All the Tarot Cards for Your Zodiac Sign

Tarot and astrology operate in separate spheres, but there’s some crossover between them. For instance, did you know that every card is connected to an astrological sign? Some people know that each zodiac sign is aligned with one Major Arcana card.

But, every zodiac sign is connected to multiple Minor Arcana cards and even court cards. And, each decan has its own tarot card.

This post explores the astrology of tarot, breaking down all the cards that correspond to your zodiac sign: the Major Arcana card that mirrors your core archetype, the Minor Arcana cards that match your sign’s decans, and the court cards that add nuance to your energy.

Why Do Tarot Cards Correspond to Zodiac Signs?

To answer that, we get to travel back to ancient Egypt. Long before astronomy looked like it does today, the Egyptians tracked time using 36 small star clusters. These are known as decans. Every 10 nights, a new decan would rise on the horizon. Later, astrologers mapped these onto the zodiac signs, assigning three decans to each.

Fast-forward to the late 19th century. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn who were a major influence on modern tarot, took those decans and mapped them onto the Minor Arcana, organizing the cards by element, modality, and astrological rulership. They also assigned each of the 22 Major Arcana to a corresponding planet, element, or zodiac sign.

The result? A full decan wheel connecting tarot and astrology that is still used today.

How the Tarot Zodiac System Works

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn began with the first decan of Aries, as it is a cardinal sign and the first sign of the zodiac. They matched it with the first Wands card after the Ace in the Minor Arcana.

This is because Wands represent the fire element and Aries are a fire sign. Aces represent the most intense, purest version of the element, so the Golden Dawn associated with them with all zodiac signs of that element.

They continued this way around the entire decan wheel, aligning the first three cards of a suit with the corresponding element’s cardinal sign that begins the next season. As a result:

• Each Major Arcana card is aligned with either a zodiac sign, a planet, or an element.
• Each Minor Arcana pip card (2–10) corresponds to a decan of a sign.
• Each Court card overlays elemental energies and decans to represent specific expressions of the sign.

This is the most commonly followed approach when it comes to combining the zodiac signs with the tarot. However, in your own research, you may also stumble upon the Tarot of the Bohemians, a text written by Gérard Encausse in 1889, which follows a more mystical, numerological, and Kabbalistic methodology.

How the Minor Arcana Works

• 2, 3, 4s = Cardinal signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn
• 5, 6, 7s = Fixed signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius
• 8, 9, 10s = Mutable signs: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces
• Aces = The pure elemental force, associated with all signs of that element

Understanding the Court Card Correspondences

Things get much more complicated with the court cards. As Hermit’s Mirror explains, in the Golden Dawn system, each court rank is connected to its own elemental quality in addition to the element of the suit. Pages are sometimes left out, or aligned with the full element, like Aces.

Here are the elemental correspondences for the court card ranks:

• Pages: Earth
• Knights: Fire
• Queens: Water
• Kings: Air

And their zodiacal correspondences:

• Queens: Cardinal signs
• Knights: Fixed signs
• Kings: Mutable signs

When placed on the wheel, this means each court card typically spans one decan of one sign and two decans of another sign. This creates overlap between signs.

How Do Use This in a Tarot Reading?

While all that is interesting from a scholarly perspective, how do you actually use that information when doing a tarot reading? There are a few ways.

A card’s zodiac link can help you identify timing, people, or personal energies at play. If the same card keeps showing up, it might represent someone born under that sign. If you’re asking when something will happen, the answer could align with the 10-day period that card falls into.

You might also spot patterns connected to your own chart. A card associated with your sun, moon, or rising sign may highlight where you’re being activated, challenged, or called forward. Working with these correspondences can turn your tarot deck into a more personalized tuned-in tool. But, don’t worry. It’s not a must to add to your repertoire, just an option. 

