As I write this, we are coming upon a Taurus dark moon. It feels sweet, earthy and studious, so it feels good to brush up on some basic Tarot studies for a deep, grounded connection with the cards (nothing feels more grounding than going back to basics).
The numbers in the Tarot form a perpendicular system to the suits. If numerology is your bag, start here. This is the sister post to my last, which focused on the suits in Tarot.
Before I begin, I'd like to remind you that symbols can be studied–and they can also be intuited. When you think of the number nine for example, what comes to mind? What colors do you associate with that number and why? How about a plant, an action, a city, a deity, or a big life event?
See how your personal associations line up with the following:
This number zero is the number of endless possibility: nothingness. It is pure openness. It is being in touch with the All.
Ones are the individual, having been given life, creating and casting influence.
The number two is duality, of course. Mirroring in nature.
The number three is the collective, expansion, fertility, common goals.
The number four is integrity, stability, regime, structure, and all things having to do with power and security.
Fives, represent a shifting perspective.
The sixes in Tarot represent community and kinetic energy, i.e. growth.
The sevens in Tarot represent an external challenge—as opposed to the fives, which are internal in tone.
The eights in Tarot are repeated cycles.
Nines are ascension, self-realization, success, systems and structures.
Tens are completion.
I know the court cards aren't numbers, but they are an easy add-on to your memorization practice at this point:
Pages are associated with freshness and inspiration.
Knights represent boldness, bravery and action.
Queens are grand femme energies.
Kings are grand masculine energies.
The higher Major Arcana cards, with numbers ranging from eleven to twenty-one, carry their own unique meanings. They would be good to study after learning the suits and numbers for a pretty solid baseline understanding of the full deck.
Before learning these Majors, try adding the first and second digit together. Read that number according to what you learned above for good indication of the vibe of that card. Alternatively, read the two numbers side by side.
(Example: the Judgment Major Arcana card is the number twenty. Two and zero. Duality and reflection combined with infinite possibility–What an interesting yet accurate observation of the Judgment card!)
Play around with reading the cards, keeping this number info and what you know about the suits in mind.
To get in the habit of reading intuitively, remember to reflect on the cards with your own thoughts first before referencing the guidebook.
Happy reading~