How Tarot and Astrology Work Together: Two Languages, One Universe

How the stars and the cards amplify each other’s wisdom

By Tarot.com Staff

Tarot and Astrology may seem like two entirely different worlds -- one shuffles cards, the other studies planets. But as most enthusiasts of either one will tell you, these disciplines are essentially two different dialects speaking the same language. Both systems are symbolic maps that help us understand who we are, what we’re experiencing, and what might come next with the help of overarching patterns and symbols.

Astrology tracks celestial motion and cosmic timing. Tarot captures archetypal moments and human emotion. Together, they tell a fuller story. The stars above and the cards below begin to echo each other.

If you’re drawn to either Tarot or Astrology, exploring the other can feel like watching the director’s cut of a movie you’ve always loved. Suddenly, everything makes more sense.

Sister Systems with Shared Roots

Tarot and Astrology both come from humanity’s oldest impulse: the desire to find meaning in pattern. Astrology looks upward, mapping the heavens to the human heart. Tarot turns that impulse inward, reflecting the universe’s rhythm in 78 visual archetypes, developed and refined over centuries and across cultures.

Both systems use elements, cycles, and symbols to tell stories about transformation. The Sun, the Moon, and the Star exist in both -- not as coincidence, but as universal metaphors for clarity, mystery, and renewal. Whether you draw cards or read charts, you’re connecting to a timeless practice: reading the signs of the universe through mirrors of your own experience.

How Astrology Deepens Your Tarot Practice

If you’re already fluent in Tarot, Astrology adds a layer of cosmic grammar to your readings. Every card in the deck holds astrological DNA.

• The Emperor carries the power and determination of Aries.
• The Lovers mirrors the duality and curiosity of Gemini.
• The Moon channels the intuition and fluctuation of Pisces.

Even the four suits of the Minor Arcana correspond to the zodiac’s elements.

• Wands = Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)
• Cups = Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces)
• Swords = Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)
• Pentacles = Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn)

When you understand these correspondences, each spread starts to feel like a cosmic weather report. Astrology can even help you time your readings: pulling cards during key transits (like Venus Retrograde or a New Moon) can reveal what those cycles are asking you to learn.

Try this exercise based on your Big Three: Pull one card to represent your Sun sign’s current lesson, another for your Moon sign’s wisdom, and one more for your Rising sign’s focus. The dialogue between these three cards can show where your inner self and outer life are meeting (or missing) each other.

For an added layer of depth, find the cards in your deck that match the classical correspondences for these signs. For example, if you’re a Pisces Sun/Capricorn Moon/Aries Rising, find The Moon, The Devil, and The Emperor. (We've got the entire chart of cards and the signs/planets they rule later in this article.) Add these cards to your reading, above the cards you selected at random. What connections or contradictions stand out?

Wanna go deeper? Explore your personalized VIP Subscription. It’s a snapshot of daily transits and timing, customized to your birth chart, to inform every Tarot reading.

How Tarot Brings Astrology to Life

If Astrology gives you the map, Tarot is everything you bring with you when it’s time to actually walk the terrain. Knowing you’re in a Saturn Return is one thing; pulling The World card and realizing you’re completing a long chapter is another. Tarot translates cosmic mechanics into emotional meaning.

While Tarot’s available at any time and doesn’t require even a speck of astrological knowledge in order to be worthwhile, there’s something special about combining the two. Each spread turns your birth chart or current transit into a mirror for reflection. For example ...

• During Mercury Retrograde, The Hermit might remind you to pause and think before you speak.
• When Venus squares Pluto, The Devil could signal the power struggles you’re ready to outgrow.
• Under a Jupiter transit, The Wheel of Fortune shows how opportunity expands when you let go of control.

Astrology gives you the coordinates; Tarot shows you the texture. Together, they turn prediction into participation, helping you work with the day’s energy and make it personal, not just wonder about it.

Try this: When a major transit approaches, pull a single card and ask, “What is this planet teaching me right now?” Let the imagery of your card anchor what the Astrology is asking you to embody.

You can also explore our Sixth Sense Tarot Reading, which translates tricky transits into empowering insight. It’s ideal for moments when you know the stars are stirring the pot.

Shared Elements, Archetypes, and Cycles

Tarot and Astrology align through the four classical elements, which act like universal translators between the systems.

When you pull a card or study a chart, these elements tell you how energy moves. Fire burns quickly, Earth builds slowly, Air circulates ideas, and Water absorbs and transforms.