The Tarot Cards for Each Astrological Sign

Aries Tarot Cards (March 21 – April 19)

• Major Arcana: The Emperor (IV)
• Court Cards:
  • Queen of Wands — 1st and 2nd decan
  • Knight of Pentacles — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Wands — Represents all Fire signs
  • Two of Wands — March 21–30 (1st decan)
  • Three of Wands — March 31–April 10 (2nd decan)
  • Four of Wands — April 11–20 (3rd decan)

Taurus Tarot Cards (April 20 – May 20)

• Major Arcana: The Hierophant (V)
• Court Cards:
  • Knight of Pentacles — 1st and 2nd decan
  • Knight of Swords — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Pentacles — Represents all Earth signs
  • Five of Pentacles — April 21–30 (1st decan)
  • Six of Pentacles — May 1–10 (2nd decan)
  • Seven of Pentacles — May 11–20 (3rd decan)

Gemini Tarot Cards (May 21 – June 20)

• Major Arcana: The Lovers (VI)
• Court Cards:
  • Knight of Swords — 1st and 2nd decan
  • Queen of Cups — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Swords — Represents all Air signs
  • Eight of Swords — May 21–31 (1st decan)
  • Nine of Swords — June 1–10 (2nd decan)
  • Ten of Swords — June 11–20 (3rd decan)

Cancer Tarot Cards (June 21 – July 22)

• Major Arcana: The Chariot (VII)
• Court Cards:
  • Queen of Cups — 1st and 2nd decan
  • Knight of Wands — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Cups — Represents all Water signs
  • Two of Cups — June 21–30 (1st decan)
  • Three of Cups — July 1–11 (2nd decan)
  • Four of Cups — July 12–21 (3rd decan)

Leo Tarot Cards (July 23 – August 22)

• Major Arcana: Strength (VIII)
• Court Cards:
  • Knight of Wands — 1st and 2nd decan
  • King of Pentacles — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Wands — Represents all Fire signs
  • Five of Wands — July 23–August 1 (1st decan)
  • Six of Wands — August 2–11 (2nd decan)
  • Seven of Wands — August 12–22 (3rd decan)

Virgo Tarot Cards (August 23 – September 22)

• Major Arcana: The Hermit (IX)
• Court Cards:
  • King of Pentacles — 1st and 2nd decan
  • Queen of Swords — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Pentacles — Represents all Earth signs
  • Eight of Pentacles — August 23–September 1 (1st decan)
  • Nine of Pentacles — September 2–11 (2nd decan)
  • Ten of Pentacles — September 12–22 (3rd decan)

Libra Tarot Cards (September 23 – October 22)

• Major Arcana: Justice (XI)
• Court Cards:
  • Queen of Swords — 1st and 2nd decan
  • Knight of Cups — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Swords — Represents all Air signs
  • Two of Swords — September 23–October 2 (1st decan)
  • Three of Swords — October 3–12 (2nd decan)
  • Four of Swords — October 13–22 (3rd decan)

Scorpio Tarot Cards (October 23 – November 21)

• Major Arcana: Death (XII)
• Court Cards:
  • Knight of Cups — 1st and 2nd decan
  • King of Wands — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Cups — Represents all Water signs
  • Five of Cups — October 23–November 1 (1st decan)
  • Six of Cups — November 2–12 (2nd decan)
  • Seven of Cups — November 13–22 (3rd decan)

Sagittarius Tarot Cards (November 22 – December 21)

• Major Arcana: Temperance (XIV)
• Court Cards:
  • King of Wands — 1st and 2nd decan
  • Queen of Pentacles — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Wands — Represents all Fire signs
  • Eight of Wands — November 23–December 2 (1st decan)
  • Nine of Wands — December 3–12 (2nd decan)
  • Ten of Wands — December 13–21 (3rd decan)

Capricorn Tarot Cards (December 22 – January 19)

