Tarot Correspondences

		TAROT CORRESPONDENCES courtesy of Merlynn If you Google the word Tarot, some 9,140,000 hits greet your eyes. If you walk into your local bookstore, you’ll find shelves of books that profess to teach you how to read Tarot. Obviously, tarot’s pretty interesting to a lot of people. But if the method to reading is the same, why all the books and sites? Because, of course, they aren’t all the same. Every person that reads Tarot has their own interpretation, their own methods, and their favorite spreads. Decks are different. Some rearrange the order of the Major Arcana while others change the pictures to fractals. How then, does a person begin to figure it all out? Start with the guide that comes with the deck. The artist usually includes his or her iconography methods. But remember, the guide is only a starting point. While there are many agreed upon interpretations for each card, many people discover deeper or alternate meanings with use that are specific to them. In that way, reading Tarot is similar to dream interpretation. For example, two people dreaming about roses would have very different interpretations if one equated roses with life and the other equated them with death. So, too, with Tarot. Why do you think there are so many decks out there? The symbols in one deck may speak to me loud and clear whereas a different deck would speak to you. The symbols, colors, and mythology of the deck are what allow you to access your higher self and produce accurate readings. Some folks refer to these things as correspondences. Correspondences are a matter of individual choice and of intention, or adherence to a school of thought, rather than right or wrong. Again, like interpreting a dream, you may associate red with anger where another would associate it with love. If you’re just starting out, you might find the following correspondences helpful in your readings. Keeping a journal of your readings will help you spot your own correspondences as you become more proficient. Most of the following tables are courtesy of Merlynn. A hearty thanks to him for his hard work in compiling so much information! At the end of this article, you’ll also find links to sites for more information.

CUPS	SWORDS	WANDS	PENTACLES
hearts water feelings emotions Cancer Scorpio Pisces	spades air state of mind state of conflict thoughts intellect Gemini Libra Aquarius	clubs fire energy action power career creativity Aries Leo Sagittarius	diamonds earth material conditions financial conditions Virgo Capricorn Taurus
Regular playing card correspondences, element correspondences, and general meanings of Minor Arcana suits.

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General meaning of color within the Tarot.
Red	ardor or eagerness
Orange	a passionate approach
Yellow	an intellectual approach or an intellectual balance
Green	harmony
Blue	a balanced spiritual understanding
Purple	compassion
White	purity of motive

Additional color-Tarot correspondences.
White	The Fool
Red	The Magician, Cups, Fives
Pink	Sevens
Orange	The Sun, Twos, Eights
Gold	Knights, Sixes
Yellow	Knights, Sixes
Copper	The Sun, Knights, Sixes
Green	The Emperor, Sevens, Sometimes Aces
Blue	The Hierophant, Cups
Purple	Justice, Fours, The Chariot
Grey	The Hanged Man, Threes
Silver	The Moon
Brown	Eights, Pages, Tens
Black	Death, Queens, Threes

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Specific Card Combinations and Correspondences
Death	Karmic Situations - Lessons	Legalities Forthcoming
Death Tower Judgment Three of Swords Four of Swords Ten of Swords *you need at least 4 of these cards to symbolize a physical death	Justice Judgment Star	Justice Five of Wands King of Wands

Meditations	Money Being Spent	Money Borrowed
Four of Cups Four of Swords High Priestess Hanged Man	Ace of Pentacles Four of Pentacles Six of Pentacles all reversed	Six of Pentacles Ten of Pentacles

Money Earned	Money, Lack of	Money Saved
Six of Pentacles Eight of Pentacles Nine of Pentacles	Ace of Pentacles (reversed) Two of Pentacles (reversed) Nine of Pentacles (reversed) Ten of Penacles (reversed) Five of Pentacles (upright)	Ace of Pentacles Four of Pentacles

Moving House	Pregnancy	Relationship Commitment
Three of Swords Four of Swords Knight of Swords	Empress Nine of Pentacles with any of the four Pages in the Future position	Four of Wands Six of Wands Eight of Pentacles Three of Cups Ten of Cups Empress

Study	Travel	Travel by Air
Three of Pentacles Eight of Pentacles Ace of Swords Temperance Justice (study of law) High Priestess (psychic/spiritual) Hermit (self-exploration) Hierophant (religious/philosophical) Devil (study to benefit career or practical plans)	Temperance Knight of Wands Ace of Wands Three of Wands Eight of Wands Six of Swords	Temperance Knight of Wands Ace of Wands Three of Wands Eight of Wands Six of Swords

Travel by Road	Travel Overseas	Vivid Dreams
Chariot with above travel cards	Eight of Wands Six of Swords	Moon Nine of Swords

