Both Tarot and Astrology are widely used and becoming more and more mainstream divination systems with which can help you through troubled times by offering a reflection on your past, present and possible future.

Tarot is also closely associated with astrology as each card relates to a planet, element, or astrological sign. A quick & easy internet search could no doubt provide an authoritative list if you are interested in learning more 😉

Since their first recorded origins, somewhen in the 1400s, Tarot cards have become well known as a tool for divination and/or fortune telling.

And in more modern times more progressive psychologists have utilised Tarot as a way to open up and help patients delve into how they feel about themselves.

Basically because Tarot is a great way to communicate with the subconscious without feeling self conscious. For example, let's say you know work is not going well, but you are distracting yourself, with the usual, from thinking about it.

A tarot card reading could very well show you that need to change occupations. It is not really future, or fortune telling, so much as an opportunity to see what is really going on in your life. Tarot cards are a lot more direct than oracle cards in this respect. 

A tarot card deck consists of 78 cards that fall into two distinctive parts of Major and Minor Arcana.

The Major Arcana

The first part is called the Major Arcana. This part of the deck has 22 cards, often referred to as trumps and one card - the zero card - called The Fool.

It is believed that these cards represent different stages of life that we go through, as per Joseph Cambell's "Hero's Journey" where our Hero starts as the naive fool, goes on adventures, matures and ultimately ends with (full) mastery of Self.

Many are recognizable such as the Magician (associated with the planet Mercury), the Lovers (associated with the astrological sign Gemini), and the Death card (associated with Scorpio).

The Major Arcana gives an individual direction and information about their personal life and emotional, mental and sometimes spiritual state.

The Minor Arcana

The other 56 cards are in the Minor Arcana. Arcana is taken from the Latin word akanum, meaning secret. The Minor Arcana is divided into four suits, just like regular playing cards.

The Elements 

The four suits are the Cups, the Wands, the Swords, and the Pentacles. Each of these cards represents a certain element of the Earth and is associated with certain astrological signs.

🏆Cups

The Cups represent Water and are associated most closely with Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. The Cups stand for emotions, spirituality, and the unconscious. 

🔥Wands

The Wands represent Fire and are associated with Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. The Wands stand for action, creativeness, and personal growth.

⚔️Swords

The Swords represent Air and are associated with Libra, Gemini, and Aquarius. The Swords stand for the mind, intelligence, and knowledge.

🍀Pentacles

Pentacles, represents Earth itself and is associated with Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. The Pentacles stand for physique, bodily experiences, and practicality.

🤍Aether

As in the so called pagan symbol of The Pentagram, there are five Elements that are essential to life on Earth. The Fifth Element (aka Aether in Hermeticism) is in actual fact, Spirit as represented or channelled by the cards and/or Reader and Questor, or Querent's, Higher Self or Creator/Source.

This Fifth Element - or Love, if the Movie with Bruce Willis is to be IMO correctly decoded - is what gifts Tarot Cards their magical ability to fathom the many mysteries of the human psyche and can help to heal the broken heart.

The Court Cards

In addition to the four suits, there are also Court cards for each suit. Broadly speaking, the Kings are about Authority & Action. Queens, Emotional Embodiment, Princes (or Knights); Action and Princesses (or Pages); ideas or inception of thought. The Court cards of each suit have a different elemental flavour, as it were. And they can also represent either the Questor or significant people, or traits of people in their life.

Think of the The Major Arcana cards, as the 'Heavy Hitters' in any Tarot layout or Spread. And no matter where they happen to land they are, almost always, considered first in any reading. Along with any adjacent cards.

The Minor Arcana cards provide more details to the Major Arcana cards. Offering additional guidance in areas such as relationships, activities, failures, and successes.

The Major Arcana cards are seen as more spiritual while the Minor Arcana cards are seen as material, pertaining to the day to day or more mundane. 

In Conclusion

Over the years, the interpretation of the cards has evolved. Modern decks of tarot cards are much more expressive than the earlier version, due in part to the images being more inclusive and closely associated with their meaning.

Tarot readers prize their cards and often will not let others touch them as they are viewed as sacred tools of their trade. Many card sets are often viewed as works of art because of the detailed pictures on each one.

Whether you get a tarot card reading virtually or in person, There are several things you should keep in mind. The tarot card reading should not scare you, but rather give you a better understanding of yourself. They will help you with not only what your future holds, but also what is presently going on in your life. You should leave the reading with a positive attitude and feeling enlightened.

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