Astrology and Tarot fit well together as each of the 78 tarot card has a place around the astrology wheel. In order to make sense of it all I designed the YesSpiral Astrology and Tarot Wheel. I started breaking it down in a previous post as the wheel is six layers deep. I went over layer one, The Twelve Zodiac Signs and layer two, Astrology Elements and the Tarot Correspondents.
In this post, I'll review layer three, the decans and planetary sub-rulers for each of the twelve zodiac signs. In addition to layer four, which shows where the 22 Major Arcana tarot cards fit along with the Court tarot cards.
The full YesSpiral Astrology and Tarot Wheel charts the Solstices and Equinoxes, the four seasons, 78 tarot cards, 12 zodiac signs, 10 planets, four elements, and three modalities.
Decans and Planetary Sub-rulers
The third layer in the Astrology and Tarot Wheel includes seven planets in our solar system and recognized in Classical Astrology. The planets are in presented in the Chaldean order of the planets.
The planets included in the Astrology and Tarot Wheel are all visible from the Earth without the use of telescopes. They include the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
The seven planets repeat around the wheel 5 times with Mars showing up at the end of Pisces and again at the beginning of Aries to give the start of the astrological year a jump start of energy.
The order of the planets are in the Chaldean Order which is in the order of their speed as observable from the earth in relation to the Sun. The seven planets also correspond with the days of the week.
Each of the planets around the wheel is a sub-ruler to the zodiac sign it falls under. Each sub-ruling planet corresponds with one of the 36 Decans (each zodiac sign is sub-divided into 30 degrees (out of the 360 whole of the zodiac) splitting each zodiac sign into three parts. This is why each sign was assigned three minor arcana tarot cards and three planetary sub-rulers.
Did you know the planets corresponded with the days of week?
Planets Correspond to the days of the week
Sun - Sunday
Moon - Monday
Mars - Tuesday
Mercury - Wednesday
Jupiter - Thursday
Venus - Friday
Saturn - Saturday
*If you know the days of the week in Spanish it is much easier to remember Martes is for Mars, and Miercoles is for Mercury, Jueves is for Jupiter, and Viernes is for Venus.
Saturday/Saturn, Sunday/Sun, and Monday/Moon are easier to remember in English.
Planet Orbit Speeds around the Sun and Chaldean Order
The Chaldean order shows the sun in the middle with the slowest moving planets on the left and the fastest on the right.
Saturn-> Jupiter -> Mars->Sun <-Venus <-Mercury <-Moon
Mars - orbit of 23 months - the planet of energy and action jump starts the wheel
Sun - All the Planets revolve around the Sun, including the Earth - 365 days
Venus - orbit of 7 months
Mercury - orbit of 3 months (this is why we have three mercury retrogrades per year)
Moon - The moon is a satellite and orbits around the Earth in 29.5 days
Saturn - orbit of 29 years
Jupiter - orbit of 12 years
The following planets are not part of the Chaldean order but I thought you would also want to know their orbit speeds.
Uranus - orbit of 84 years
Neptune - orbit of 165 years
Pluto - orbit of 248 years
Major Arcana Cards: Zodiac Signs and Planetary Rulers
The fourth layer in the Astrology and Tarot Wheel includes the major arcana cards and court cards associated with each of the zodiac signs.
There are 22 major arcana cards and each zodiac sign is assigned two major arcana cards meaning that two cards show up twice around the Wheel.
The Empress symbolizing Venus is the ruler of Taurus and Libra and The Magician symbolizing Mercury is the ruler of Gemini and Virgo.
Aries represented by The Emperor. The Planetary ruler Mars is represented by The Tower.
Taurus represented by The Hierophant. The Planetary ruler Venus is represented by The Empress.
Gemini represented by The Lovers. The Planetary ruler Mercury is represented by The Magician.
Cancer represented by The Chariot. The Planetary ruler The Moon is represented by The High Priestess.
Leo represented by Strength. The Planetary ruler The Sun is represented by The Sun.
Virgo represented by The Hermit. The Planetary ruler Mercury is represented by The Magician.
Libra represented by Justice. The Planetary ruler Venus is represented by The Empress.
Scorpio represented by Death. The Planetary ruler Pluto is represented by Judgement.
Sagittarius represented by Temperance. The Planetary ruler Jupiter is represented by The Wheel of Fortune.
Capricorn represented by The Devil. The Planetary ruler Saturn is represented by The World.
Aquarius represented by The Star. The Planetary ruler Uranus is represented by The Fool.
Pisces represented by The Moon. The Planetary ruler Neptune is represented by The Hanged Man.
The Court Cards
The court cards are the embodiment of the sign's modality and element. All of the Cardinal signs are represented by queens, the Fixed signs are represented by Kings, and the Mutable signs are represented by Knights.
One thing to note, is that each of the court cards represent the energy of two signs. That is 20 degrees of their elemental sign and 10 degrees of the preceding sign. In the YesSpiral Tarot and Astrology Wheel this fact is not illustrated for ease but is explained here for your own knowledge.
The suit's element informs you of its tarot card suit:
Wands = Fire
Earth = Pentacles
Air = Swords
Water = Cups
Cardinal = Water
Queen of Wands aka Water of Fire represents 20° Aries and 10° Pisces
Queen of Pentacles aka Water of Earth represents 20° Capricorn and 10° Sagittarius
Queen of Swords aka Water of Air represents 20° Libra and 10° Virgo
Queen of Cups aka Water of Water represents 20° Cancer and 10° Gemini
Fixed = Air
King of Wands aka Air of Fire represents 20° Leo and 10° Cancer
King of Pentacles aka Air of Earth represents 20° Taurus and 10° Aries
King of Swords aka Air of Air represents 20° Aquarius and 10° Capricorn
King of Cups aka Air of Water represents 20° Scorpio and 10° Libra
Mutable = Fire
Knight Wands aka Fire of Fire represents 20° Sagittarius and 10° Scorpio
Knight of Pentacles - aka Fire of Earth represents 20° Virgo and 10° Leo
Knight of Swords -aka Fire of Air represents 20° Gemini and 10° Cancer
Knight of Cups - aka Fire of Water represents 20° Pisces and 10° Aquarius
* You may be wondering where the Pages are and are coming up in the next part as they represent seasonal energy.
Next up, in part 3 I'll go over layer 5, Planetary Rulers and the last layer 6 The Seasons: Aces and Pages.
Tarot is an introspective tool that provides insight from the unconscious mind for your burning questions or personal challenges. The tarot will at times provide insight of what may happen in the future but knowing the information in advance helps to make changes to either continue on that trajectory or change the path you are on. Schedule a collaborative tarot reading today to tap into the hidden messages from your unconscious.