Comprehensive Guide To The Zodiac And Tarot

Despite the almost hegemonic skepticism we find in modern society, humanity has not lost nor weakened its relationship with astrology – Largely because it plays such a fundamental role in shaping how we view the Zodiac and Tarot.

Astrology, in its simplest definition, is a field of knowledge created in ancient times by both the Greeks and a mixture of middle-eastern civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, etc.), which interprets the movement of astral bodies to direct life on Earth.

Most interactions between the typical layman and astrology happen in the form of your daily newspaper horoscope, a simplified form vilified by both skeptics and “believers” alike.

This last group is also quite numerous, comprising 22% of the total earth population, which is approximately 154 million! This serves to show that not only is it still relevant but also a valid field of study, even if you don’t believe it.

With this in mind, I have compiled a quick guide of astrological terms and information discussing ‘Zodiac and Tarot’.

The Zodiac And Tarot

The Zodiac is an astral map composed of several imaginary lines (much like those you see in a map of our globe), which track the movements of the astral bodies in the sky.

It is divided into twelve sections, each named after a different constellation. That is what the word “Zodiac” means; it derives from the Greek term zōidiakòs kýklos, “the circle of little animals” in English.

Despite its relationship with spiritual and occult practices, the Zodiac was and is used to this day in astronomy, is the basis for the Ecliptic Coordinates system, primarily because of how precise its mappings are on the movement of the planets.

When it comes to astrology, the coordinates of the Sun, Moon, and planets are read and interpreted for guidance, under the belief that they influence what happens on Earth.

The scale of this guidance varies considerably; the Zodiac can be read to predict major historical events or to gain insight into one’s personal life; it all depends on the scope the astrologist is using.

So, how does all of this apply to your horoscope warning you about being too emotionally attached or avoiding a specific color on a particular day?

A horoscope reading considers the dominant astral body in the sky at the moment of your birth and uses it as a basis to read the current alignment of the cosmos and what that means to you.

When your astral body is at its peak, good fortune follows, when it is at a low, so are you, but that is only a small piece of the puzzle. The other has to do with cartomancy.

The Tarot as a deck of cards dates its existence back to the 14th century, having appeared in its modern form in the north of Italy.

Initially, they played mostly the same role as a regular deck of cards would for us today; the instruments of popular games between neighbors you may see them fulfill this role still in many places of the world.

The use of Tarot in cartomancy and other divination arts became widespread through the two French men Antoine Court and Jean Baptiste Alliette (Also known as Etellia).

There is no such thing as a standard set of Tarot decks; instead, they are divided into many regional variations that can be more broadly defined as southern (Latin countries like Italy Spain and Portugal), Northern (France), and Central (Germany).

This variation implies changes in the suit’s names and the illustrations of each card type, but don’t be intimidated, as all can be used to the same ends.

Cartomancy with Tarot cards is done based on the zodiac and its signs and it has a series of categories that help you read it for predictions.

The Major Arcana

The trump cards of the Tarot deck, the Major Arcana, signals excellent life lessons, karmic influences, and the more significant themes that conduct one’s life.

Each card symbolizes a series of virtues or values represented by different figures that embody it; for example, the Emperor, sitting on its throne, represents authority, structure, and order, but there’s a catch.

If a card of the Major Arcana is presented in Reverse, it represents a destructive form of its values, so if the Emperor represents order, it will become a symbol of tyranny and inflexibility.

The major Arcana comprises 22 of these cards, going from 0 to 21, twelve of which are associated with the different signs of the Zodiac.

The Minor Arcana

If the Major Arcana is about the great themes of your life, the Minor Arcana is about the small day-to-day events and presenting insight on a short-term basis.

Do not let the word “minor” fool you, our lives are nothing if not a series of small ordinary events, and having the knowledge, or at least a minimal orientation, about them, can have incredible benefits.

Within the Minor Arcana the cards are divided into smaller groups, the suits, the royal court and regular cards.

The Suits are the major families within the minor arcana, a feature they share with the standard game decks of today, the divergence is that each of them represents a different element, which we’ll cover lower in this article.

• Wands (fire)
• Cups (water)
• Swords (air)
• Pentacles (earth)

The Royal Court represents a mixture of two elements, and often predict events that will have significance in both. The elements of the court are:

• Kings = element of Air
• Queens = element of Water
• Knights = element of Fire
• Pages = element of Earth

So for example, if the person reading the cards were to pull out a king of wands, it would be an event of both fire and Air. But what exactly do the elements mean?

The Elements

Earth, Water Fire and Air are described in ancient philosophy as the base materials that make up the fabric of creation.

Astrology deviates from this concept in the sense that they become not the literal elements as they physically exist, but rather as the pure embodiment of the forces within us.

You can also say it is a way of interpreting the many parts that compose the world, your body, for example, can be described as having the four elements in your breath (air), blood (water), flesh (earth) and internal heat (fire).

This is their meaning within astrology:

Air – Represents logic and reason, it conveys feelings and inner thought, and is a great tool for self knowing.

Fire – Represents mental energy, it differs itself from air because while it represents logic, fire is ambition, one’s will to act.

Earth – Represents physical energy; in other words, the material that affects your senses. It helps those who build and produce things; it is also associated with fertility.

Water -Represents emotional energy, like the human heart, mutable, yet it shapes just as much it is developed. Extremely flexible, it can be deep or shallow, mild, or destructive.

Now that you are armed with the knowledge to interpret these terms of modern spirituality, its time for you to get a detailed layout of how all of these interact: