The Court Cards and The Signs

The Kings, Queens and Knights are associated with the Astrological Signs according to the Quality and Element of each Sign.  Since there are 16 Court cards and only 12 Signs, the Pages do not represent a particular sign.  Like the Aces they represent all three signs of a Triplicity, or often simply the Element of their suit itself.  Though there are differences of opinion about the association of the Court Cards, this is one popular system of associations:

The Kings represent the Cardinal Sign of their suit/element.
The Queens represent the Fixed Sign of the suit/element.
The Knights represent the Mutable Sign of their suit/element.

 

King of Wands – Aries – Cardinal Fire

King of Cups – Cancer – Cardinal Water

King of Swords – Libra – Cardinal Air

King of Pentacles – Capricorn – Cardinal Earth

 

Queen of Wands - Leo - Fixed Fire

Queen of Cups - Scorpio - Fixed Water

Queen of Swords - Aquarius - Fixed Air

Queen of Pentacles - Taurus - Fixed Earth

 

Knight of Wands - Sagittarius - Mutable Fire

Knight of Cups - Pisces - Mutable Water

Knight of Swords - Gemini - Mutable Air

Knight of Pentacles - Virgo - Mutable Earth

 

We have now covered all of the cards in the Minor Arcana and their astrological associations.The next series of posts will illustrate the time span that the Minor Cards are associated with.  This, of course, gives us a very neat system for using timing in Tarot readings.

Micki

Mabon Blessings!

Today is the Autumn Equinox, the day when the Sun enters the Cardinal Air Sign Libra, which marks the beginning of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. 

In Wiccan/Pagan circles this is the Festival Day known as Mabon, honoring the second harvest of the year.  It is a day of giving thanks for the rich bounty which will sustain us through the dark winter months, very similar in theme to the USA’s Thanksgiving Day in November.

In Wicca there are three harvest festivals, the first is celebrated on August 2, known as Lammas or Lughnasadh, Mabon on the Autumn Equinox,  and the third, Samhain on October 31, Halloween. 

There are eight Wiccan Festival Days through the year, known as Sabbats.  Astrologically these correspond to the first day of the four seasons when the Sun enters one of the four Cardinal Signs: Aries, beginning Spring; Cancer beginning Summer; Libra beginning Autumn; and Capricorn, beginning Winter.  The other four Festival Days correspond roughly to the days when the Sun is at the mid-point (15 degrees) of the Fixed Signs; Imbolc, February 2 in the sign Aquarius, Beltane, May 1 in the sign Taurus, Lammas, August 2 in the sign Leo, and Samhain, October 31 in the sign Scorpio.

Traditional celebrations for Mabon include wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines such as ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty. 

“At this festival it is appropriate to wear all of your finery and dine and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is the drawing to and of family as we prepare for the winding down of the year at Samhain. It is a time to finish old business as we ready for a period of rest, relaxation, and reflection.”  [1]

When I first discovered Wicca in the mid 1990s I was looking for a book which would explain the use Astrology in Ritual Magick.  I didn’t find one, but I did find the book  Circle Of The Cosmic Muse: A Wiccan Book Of Shadows by Maria K. Simms, and I was immediately delighted with this beautiful religion of celebration and cooperation with the forces of nature. The author is a Wiccan High Priestess and a professional Astrologer, and explains that, though their Coven celebrates the Sabbats on the traditional festival dates, she performs her personal rituals for them on the astrological “power days” when the Sun is at 0 degrees of the Cardinal Signs and 15 degrees of the Fixed Signs.  Already familiar with Astrology from childhood on, this book provided me with a beautiful way to celebrate these astrological power days in my own personal life.

So, I wish to all a wonderful Mabon!  May you have many blessings to give thanks for this year and in every year to come.

Micki

[1] Mabon image and quote are from Joelle’s Sacred Grove

Autumn Leaves picture is from Crystal Links

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

The Earth Signs In The Minor Arcana

The three Earth Signs are represented by the suit of Pentacles.  As we have seen with the other three suits, the cards in all four suits are associated with the Zodiac Signs by the Quality and Element of the Signs.  Which cards in each suit are associated with which Sign are assigned by the Quality of the Sign as follows:

Cardinal Signs are represented by cards 2, 3, 4 of the suit
Fixed Signs are represented by cards 5, 6, 7 of the suit
Mutable Signs are represented by cards 8, 9, 10 of the suit

In Pentacles these associations are:

Cardinal Earth:  2, 3, and 4 of Pentacles – Capricorn
Fixed Earth: 5, 6, and 7 of Pentacles –Taurus
Mutable Earth:  8, 9 and 10 of Pentacles – Virgo

The following cards from the Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot and the Universal Waite Tarot represent the three signs in the Earth Triplicity.

