Numerological Tarot Methods
Tags numerology, techniques, interpretation, tarot card meanings, tarot analysis
Any numerological system is essentially arbitrary. I'm making one up, and I hope it'll be internally consistent. This is how I plan to assign divinatory meanings to the cards, in the hope of someday making my own deck. The general idea is that you combine the suit significance with the numerological significance in order to obtain a more specific meaning. If you are using a pictorial deck, you should also combine this with the impressions left by the card itself. If you look at the various schools of thought on divinatory meanings of cards, it is evident that many of those people used this same method. Please note that this is a work in progress, so your comments are triply appreciated!
Newly updated with additional numerological suggestions as of 5/22/13!
| Coins | Wands | Swords | Cups | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace | Spirit, Impetus | Entrepreneureal Spirit | Seeker Spirit | Military Spirit | Epicurean Spirit |
| 2 | Venture, Partnership | Business ventures | Intellectual concordance | Strategic Alliances | Artistic Collaboration |
| 3 | Emergence, Orientation | Profitability, success | Eureka, Academic Originality | Military Advantage, Element of Surprise | Natural Beauty, Artistic Genius |
| 4 | Order, Conformance | Having one's financial life secure and orderly. | Completion of goals, performing to expectations | Physical and practical security; safety from harm | Alignment of disparate objects; organization. Neatness. |
| 5 | Artifice, Effort, Planning | Hard work, planning, sowing what you hope to reap | Algorithms, following instructions, doing things by rote | Tactics, thinking ahead, knowing your enemy | Laying foundations. Building or repairing interior structures that hold things up. Scaffolding. |
| 6 | Family, Cooperation, Community | Money received from family. Charity. | Long lost relatives, the desire to seek community | Family ties, the urge to protect, military service | Old photographs, family vacations, memory and reverie. |
| 7 | Heaven, Divinity | Serendipity | Prayer | Obedience | Praise |
| 8 | Confusion, Chaos | Bills, Taxes, Expenses | Homework, Paperwork, Red Herrings | Bureaucracy, Organization charts, Chain of Command | Mess, Disorganization, Disproportionate behavior, being out of line |
| 9 | Theoretical Ideal | Balanced budgets. | Completion of long-ignored but important tasks. | Peace. | Satisfaction |
| 10 | Worldly Perfection | Extra money | Free time | Victory | Excess |
| Page | Follower | ||||
| Knight | Representative | ||||
| Queen | Female Leader | ||||
| King | Male Leader |