The Power of Numerology in Tarot

I have early memories of having anxiety in math class. It’s not that I was terrible at math but there was something completely intimidating and foreign to me whenever I’d look at a math question. My chest would tighten, my heart would race, and everything in my mind would go completely blank.

So it’s no wonder that it took me a while to connect to Numerology. These early anxieties of mine still lingered in my psyche and acted in a way that deflected any interest or curiosity I had in the topic. Early on in my learning I remember thinking, “Tarot is Intuitive, I don’t need to learn about numbers to be a great reader.”

I mean, you don’t. But it definitely helps.

A lot.

Why do we use numbers in Tarot?

Tarot decks typically* have 78 cards, which is divided into 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana Cards. The Major Arcana, as we uncovered in our previous post, represent the Major mysteries or life-changing events that may happen in our life. These cards are numbered individually from 0 to 21. The 56 Minor Arcana cards are divided again into 4 suits (kind of like Harry Potter Houses), which have 14 cards each. They are as follows:

Wands (Fire)

Cups (Water)

Swords (Air)

Pentacles (Earth)

*I’ve yet to come across a Tarot Deck that has more or less than 78 cards. Usually anything that varies from 78 cards would fall into the Oracle card world, as Oracle decks tend to be more flexible or customized by their author/ creator.

Not sure if you want to use Tarot or Oracle cards? Consider this.

The Minor Arcana cards are named off of their number and suit (for example: 4 of Wands, 6 of Cups, 8 of Pentacles). With the exception of Page, Knight, King and Queen cards, all of the remaining cards in the deck are numbered.

“Tarot teaches us to have patience and to redefine the ideas we have about nature and laws.”

Going back to my early childhood math anxiety, learning the basics of how many cards are in a deck, to why a 3 card vs a 4 card was different were really overwhelming concepts. There are numbers everywhere in Spiritual practices and I’m here to let you know that they’re here to help you. Learning about Numerology helps us find sacred elements in nature and laws - things that we use and interact with everyday but often dismiss as Spiritual symbols.

How Numerology helps you Learn Tarot

As mentioned, nearly everything is numbered. When you understand the basic principles of what each number means, you can begin to apply this to your Tarot cards and help you go deeper in your practice.

For the purpose keeping our practice simple but strong, we are going to focus on numbers 1 - 10. Typically, any number that is greater than 9 is summed down to its true, single-digit value. (See the examples below to help with this)

For example: the Death card is number 13 in the deck. When we add 1 + 3 we get 4. The qualities of the number 4 can apply to the Death card, according to Numerology principles.

The Sun is number 19. 1 + 9 = 10 so we can look at the qualities of the number 10 and/or 1

Judgement is number 20. 2 + 0 = 2, so it carries 2 qualities.

The World is number 21. 2 + 1 = 3, so the number 3 qualities apply here.

Please click, save, and share the following infographic for your learning! I have loads of fun making these and I hope these help keep your exploration even more enjoyable!

Before You Go, You Should Know!

Numerology can change depending the context you’re using it in. Keep in mind that in this case we are applying Numerology to help us learn Tarot. By learning and exploring the qualities of each number we can apply these qualities to redefine our relationship with each card. If you feel connected to learn more about Numerology, there are deeper meanings to explore for things like your Birth date and your Life Path Number. You can definitely apply any other knowledge you learn to your Tarot practice, just make sure you’re choosing what feels right for you (and not forcing anything).

“Let your Spiritual practice grow naturally. As you grow, the roots of your practice deepens with you.”

Best of luck & have fun!

xo TJ