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General Minor Arcana Meanings
Ace	Beginnings: raw energy, intuition, fresh ideas, new growth
Two	Decisions: balance, duality, manifestations, relationship between two people, objects, or events
Three	Growth: creation, perspective, exploration of new ideas and/or energies
Four	Consolidation: stability, material world, logic, order, foundation
Five	Change: struggle, strife, balance upset, challenge, disappointment
Six	Stability: peace, balance reestablished, values, equilibrium
Seven	Don't Give Up: fate, choice, intuition, decision making
Eight	Strength or Personal Power: success, control
Nine	Reassessment: attainment, mastery, control, wisdom
Ten	Completion: perfections, end of cycle, rebirth, finish

Minor Arcana Meanings within Suit

WANDS (action / enthusiasm)

Ace	commencing action
Two	physical or location decisions
Three	travel or physical progress
Four	physical consolidation
Five	scattered physical energy
Six	focused energy and stability
Seven	physical challenges
Eight	free flowing physical energy
Nine	reassessment of important goals
Ten	burdens resulting from too many projects

CUPS (feelings / emotions)

Ace	emotional beginnings
Two	emotional unions
Three	emotional progress or celebration
Four	emotional consolidation
Five	separation / loss
Six	emotional stability
Seven	emotional searching
Eight	strength to seek more from life
Nine	fulfillment from healthy self-worth
Ten	group or family harmony

SWORDS (thought)

Ace	ideas, mental beginnings
Two	decisions about belief
Three	growth leading to understanding
Four	mental consolidation
Five	argument, inner conflicts
Six	mental stability, releasing old beliefs
Seven	mental adaptability
Eight	finding strength to shake off other's beliefs
Nine	strong dreams, worrying
Ten	laid low by beliefs about life

PENTACLES (practical application)

Ace	practical beginnings
Two	financial decisions
Three	practical growth through study or learning
Four	financial consolidation
Five	spiritual or financial poverty
Six	financial stability
Seven	financial challenges requiring adaptability
Eight	commitment to building on past successes
Nine	material success from practical efforts
Ten	solid and lasting material success

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Major Arcana Astrological Correspondences
CARD		PLANET
0	Fool	Uranus
1	Magician	Mercury
2	High Priestess	Moon
3	Empress	Venus
4	Emperor	Aries
5	Hierophant	Taurus
6	Lovers	Gemini
7	Chariot	Cancer
8	Strength	Leo
9	Hermit	Virgo
10	Wheel of Fortune	Jupiter
11	Justice	Libra
12	Hanged Man	Neptune
13	Death	Scorpio
14	Temperance	Sagittarius
15	Devil	Capricorn
16	Tower	Mars
17	Star	Aquarius
18	Moon	Pisces
19	Sun	Sun
20	Judgment	Pluto
21	World	Saturn

Meanings of Multiples
	4 of Each			3 of Each			2 of Each

KINGS	great honor	R	celebrity	consultation	R	commerce	minor counsel	R	projects
QUEENS	great debate	R	bad company	deception by women	R	gluttony	sincere friends	R	work
KNIGHTS	serious matters	R	alliance	lively	R	dual or personal encounter	intimacy	R	susceptibility
PAGES	dangerous illness	R	privation	dispute	R	idleness	disquiet	R	society
TENS	condemnation	R	event or happening	new condition	R	disappointment	change	R	expectation justified
NINES	good friends	R	usury	success	R	imprudence	receipt	R	small profit
EIGHTS	reverse	R	error	marriage	R	spectacle	new knowledge	R	misfortune
SEVENS	intrigue	R	quarrelers	infirmity	R	joy	news	R	woman of no repute
SIXES	abundance	R	care	success	R	satisfaction	irritability	R	downfall
FIVES	regularity	R	order	determination	R	hesitation	vigils	R	reverse
FOURS	journey near at hand	R	walks abroad	sujbect of reflection	R	disquiet	insomnia	R	dispute
THREES	progress	R	great success	unity	R	serenity	calm	R	safety
TWOS	contention	R	reconciliation	security	R	apprehension	accord	R	mistrust
ACES	favorable chance	R	dishonor	small success	R	debauchery	trickery	R	enemies

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For more information and additional tarot correspondences, try the links below.

AstrologyWeekly.com	tarot correspondences according to Golden Dawn
Sunnyway.com	correspondences between runes and tarot
Earth Witchery	stone and herbal correspondences
Voice of Thoth	correspondences of trumps to body parts and illnesses
Daughters of Divination	relating crystals to tarot
Llewellyn Journal	hidden meanings of court cards and their correspondences

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