Tarot Correspondences: The Planets, Signs, and Elements for Each Card in the Major Arcana

A while ago, I wrote an article exploring what the tarot cards are for each zodiac sign. That post received a fair number of comments, and some folks asked: but what about the Major Arcana tarot cards that aren’t connected to a sign? To answer it, let’s dive into the tarot correspondences for the Major Arcana.

Does Every Tarot Card Connect to a Zodiac Sign?

Sort of. Every Major Arcana card corresponds with either an astrological sign, an element, or a planet or celestial body. Every Minor Arcana and court card is mapped to an astrological decan and connects to one or two zodiac signs. If you zoom out, you’ll see that:

• Cups connect with water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces)
• Wands connect with fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)
• Swords connect with air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)
• Pentacles connect with earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn)

What Are the Tarot Correspondences?

Every Major Arcana card has a primary correspondence. This is its strongest connection. This tarot correspondence is either an element, astrological sign, or a planet or celestial body. These are the associations most commonly used in readings, ritual work, and magic.

Each Major Arcana card also maps onto the Tree of Life that moves from Kether to Malkuth, and has many layers or esoteric meaning, hidden symbology, and much much more. You can think of these correspondences and paths as the behind-the-scenes wiring of the deck. While this post focuses on the primary correspondences, I include these details within each card’s individual tarot card meaning entry.

The image below of the Tree of Life labels the Sephiroth by name and shows where each Major Arcana card sits within it. It’s useful for understanding how the cards relate to ceremonial’s magic’s system.

The diagram below shows the Major Arcana mapped onto the Qabalistic Tree of Life, that is used in ceremonial magic and esoteric tarot systems. The Sephiroth are labeled by name and you can see the balance between the Pillars of Mercy and Severity, with the Middle Path in the center that focuses on integration and equilibrium. (Which, if you’re familiar with the Strength and Temperance cards, you’ll understand why those are in the center.)

Primary Tarot Correspondences for the Major Arcana

Below is a quick-reference list of the primary tarot correspondences for the Major Arcana. These are the strongest, most commonly used associations and are the correspondences most readers work with first.

• The Fool: Air
• The Magician: Mercury
• High Priestess: Moon
• The Empress: Venus
• The Emperor: Aries
• The Hierophant: Taurus
• The Lovers: Gemini
• The Chariot: Cancer
• Strength: Leo
• The Hermit: Virgo
• Wheel of Fortune: Jupiter
• Justice: Libra
• The Hanged Man: Water
• Death: Scorpio
• Temperance: Sagittarius
• The Devil: Capricorn
• The Tower: Mars
• The Star: Aquarius
• The Moon: Pisces
• The Sun: Sun
• Judgement: Fire
• The World: Earth (element) / Saturn

This diagram shows the Tree of Life so you can see the numbered paths associated with each Major Arcana card. It’s used as a reference when studying the path correspondences.

Number	Tarot Card	Primary Correspondence	Secondary Correspondences	Hebrew Letter	Path Direction
0	The Fool	Air		א Aleph	Kether to Chokmah
1	The Magician	Mercury	Virgo	ב Beth	Kether to Binah
2	The High Priestess	Moon	Pisces	ג Gimel	Kether to Tiphareth
3	The Empress	Venus	Taurus, Libra	ד Dalet	Chokmah to Binah
4	The Emperor	Aries	Mars	ה Heh	Chokmah to Tiphareth
5	The Hierophant	Taurus	Venus	ו‎ Vav	Chokmah to Chesed
6	The Lovers	Gemini	Mercury	ז Zayin	Binah to Tiphareth
7	The Chariot	Cancer	Moon	ח Het	Binah to Geburah
8	Strength	Leo	Sun	ט Tet	Geburah to Tiphareth
9	The Hermit	Virgo	Mercury	י Yod	Chesed to Tiphareth
10	Wheel of Fortune	Jupiter	Pisces	כּ‎ Kaf	Chesed to Netzach
11	Justice	Libra	Venus	ל‎ Lamed	Geburah to Chesed
12	The Hanged Man	Water		מ Mem	Geburah to Hod
13	Death	Scorpio	Mars	נ Nun	Tiphareth to Netzach
14	Temperance	Sagittarius	Jupiter	ס Samech	Tiphareth to Yesod
15	The Devil	Capricorn	Saturn	ע Ayin	Tiphareth to Hod
16	The Tower	Mars	Scorpio	פ Pey	Hod to Netzach
17	The Star	Aquarius	Saturn	צ Tzadik	Netzach to Yesod
18	The Moon	Pisces	Jupiter	ק Qoph	Netzach to Malkuth
19	The Sun	Sun	Leo	ר Resh	Hod to Yesod
20	Judgement	Fire		ש Shin	Hod to Malkuth
21	The World	Earth	Saturn	ת Tav	Yesod to Malkuth

Major Arcana Tarot Cards Correspondences by Zodiac Sign

Each zodiac sign is associated with a Major Arcana tarot card, even if it’s not its primary correspondence. The pairings reflect shared symbolic themes and the card’s planetary rulers.

Aries Tarot Card: The Emperor

The zodiac sign of Aries corresponds with The Emperor tarot card in the Major Arcana. He embodies Aries’ bold, cardinal energy and drive to lead, initiate, and bring order through decisive action and discipline. Through Will and structure, The Emperor channels Aries’ Mars-ruled energy into something lasting.