Capricorn - Cardinal Earth  Dec 22 to Jan 20

The two, three and four of Pentacles represent the sign Capricorn in the Golden Dawn System. Look for the symbol of Capricorn on these cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taurus - Fixed Earth  April 21 to May 20
The five, six, and seven of Pentacles represent the sign Taurus in the Golden Dawn System. Look for the symbol of Taurus on these cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virgo – Mutable Earth  Aug 23 to Sept 22
The eight, nine and ten of Pentacles represent the sign Virgo in the Golden Dawn System. Look for the symbol of Virgo on these cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the downward pointing triangle with a line through it on each side of the Golden Dawn title at the bottom these cards.  This is the symbol for Earth. Look at the Golden Dawn title for each of these cards and compare it with the scene in the Universal Waite card directly below it.  What strikes you?  Does the Universal Waite scene appear to reflect the Golden Dawn title?

In the next post I will summarize what we’ve covered in associating these Minor cards with the Zodiac Signs, and how to use this to quickly recognize the Sign associated with each of the cards 2 through 10 in the Minor Arcana, whether or not the deck you are using includes these symbols.

Micki .

The Air Signs In The Minor Arcana

The three Air Signs are represented by the suit of Swords.  As we have seen with the Wands and Cups, the cards in the Swords suit are associated with the Air signs as follows:

Cardinal Air:  2, 3, and 4 of Swords - Libra
Fixed Air: 5, 6, and 7 of Swords - Aquarius
Mutable Air:  8, 9 and 10 of Swords - Gemini

The following cards from the Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot and the Universal Waite Tarot represent the three signs in the Air Triplicity.

Libra - Cardinal Air  Sept 23 to Oct 22

The two, three and four of Swords represent the sign Libra in the Golden Dawn System. Look for the symbol of Libra on these cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aquarius - Fixed Air  Jan 21 to Feb 19

The five, six, and seven of Swords represent the sign Aquarius in the Golden Dawn System. Look for the symbol of Aquarius on these cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gemini – Mutable Air   May 21 to June 21

The eight, nine and ten of Swords represent the sign Gemini in the Golden Dawn System. Look for the symbol of Gemini on these cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the upward pointing triangle with a line through it on each side of the Golden Dawn title at the bottom these cards.  This is the symbol for Air.  Look at the Golden Dawn title for each of these cards and compare it with the scene in the Universal Waite card directly below it.  What strikes you?  Does the Universal Waite scene appear to reflect the Golden Dawn title?

We’ll move on to the the Pentacles in the next post.

Micki

The Water Signs In the Minor Arcana

The three Water Signs are represented by the suit of Cups.  As we have seen with the Wands, the cards in the Cups suit are associated with the Water signs as follows:

Cardinal Water:  2, 3, and 4 of Cups - Cancer
Fixed Water: 5, 6, and 7 of Cups - Scorpio
Mutable Water:  8, 9 and 10 of Cups - Pisces

The following cards from the Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot and the Universal Waite Tarot represent the three signs in the Water Triplicity.

Cancer - Cardinal Water  June 21 to July 22

The two, three and four of Cups represent the sign Cancer in the Golden Dawn System. Look for the symbol of Cancer on these cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scorpio - Fixed Water  Oct 23 to Nov 21

The five, six, and seven of Cups represent the sign Scorpio in the Golden Dawn System. Look for the symbol of Scorpio on these cards.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pisces – Mutable Water  Feb 20 to March 20

The eight, nine and ten of Cups represent the sign Pisces in the Golden Dawn System. Look for the symbol of Pisces on these cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the downward pointing triangle on each side of the Golden Dawn title at the bottom these cards.  This is the symbol for water.  Look at the Golden Dawn title for each of these cards. Compare this title with the scene in the Universal Waite card directly below it.  What strikes you?  Does the Universal Waite scene appear to reflect the Golden Dawn title?

We’ll move on to the the Swords in the next post.

Micki