Astrology plays a large part in determining the meaning of the individual Tarot cards (in Hermetic systems). Whether or not you believe in astrology does not effect the usefulness of what I cover in this introduction. 3 topics in Astrology are useful to the Tarotist.
The planetaries define the basic energies and characteristics.
Astrological Signs
Astrological Houses:
--- This is somewhat slanted towards Vedic (India) and Tibetan Astrology. What I present here is basic enough that it applies to Western astrology equally.
|
Element----> |
FIRE | WATER | AIR | EARTH |
|
Suit |
Wands | Cups | Swords | Disks |
| Aries -- Leo -- Sagittarius | Cancer -- Scorpio -- Pisces | Libra -- Aquarius -- Gemini | Capricorn -- Taurus -- Virgo |
Element |
Qualities |
Jung | Planet | Directio | Symbols | Angel | |||
| Fire (Wands) | creative, energetic, expansive, passion, intuition | Intuition | Mars | South | Lion Sun Phoenix |
Michael | |||
| Water (Cups) | emotional, relational, sensitivity, reflection, effectiveness, desire | Feeling | Mercury | West | Eagle Tortoise |
Gabriel | Soul | transformation | |
| Air (Swords) | mental, abstraction, impermanence, change, flux | Thinking | Jupiter | East | Wings | Raphael | |||
| Earth (Pentacles, Disks) | material, practical, factual, stability, industrious, prudent | Sensation | Gaia Demeter | Saturn | North | Bull yin/yang |
Uriel Haniel |
The four elements are themselves differing 'mixtures' of the
two underlying principles: heat and moisture,
where
heat without moisture == generates the elemental Fire
heat combined with moisture == generates the elemental Air
moisture without heat == generates the elemental Water
without heat or moisture == generates the elemental Earth
Notice that only the first three of these four combinations are properly included in the Mother letters.
The Indian Vedic system has the 3 doshas: vata (air/space), pitta (fire), and kapha (earth and water).
|
Attributes ---- |
|
| Sun | energy of life |
| Moon |
the Reigning needs of the Personality; how the Sun's energy is expressed in Personality |
| Mercury | Mind, Communication; Nervous System, Movement |
| Venus | Relationships, Romance, Social and Aesthetic Concerns |
| Mars | Applied energy, assertion, aggression |
| Jupiter | Expansion, enthusiasm, and optimism (benefits) [higher mind] |
| Saturn | Ambition, Necessary Controls |
| Uranus | Intensification, Eccentricism, Individualism |
| Neptune | Creative Visualization; Camouflage |
| Pluto | Perspective; Empowerment (transformation rebirth) |
In the Sign planetary associations:: Positive (+) is often described as Masculine; Negative (-) described as Feminine
Signs of the Zodiac |
||||
| FIRE | WATER | AIR | EARTH | |
| Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable | Aries -- Leo -- Sagittarius | Cancer -- Scorpio -- Pisces | Libra -- Aquarius -- Gemini | Capricorn -- Taurus -- Virgo |
| Cardinal | Aries +Mars | Cancer -Moon | Libra +Venus | Capricorn -Saturn |
| Aries - Ego importance, assertive,
exerting force, being number one [adventurous, perceptive, personal focus to life] impulsive selfish |
Cancer - emotional and domestic security [seeks popularity] tenacious, sensitive, clinging |
Libra - to please and gain appreciation
socially; being popular, fair, attractive[reformers, prophets, idealists; sensitive,
humanitarian, truth, beauty] co-operatively, lazy |
Capricorn - making things happen;
organizing, strategizing and deploying resources, ambition, worldly [power, hardworking, serious...but an ascent is possible into spiritual/householder] prudent, cautious, suspicious |
|
| Fixed | Leo +Su n | Scorpio -Mars, Pluto | Aquarius +Uranus [+Saturn ] | Taurus -Venus |
| Leo - seeks recognition, respect, love and honor,
ego triumph, Will generous, proud, theatrical |
Scorpio - control by knowing; get to the
bottom of things; research; being significant, self-sufficient, right [mysterious ++ occult, yoga (Tantra) >> profound insight] passionate, sensitive, anxious |
Aquarius - Innovation, social outreach,
humanitarianism (mw) [self-negation or sacrifice; no charisma] democratic, unconventional, detached |
Taurus - Keeping things as they are, or
making them as they should be, to maintain structure, organization and
security [stable, enduring, strong sense of relationships, happy homelife] resourceful, thorough, indulgent |
|
| Mutable | Sagittarius +Jupiter | Pisces (mw) Neptune [-Jupiter] | Gemini +Mercury | Virgo -Mercury |
| Sagittarius - Opinionated;
self-assertion to know what is proper; affecting thought; idealistic mutable [harmony, moral or higher mind disposition, conventional] freedom, straightforward, careless |
Pisces - Feeling, understanding, having
compassion and identifying the ideal; working with the intangible [intuitive, mutable, sentimental, past, ceremony, music, amorphous, weak confidence] imaginative, sensitive, distracted |
Gemini - diversity, communication,
cleverness, inquisitive, wit, and the idea of being scintillating,
clever [energy] logical, superficial |
Virgo - refinement, discrimination, being
exact, cerebral, correct, accuracy practical, efficient, critical |
|
| FIRE | WATER | AIR | EARTH | |
House |
Qualities |
||||||||
| 1st | The self, one's appearance, the body, physical characteristic etc. The Ego. The start of anything. | Self | |||||||
| 2nd | Money and Possessions, values and priorities. Growth of anything | Possessions | |||||||
| 3rd | Communications, siblings, neighbors and neighborhood matters, local travel and transport, education, everyday matters | Communication | |||||||
| 4th | The home and family, the mother or mother figure, caring for someone or something. Conservation. The beginning and end of life. | Home | |||||||
| 5th | Pleasures and leisure, holidays, games and gambling. Children. Creativity. Love affairs and sex for fun rather than a deep relationship. | Pleasure | |||||||
| 6th | Work, duties and chores. Employers, employees and one's job. Health and well-being. | Health | |||||||
| 7th | Relationships, marriage and business partnerships. Agreements and treaties. Also open enemies and war. | Partnership | |||||||
| 8th | Birth, death, beginnings and endings. Sexual relationships and deeply committed relationships of all kinds. Joint monies, taxes, legacies, and corporate finances. The occult and psychic matters. | Sex | |||||||
| 9th | Foreign travel and foreign countries and cultures. Religion, the law and higher education. All things which seek to expand one's experience. Freedom. | Philosophy | |||||||
| 10th | Aims and ambitions, direction in life. Your status in society, your career. The house of celebrity. | Social Status | |||||||
| 11th | Detached relationships such as friends and acquaintances. Groups, clubs and societies, especially with a charitable or humane aim. | Friends | |||||||
| 12th | Mysticism, the occult, psychic matters. Places of seclusion such as hospitals, prisons and institutions. Retreat and reflection and self-sacrifice. | Unconscious | |||||||