Chapter The Signs and Planets of the Major Arcana

There is no real historical evidence that systematic correspondences between tarot and other metaphysical disciplines were used for divination or other purposes until the Thoth and Rider-Waite-Smith tarot decks were developed (or “rectified”) around the turn of the century by followers of societies devoted to the Western Mystical Tradition, such as the Golden Dawn. Prior to that, some of the images of the major arcana would certainly have been identified with various mythological figures, some of which are represented among the signs and planets of astrology. However, Renaissance-era associations are far less systematic and some trumps have more than one association or none at all.

For these reasons, both the widely-used Rider-Waite-Smith and likely Renaissance-era associations are presented in this book. I also encouraged you to develop other possible systems of correspondences for your personal use. Many have noted that some of the Golden Dawn associations seem a bit forced, designed to ensure that the astrological signs progress in order through the major arcana. This leads to pairings that might seem odd, such as Cancer with the Chariot or Taurus with the Hierophant. Other choices are certainly possible, and it is a valuable exercise to question those that are presented here and develop your own. The most widely-used set of modern correspondences is shown below.
0 The Fool – Uranus

1 The Magician – Mercury

2 The High Priestess – Moon

3 The Empress – Venus

4 The Emperor – Aries

5 The Hierophant – Taurus

6 The Lovers – Gemini

7 The Chariot – Cancer

8 Strength – Leo

9 The Hermit – Virgo

10 Wheel of Fortune – Jupiter

11 Justice – Libra

12 The Hanged Man – Neptune

13 Death – Scorpio

14 Temperance – Sagittarius

15 The Devil – Capricorn

16 The Tower – Mars

17 The Star – Aquarius

18 The Moon – Pisces

19 The Sun – Sun

20 Judgment – Pluto

21 The World – Saturn
An older system of astrological and mythical correspondences is based on Renaissance art and mythology, and more closely follows the mythological portrayals of the gods, goddesses, beasts, and other symbols associated with these signs and planets. No particular attention is paid to signs being in order or having one per card, since this was most likely not an issue in the original development and ordering of the cards.

In addition to astrological signs and planets, many of the cards are associated with Greek or Roman gods and goddesses, or other familiar figures of the culture at that time. To better understand why these cards have the assignments they do, you may want to look at an early version of the trumps in one of the Renaissance decks. One interesting note is that some of the cards like Death, the Devil, and Judgment, which we think of as being largely allegorical today, may have had more literal meanings to the people of the time. Some associations of Renaissance-era major arcana are provided below, only some of which correspond to planets and signs used in astrology.