Tarot and the zodiac

Tarot and astrology have been linked since the late nineteenth century, when the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn matched each card to a planet, sign or element. Pamela Colman Smith and A. E. Waite, both members, drew on that system for the Rider-Waite-Smith deck published in 1909, so the attributions still shape how most readers see the cards.

Short answer: Every zodiac sign has a Major Arcana card, three numbered Minor Arcana cards for its decans, and a court card. Aries is the Emperor, Taurus the Hierophant, Gemini the Lovers, Cancer the Chariot, Leo Strength, Virgo the Hermit, Libra Justice, Scorpio Death, Sagittarius Temperance, Capricorn the Devil, Aquarius the Star and Pisces the Moon.

Which tarot card is my zodiac sign?

Sign	Dates (approximate)	Element	Major Arcana	Decan cards	Court card
Aries	roughly March 21 to April 19	Fire	The Emperor	Two of Wands, Three of Wands, Four of Wands	Queen of Wands
Taurus	roughly April 20 to May 20	Earth	The Hierophant	Five of Pentacles, Six of Pentacles, Seven of Pentacles	Knight of Pentacles
Gemini	roughly May 21 to June 20	Air	The Lovers	Eight of Swords, Nine of Swords, Ten of Swords	King of Swords
Cancer	roughly June 21 to July 22	Water	The Chariot	Two of Cups, Three of Cups, Four of Cups	Queen of Cups
Leo	roughly July 23 to August 22	Fire	Strength	Five of Wands, Six of Wands, Seven of Wands	Knight of Wands
Virgo	roughly August 23 to September 22	Earth	The Hermit	Eight of Pentacles, Nine of Pentacles, Ten of Pentacles	King of Pentacles
Libra	roughly September 23 to October 22	Air	Justice	Two of Swords, Three of Swords, Four of Swords	Queen of Swords
Scorpio	roughly October 23 to November 21	Water	Death	Five of Cups, Six of Cups, Seven of Cups	Knight of Cups
Sagittarius	roughly November 22 to December 21	Fire	Temperance	Eight of Wands, Nine of Wands, Ten of Wands	King of Wands
Capricorn	roughly December 22 to January 19	Earth	The Devil	Two of Pentacles, Three of Pentacles, Four of Pentacles	Queen of Pentacles
Aquarius	roughly January 20 to February 18	Air	The Star	Five of Swords, Six of Swords, Seven of Swords	Knight of Swords
Pisces	roughly February 19 to March 20	Water	The Moon	Eight of Cups, Nine of Cups, Ten of Cups	King of Cups

Sign dates shift by a day or so from year to year, so check an ephemeris if you were born on a cusp.

What are decans?

Each sign spans 30 degrees of the zodiac. The Golden Dawn split every sign into three decans of 10 degrees and assigned each one a planet and one of the numbered cards from Two to Ten. That is how 36 Minor Arcana cards gained astrology.

How do court cards fit in?

In the original Golden Dawn scheme, court cards cover the last decan of one sign and the first two of the next. Many modern readers simplify that to one sign per court card, which is what our sign pages use. Readers also disagree about whether the Rider-Waite-Smith Kings or Knights match the Golden Dawn's Knights, so you may see different court cards elsewhere.