of constant transformation fueled by a
steady and unquenchable inner fire.
The High Priestess is mysterious, self-effacing and self-sufficient. Her silence is

ancient and perfect. She says nothing and does nothing, but leaves nothing unsaid
or undone. She is cool, serene and complete.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, Judgement can be deaf to the inner call and
heedless of its potential, remaining steadfastly concerned with everyday matters
and ordinary pursuits. Nevertheless, it can still be susceptible to visions, ghosts
and all sorts of paranormal experiences, with a strong psychic talent and a
readiness to believe stories of the super- and supra-natural.
The stubborn denial of Judgement can join forces with the Priestess' certainty that
she knows everything. When this happens, they combine as foolish self-confidence
alternating with a fear of the unknown, making personal growth a harrowing
experience.
Together, they focus on the transcendent rather than on the commonplace. They
combine high energy, and a capacity for radical change and impressive growth, with
an intuitive awareness of the vastness of the mystery of things. They can be great
explorers, willing to plunge into the fertile and frightening unknown and take
their chances with it.
Birth Card Notes:

World / Empress
World / Empress
WorldEmpress

Postures � dancing / sitting
(Graceful and in motion vs. stately and still)
Colors � gold, green, purple, light blue and flesh tone / yellow,
gold, green, red and white
(Soft, complex and subtle vs. bright, simple and intense)
Clothing � draped nude / loosely robed

(Unselfconsciously theatrical vs. formally modest)
Symbols � wreath with lemniscates, four beasts, sash, wreath in hair and wands /
crown, pearls, wreath in hair, orb and scepter, trees, river and wheat
(mythic and allegorical vs. ceremonial and natural)
Foreground Figures � the same blonde female in each card

(two aspects of the divine feminine, as beginning (Empress) and ending (World) of
the creative process)
Astrology:
Saturn (World) � time, orderliness, grand and stately progress, the contractions
of birth and death
Venus (Empress) � love, beauty, the creativity of nature, nurturing and protective
motherhood
Predilection:
Intensely outward, open and active vs.

Filled with creative but unexpressed potential
Disciplined and regular vs. Chaotic and unpredictable
Natural and adaptable vs. Formal and inwardly certain
The World and The Empress have in common clear minds and presence in the moment. In
crown and wreath and hand-held symbols they share a sense of high purpose. In the
gold of ornament and detail they have a common concern for spiritual elevation.
They contrast as active and settled, as expressive and reserved, as personal and
formal, as symmetrical and organic.
The World brings measure to The Empress' abundance; she brings orderly conclusion
to The Empress' fertile beginning. The World's energy and openness balances The
Empress' immobility and formality.
Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, The World can be awkward and inappropriate,
brazen and overbearing, heavy-handed and destructive, stiffly traditional and
unimaginative.
The Empress can be wildly self-indulgent, unaware of and unconcerned with

consequences. She can be vain, overbearing and autocratic, and use weakness, whimsy
and helplessness to manipulate people and events.
Together they can be spontaneous and graceful, beautiful and proportionate. Between
them, things do what they were born to do, live as they were meant to live, and
last as long as they were meant to last. Between them, destinies are realized and
completed.

Tarot Cards

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tarot Cards

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Determining Your Birth Cards

The Basic Formula:

Then add 9 + 2 = 11.

Or you can look at it this way:

Then add 11 + 6 = 17.

The Exception to the Rule:

If a birthday adds up to a digit plus a zero, it reduces immediately to a single

Table of Birth Card Pairs:

Hanged Man / Empress

Justice / High Priestess

Wheel of Fortune / Magician

Judgement / High Priestess

What About The Fool?

Birth Card Notes:

Imagery � Things to Look at and Contemplate:

Postures � crawling / standing

Landscapes � valley / peak

Foreground Figures � Crayfish / Hermit

Virgo (Hermit) � observant, analytical and smart; rooted in detail; patient,

The importance of night vs. The importance of day

The importance of pain / pleasure; beauty / ugliness vs.

The world as mysterious and uncertain vs.

Birth Card Notes:

Imagery � Things to Look at and Contemplate:

Postures and Gestures � kneeling and emptying / bending and controlling

Colors � flesh tones and blue / white, yellow and orange

Clothing � nude / robed and girdled

Strength: girdle of roses, lemniscate, controlling hands of female figure, teeth,

Strength: lion and clothed blonde goddess

Landscapes � prominent pool, sky, and stars with integrated foreground

Optimistic and relaxed vs. Vigilant and concerned

Flexible and soft vs. Insistent and strong

Accepting vs. Demanding

Birth Card Notes:

Imagery � Things to Look at and Contemplate:

Postures � falling / standing

Colors � foreground: grey / green

Clothing � loose robes and wild hair / armor and crown

Landscapes � simple / complex

Mars (Tower) � brilliant, flashing, in-the-moment; violent emotions and activity;

Hot in everything vs. Cool in everything

Direct in everything vs. Indirect in everything

Instinctual action vs. Considered action

Birth Card Notes:

Imagery � Things to Look at and Contemplate:

Card Structure �identical. Each is a 3-figure tableau consisting of two naked

Angelic Gestures � Uriel's sleight of hand / Raphael's gesture of blessing

Human Figures � partially demonic / fully human; chained / free-standing;

Background � transparent / solid; torch-lit / sunlit; double-cube altar /

Capricorn (Devil) � sophisticated, ambitious and relentless; driven to possess and

Self-determined vs. Relationship-oriented

Self-expressive vs. Cooperative creative effort

Self-important vs. What's best for one's partner

Unintegrated and imperfectly realized, The Devil can be at once beautiful,

Birth Card Notes:

Imagery � Things to Look at and Contemplate:

Postures � hovering / sitting

Colors � white / red

Clothing � flowing gown, bare feet / full robes, slippers

flaming hair / ear flaps

Foreground Figures � one angel / three religious figures

Sagittarius (Temperance) � adaptable, restless, volatile, quick to anger, freedom-

Taurus (Hierophant) � rooted, steady, slow to anger, simultaneously loyal and

Free-thinking vs. Traditional