• Major Arcana: The Devil (XV)
• Court Cards:
  • Queen of Pentacles — 1st and 2nd decan
  • Knight of Swords — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Pentacles — Represents all Earth signs
  • Two of Pentacles — December 22–30 (1st decan)
  • Three of Pentacles — December 31–January 9 (2nd decan)
  • Four of Pentacles — January 10–19 (3rd decan)

Aquarius Tarot Cards (January 20 – February 18)

• Major Arcana: The Star (XVII)
• Court Cards:
  • Knight of Swords — 1st and 2nd decan
  • King of Cups — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Swords — Represents all Air signs
  • Five of Swords — January 20–29 (1st decan)
  • Six of Swords — January 30–February 8 (2nd decan)
  • Seven of Swords — February 9–18 (3rd decan)

Pisces Tarot Cards (February 19 – March 20)

• Major Arcana: The Moon (XVIII)
• Court Cards:
  • King of Cups — 1st and 2nd decan
  • Queen of Wands — 3rd decan
• Minor Arcana:
  • Ace of Cups — Represents all Water signs
  • Eight of Cups — February 19–28 (1st decan)
  • Nine of Cups — March 1–10 (2nd decan)
  • Ten of Cups — March 11–20 (3rd decan)

The Corresponding Signs for the Major Arcana

Each zodiac sign corresponds to one Major Arcana card based on traditional Golden Dawn associations. These archetypal pairings highlight the core energy of each sign.

Tarot Card	Sign
The Emperor (IV)	Aries
The Hierophant (V)	Taurus
The Lovers (VI)	Gemini
The Chariot (VII)	Cancer
Strength (VII)	Leo
The Hermit (IX)	Virgo
Justice (XI)	Libra
Death (XIII)	Scorpio
Temperance (XIV)	Sagittarius
The Devil (XV)	Capricorn
The Star (XVII)	Aquarius
The Moon (XVIII)	Pisces

 

The Corresponding Signs for the Minor Arcana

The pip cards (2–10) are assigned to specific decans within each sign, blending astrology with elemental and numerical symbolism. Below are the Minor Arcana cards associated with each 10-day segment of the zodiac.

Tarot Card	Sign
2 of Wands	Aries – 1st Decan
3 of Wands	Aries – 2nd Decan
4 of Wands	Aries — 3rd Decan
5 of Wands	Leo – 1st Decan
6 of Wands	Leo – 2nd Decan
7 of Wands	Leo – 3rd Decan
8 of Wands	Sagittarius – 1st Decan
9 of Wands	Sagittarius – 2nd Decan
10 of Wands	Sagittarius – 3rd Decan
2 of Cups	Cancer – 1st Decan
3 of Cups	Cancer – 2nd Decan
4 of Cups	Cancer – 3rd Decan
5 of Cups	Scorpio – 1st Decan
6 of Cups	Scorpio – 2nd Decan
7 of Cups	Scorpio – 3rd Decan
8 of Cups	Pisces – 1st Decan
9 of Cups	Pisces – 2nd Decan
10 of Cups	Pisces – 3rd Decan
2 of Swords	Libra – 1st Decan
3 of Swords	Libra – 2nd Decan
4 of Swords	Libra – 3rd Decan
5 of Swords	Aquarius – 1st Decan
6 of Swords	Aquarius – 2nd Decan
7 of Swords	Aquarius – 3rd Decan
8 of Swords	Gemini – 1st Decan
9 of Swords	Gemini – 2nd Decan
10 of Swords	Gemini – 3rd Decan
2 of Pentacles	Capricorn – 1st Decan
3 of Pentacles	Capricorn – 2nd Decan
4 of Pentacles	Capricorn – 3rd Decan
5 of Pentacles	Taurus – 1st Decan
6 of Pentacles	Taurus – 1st Decan
7 of Pentacles	Taurus – 3rd Decan
8 of Pentacles	Virgo – 1st Decan
9 of Pentacles	Virgo – 2nd Decan
10 of Pentacles	Virgo – 3rd Decan