Tarot Through the Numbers
You’re in the right place if you want to…
learn more about numerology.
understand how the meaning of a number applies to cards in the Major and Minor Arcana.
have a better understanding of the structure of a tarot deck.
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Throughout the fall season, I will be sharing a series of posts focused on the structure of a tarot deck. This is the first post in that series, so I’ll give you an overview of the standard structure of a tarot deck.
Tarot is generally made up of 78 cards. 22 of these are called the Major Arcana. In November, you can expect to see three separate posts about these cards. The other 56 cards are called the Minor Arcana. We’ll cover these cards in three posts as well, starting with this one.
The Minor Arcana are made up of four suits. Each suit has ten numbered cards with ace for one and four court cards. We're talking about the numbers 1 (or Ace)-10 today, and we’ll talk about the court next week.
Knowing the structure of the deck is helpful when learning the meaning of the cards because each suit has a domain, and each number has a theme that is consistent across the suit.
The symbolism held within a number applies to the Minor Arcana, and can also carry over into the Major Arcana.
So now, let’s talk about what each of these numbers mean. If you have a tarot deck, you might grab it and sort the cards by number so you can follow along with visuals.
Aces
We’ll start with aces because an ace is like the number 1, and it just makes sense to begin with the first number. I think the word “essence” really applies to all the ace cards. The aces are the essence of whatever that suit is. It's sort of the most pure and boiled down form.
Aces are also the beginning of the journey. The ace card of each suit is the foundation of a beginning or an opportunity. They are a spark of inspiration that initiates the next thing. They are like a little seed that is full of potential. You don’t yet know what it will become when it sprouts and grows, but for now you can plant it and give it support.
One is also the number of individuals and doing something unique that has never been done before. It is very much about independence and putting yourself first. Not in a selfish way, though it can be about that, too. More in a self care way, where you fill yourself up and then you have something to give to others.
We can carry this theme across to the magician who is the number 1 in the Major Arcana. The figure in this card points up to the spirit realm with one hand and down to the physical realm with the other. On the table are symbols of each of the suits, so the Magician incorporates all the suits and then each ace represents the essence of the suit it belongs to.
Twos
Where the ace is about individuality and essential energy, the twos are about coming together like a couple or a partnership. They often show duality and the choice you have to make when you get to a crossroads.
When you look at the two of any suit, the common theme is perfect balance and equilibrium. Balance can be found in a variety of ways.
You can see these with the High Priestess, the two card of the major arcana, as well. There is a balance of what is material in the physical realm and what is beyond the veil in the spiritual realm. It brings in this element of intuitive understanding and balancing the conscious and subconscious mind. The High Priestess is the most empowered version of balance, and equilibrium and how the choice we make create or destroy balance.
Threes
Three expands on two, in the way that a couple may create a baby to grow their family. This number is about expanding, learning, and growing. These cards show friendship, groups, and collaboration, as well as the first initial achievement of goal setting.
Three is about expressing yourself and creating something new. Taking the inspiration from the ace and the plan from your choices in the two and actually creating something from all that.
In the Major Arcana, the Empress is number three. She is often depicted with a pregnant belly, creating new life. This can also be interpreted as creativity in artistic endeavors like art, music, or writing. The Empress card often has a Venus symbol somewhere, and Venus rules over these creative ideas.
Fours
Four represents structure and stability. It's beyond the creativity and looseness of the previous numbers because it's all starting to take shape.
Think of the shape of a square or the four legs to a table that create a sturdy foundation to put things on top of. This translates to a stable base of knowledge or a foundation of planning that you can continue to build on.
This is also seen in the Emperor who is expanding his domain of rulership with careful planning and stability and structure.
Four also speaks of complacency, taking a rest, and being somewhat boring, as in, “you’re such a square.”
Get the Tarot Numerology Quick Guide
I created a single page cheat sheet for you to print out that includes keywords for each of these numbers.
You can hang it in your tarot reading space or include it in a grimoire, so if your mind goes blank during a reading, you can glance at the page and the keywords might jog something in your intuition.
Just click the button below.
Five
Five is the midpoint where the numbers transition. It is looking forward and backward simultaneously. Four brought us stability and five wants to test the structure we built and shake things up. The energy here is often surrounding change, which often leads to confusion and disagreement.
The Hierophant is the fifth card of the Major Arcana and he questions the foundations to create something radical and new or sometimes traditional. There's always a sense of creating new traditions or questioning the traditions that are there, looking to the past with questions, and looking to the future with new ides.
