Putting It Together

So, to summarize what we’ve covered this far, the 12 signs of the zodiac are classified with a Quality and an Element.  The three Qualities are Cardinal Fixed and Mutable.  The four elements are Fire, Earth, Air and Water.  Each sign has its own unique combination of a Quality and an Element.

The Minor Arcana numbered cards, 2 through 10, are associated with the Zodiac Signs according to their Quality and Element as follows:

    Qualities:

       Cards 2, 3 and 4 of each suit = Cardinal Signs
       Cards 5, 6 and 7 of each suit = Fixed Signs
       Cards 8, 9 and 10 of each suit = Mutable Signs

   Elements:

        Wands = Fire Signs
        Cups = Water Signs
        Swords = Air Signs
        Pentacles = Earth Signs

Therefore you know when you see, for instance the 3 of Wands, that it represents one of the Cardinal Signs, because the 2, 3 and 4 of each suit are the Cardinal Signs; and you know it represents the Fire Element, so you know it represents the Cardinal Fire Sign.  That Sign is Aries.

More examples:

7 of Cups
    The 5, 6 and 7 of each suit represent the Fixed Signs; Cups are Water so the 7 of Cups represents the Fixed Water Sign Scorpio.

9 of Pentacles
    The 8, 9 and 10 of each suit represent the Mutable Signs; Pentacles are Earth so the 9 of Pentacles represents the Mutable Earth Sign Virgo.

This is the way you can identify the astrological sign associated with the 36 Minor cards 2 through 10, whether or not the deck you are using includes the astrological symbols on the cards.

What about the Aces?

The Aces simply represent all three signs in the Triplicity associated with the Ace's Suit and Element.

    Ace Wands = Fire Triplicity = Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
    Ace Cups = Water Triplicity = Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
    Ace Swords = Air Triplicity = Libra, Aquarius, Gemini
    Ace Pentacles = Earth Triplicity = Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo

This information can be included in readings to elaborate on a card if you choose to give some information about the sign it represents, and also for timing if timing is relevant to the question.  Since the Signs are associated with specific months of the year, you have a natural time association.  Each of the 3 cards which represent a sign can also be narrowed down further into approximately a 10 day period within each of the 12 months of the year.  We will go into that later this series.

Suggestions for committing this to memory:

Take any one of your favorite decks and take out all the 2 through 10 cards.

Start with the 2s, 3s, and 4s of each suit.  These 12 cards represent the Cardinal Signs.

• Mix them up then turn them over one by one.
• Recite to yourself which Cardinal sign is represented by the card:
          2 of Cups - Cardinal Water - Cancer
          3 of Swords - Cardinal Air - Libra
          3 of Pentacles - Cardinal Earth - Capricorn
          4 of Wands - Cardinal Fire - Aries
          2 of Swords - Cardinal Air - Libra
          2 of Wands - Cardinal Fire - Aries
          2 of Pentacles - Cardinal Earth – Capricorn

and so on.....

Once this becomes easy, move on the the 5s, 6s, and 7s.  These represent the Fixed Signs Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius and Taurus.  Repeat as above. 

Then go to the 8s, 9s, and 10s.  These represent the Mutable Signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces.  Once this becomes easy, mix all 36 cards together and go through them. 

I've found this doesn't take long if you practice it for even 2 to 3 minutes a day for awhile, whenever you think of it.  If you don't trust your answers in the beginning and want to double check them, use a deck with the symbols on it or use a cheat sheet. It is the repetition which will fix it in your mind. When I was committing these to memory I used the Golden Dawn Ritual deck to check my answers until they came quickly and I was sure of them.  Have fun!!!

Micki