If you’re an Aries, give yourself permission to step into your power. But don’t bulldoze everyone else in the process.

Taurus Tarot Card: The Hierophant

The zodiac sign of Taurus corresponds with The Hierophant tarot card. Venus-ruled Taurus is often associated with pleasure, comfort, and the material world, so this pairing might feel odd. But, Taurus is also deeply invested in stability. And, the Hierophant represents established systems and traditions.

If you’re a Taurus, your work is to stay rooted without becoming rigid. Allow your values to evolve as you do.

Gemini Tarot Card: The Lovers

The zodiac sign of Gemini corresponds with The Lovers. Though many people confuse it for being a card of romance, The Lovers is primarily about choice and conscious alignment. Like Gemini, the Lovers representing the lifelong task of integrating opposites: thought and feeling, curiosity and commitment, self and other.

If you’re a Gemini, your growth is going to come from doing just that.

Cancer Tarot Card: The Chariot

The zodiac sign of Cancer corresponds with The Chariot, a pairing that seems strange if you primarily associate the cardinal sign of Cancer solely with emotional sensitivity.

But, this card has a very important meaning for you if you fall under the sign of the crab. The Chariot reflects mastery over fluctuating inner states, so you can experience momentum without emotional overwhelm. When you can hold opposing emotional currents steady, your intention can lead.

Leo Tarot Card: Strength

The zodiac sign of Sun-ruled Leo corresponds with Strength tarot card, a tarot key that has a literal lion on it and emphasizes that the most powerful results come from your higher self, not your primal desires. Strength lies near the heart of the Middle Path and represents the harmonization of instinct and higher consciousness.

If you’re a Leo, Strength reminds you to lead from self-awareness and compassion rather than from ego. This will help you channel your raw intensity into grounded leadership, and you still get to show in all the big ways you love.

Virgo Tarot Card: The Hermit

The zodiac sign of Virgo corresponds with The Hermit tarot card. Analytical, practical, Mercury-ruled Virgo understands life through careful observation. The Hermit reflects this impulse inward, representing the lifelong pursuit of wisdom through reflection.

If you’re a Virgo, The Hermit is a reminder to periodically withdraw, connect with your internal compass and inner wisdom, and realign if needed. And, don’t be afraid to follow your own lantern.

Libra Tarot Card: Justice

The sign of Libra corresponds with the Justice tarot card. For those familiar with the Air sign, this probably comes as no surprise. Libra has a penchant for finding harmony and for weighing things against each other to find balance, like Justice. As a Libra, your gift is in seeing multiple perspectives. Justice reminds you that you have a responsibility to honor the greater truth even when it disrupts comfort. Even if that is your own.

Scorpio Tarot Card: Death

The zodiac sign of Scorpio corresponds with the Death tarot card in the Major Arcana. Traditionally ruled by Mars and, in modern astrology, associated with Pluto, Scorpio is all about cycles of transformation, shadow work, and symbolic death and rebirth. But, despite its reputation, the Death card is usually not connected to literal death, but profound change.

Scorpio is also the only zodiac sign to have multiple transformation stages. It begins as the scorpion, then becomes the eagle, and finally emerges as the Phoenix. Scorpio, the Death card represents your lifelong undercurrent of metamorphosis. Your growth comes from trusting endings as necessary thresholds, and from allowing yourself to be remade rather than clinging to what has already run its course.

Sagittarius Tarot Card: Temperance

The zodiac sign of Sagittarius corresponds with Temperance tarot card. Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius is expansive, optimistic, and driven by vision, while Temperance is measured. Those two feel like opposites, but consider this. Sagittarius experiences meaning and achieves growth through the widening of perspective. Temperance alchemically blends those into something that can be integrated and used to help you grow.

To put it plainly, Sagittarius, Temperance is asking you to integrate what you’re learning through your expansion into your philosophy of life. Take the things you learn through your journeys and apply those to your everyday experience.

Capricorn Tarot Card: The Devil

The zodiac sign of Capricorn corresponds with The Devil tarot card in the Major Arcana. Ruled by Saturn, the sign of the goat understands structure and discipline. The Devil doesn’t represent evil. Instead it’s more about attachment, the physical world, and control.

If you’re a Capricorn, your growth comes from recognizing which obligations serve your long-term vision and which you’ve just chained yourself to for the sake of discipline.

Aquarius Tarot Card: The Star

The zodiac sign of Aquarius corresponds with The Star tarot card. Aquarius is a visionary, idealistic, community-oriented sign that is great at looking beyond the present moment and toward what could be. The Star embodies that same forward-facing hope.

If you’re an Aquarius, The Star gets to remind you that your role is not only to imagine a better future, but to help illuminate the way for others without burning yourself out in the process.

Pisces Tarot Card: The Moon

The zodiac sign of Pisces corresponds with The Moon tarot card in the Major Arcana. Like the Moon, Pisces is attuned to the currents beneath the surface of everyday life. Pisces tends to prioritize feelings and intuition over structured systems and The Moon card mirrors this. Its meaning in a reading usually asks for trust in your inner guidance and feeling your way through when things aren’t clear. If you’re a Pisces, your growth comes from honoring your intuition without losing yourself in it.