Five is often associated with the human body: four limbs and a head, five senses, five fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot. Humans seek balance and stability because we are imperfect. We explore and learn by experience. We test the boundaries and the limits of our capabilities. There's a sense of self-inquiry and learning by doing something for yourself.
Six
Six is like two threes. This is the next big victory or success as you move toward your goals. The six reveals the lesson of listening to your heart, what you feel is the next step, rather than listening to your mind that tells you the logical next step. It's about what is best for you in your life and what keeps you in alignment with your purpose. It's not about what someone else wants for you or what you think is best.
The six in the Major Arcana is the Lovers card. The common depiction of the Lovers shows a man and a woman with the archangel Raphael presiding over them. This symbolizes making decisions based on your soul's purpose and searching for your true purpose.
Before this image, it showed a man with his mother and his lover off to the side. This represented the man choosing his partner based on what was in his heart and not what his mother wanted for him.
Six represents communication, cooperation, and problem-solving and is the new hope as it adjusts and brings love, joy, and harmony back after the fives.
Seven
Seven is a sacred number in magic and spirituality. We talked about the seven main chakras in this post. It is made up of the number three, which we know represents creation and manifestation, and the number four which represents stability and structure. It's where spirit and matter meet.
Seven is all about trusting yourself and letting your intuition guide you. Seven invites you to reflect and assess as you continue to discover and know more about yourself. The sevens cards revolve around questioning and the consequences of our actions, taking responsibility for the choices we make. There is spiritual discernment.
The seventh card in the Major Arcana is the Chariot. The sphinxes represent spirit and matter. They are united in pulling the chariot in the same direction. There is movement toward your soul's purpose.
Eight
The eight cards show fast movement and big steps forward toward the ultimate goal. It is a number of change and regeneration, taking action, making progress, and creating breakthroughs.
The symbol for eight is the infinity symbol. Since it is turned 90°, it represents the way the spirit and physical realms are connected and the flow of life, abundance and power between the two.
The Strength card in the major arcana is about channeling power and defining passion. This is done in a gentle way. Strength can be allowing yourself to fit into the flow without trying to exert any sort of control over that flow. When you are in flow, abundance comes naturally.
That's how the eight is. It's trusting the abundance of the universe and the flow of energy between spirit and physical, and trusting that this power flows through you and this is abundance.
Nine
When we get to nine we are wrapping up the cycle. Nine is like three threes: it’s the “homestretch” and the next big step toward achieving your goals. It represents attainment, fulfillment, fruition and the general feeling of satisfaction you receive when you are nearing completion.
The nine in the Major Arcana is the Hermit, the wise soul. The Hermit lives alone and has all the wisdom of others but only trusts the wisdom that comes from within. He has a guiding light and a guiding principle that comes from experience, and he isn't swayed by the opinions and thoughts of others.
The lesson of the nine is that you have the knowledge and ability already. You have experienced life and learned from these experiences. This helps you understand, and it also gives you the ability to teach and counsel others who are still learning.
This is when we see the Moon card. It's like a mirror. That's an 18, which is also a 9, so it's mirrored. You see that throughout all of that number constellation in the tarot.
Ten
Technically numerology deals with 0-9, single digits. When you get to ten you add the two digits together to reduce it to a single digit. You have a one, which is about new beginnings, and a zero, which we haven't talked about but it's the spirit, the nothingness of everything and the everthingness of nothing.
So, the tens in tarot are what happens after the end. The nines give the conclusion to the story. The tens are what happens after you close the book. After achieving the goal in the nine cards, the tens show you what happens next.
They are in a way the end, but they are also the beginning again since they are also ones, the end of the previous chapter and the beginning of the next one. There is a feeling of awakening with a renewed sense of strength.
The Wheel of Fortune is a ten, which of course starts the cycle all over again, and it's about learning how to deal with those cycles. It's learning how to trust a cycle that is always changing each time you go around. There is an element of chance or luck as well: good or bad.
The Other Majors
We'll talk more about the major arcana later on this season, but their numerology also follows this pattern. You just add the digits to find where it falls.
For example, 11 is Justice, 1+1 is two, you can see balance is a theme here. I would suggest going through the remaining Majors and see how these number themes apply.
Summary
That's all I have for you this week. Thank you so much for being here. In this post we went through each of the numbers 1 (or Ace) - 10 and looked at the symbolism of these numbers and how it applies to the meaning of the tarot cards in the Minor and Major arcana.
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Now it’s your turn!
Do you have other keywords you associate with these numbers? How do you learn the meaning of the tarot cards? Share you tips below.