Both systems also unfold through cyclical journeys -- the Fool’s path through the Major Arcana mirrors the zodiac’s wheel from Aries to Pisces. Each describes a cycle of initiation, growth, challenge, and completion. This is why many people instinctively resonate with both Astrology and Tarot. In a sense, they’re telling the same myth from two angles.

Practical Ways to Combine Tarot and Astrology

If you want to experience the synergy firsthand, try blending them in your own rituals.

1. Make a Tarot diagram of your birth chart

Start by finding all the Major Arcana cards in your Tarot deck. You’ll use 12 of them, specifically in the order that corresponds with the houses of your birth chart, to make a circle. (For example, if you’re a Leo Rising, the first card in the circle will be Leo’s card, Strength. Virgo comes next, so grab Virgo’s card, The Hermit. Keep it going until you’ve completed the circle.)

Next, take a look at the 10 remaining cards. These correspond to Astrology’s planets (including the Sun and Moon). Organize them alongside the existing circle of cards, according to the makeup of your own birth chart. (For example, if you were born with Mercury in Gemini, you’d place Mercury’s card, The Magician, next to Gemini’s card, The Lovers.)

Once everything’s where it should be, notice what you notice! Who’s hanging out together? Who’s all by their lonesome? How do the connections between the cards and the signs/planets enrich your understanding of your birth chart?

2. Create a “Tarot by Transit” spread

When a big transit occurs (and you’re the boss of what feels “big” to you), pull a card for each of the following questions:

• What’s changing?
• What stays steady?
• What grows from here?

3. Choose decks by your Moon sign

Moon signs are very much reflective of our inner worlds and the kind of nurturing that helps us feel safe, so choosing a deck based on how well it reflects your Moon sign is a brilliant self-care move.

If your Moon is in an Earth sign, you might prefer practical, nature-based decks like the Herbal Tarot. If it’s in a Fire sign, go for bold colors and dramatic archetypes like the ones we see in Tarot of the Spirit.

You can follow this logic -- with a little twist -- if you want to channel the energy of a certain zodiac sign or planet for a reading. Look in our deck collection (or your own) for a deck with artwork or themes that match that sign or planet. Are you curious about the energy of a Neptune transit? The Dreaming Way Tarot might be a good choice. Did Aquarius season just begin? The Aquarian Tarot is obviously on-brand.

(Remember, any of our virtual Tarot readings can be customized to the deck of your choice, with over 100 to choose from.)

4. Work with lunar cycles.

Pull a few cards at each New Moon to set intentions and at each Full Moon to release what’s complete. Over time, you’ll see how the cards echo the Astrology of each lunation.

5. Track a planet’s transits.

Use Tarot cards to make a visual reminder of a certain planet’s movements and encounters. An altar, shelf, or windowsill makes a great spot for this, but any place you pass regularly and that can stay relatively undisturbed will work.

Once you know which planet you want to follow, find the Major Arcana card associated with that planet and put it in its place of honor. Maybe you want to stay more aware of the Moon. In that case, The High Priestess is what you’re after. Each morning or evening, check to see which zodiac sign the Moon is in at that moment, then find the corresponding card and set it next to The High Priestess, then take a moment to reflect on the cards’ combined energies. When the Moon is in Sagittarius, you’ll have The High Priestess next to Temperance. When it transitions into Capricorn, you’ll replace Temperance with The Devil, followed by The Star (for Aquarius) a few days later. You can also incorporate cards for other planets, if you wish, perhaps when the Moon is conjunct a certain planet.

Every practice helps you weave insight into rhythm -- not just reacting to fate, but collaborating with it.

For tailored guidance in the everyday cadence of your life, check out our Daily Reflection Tarot Subscription. It’s a seamless way to incorporate straightforward readings all year long.

Why Exploring Both Matters

Ultimately, Astrology and Tarot are mirrors reflecting the same truth: you are part of a larger pattern.

Astrology teaches timing -- it shows when energies open or close. Tarot teaches intuition -- it shows how to navigate those energies with awareness. When you bring them together, you’re not solely reading the stars or the cards; you’re reading your own unfolding story in stereo.

Both tools empower choice over fate. The stars set the stage, while the cards remind you that you’re the protagonist.

As you learn both systems, you start recognizing repeating themes -- that “Judgement moment” in life when Pluto transits your chart, or that “Chariot push” when Mars fuels your ambition. These patterns reveal why what’s happening in the stars matters on the ground.

Whether you begin with the zodiac or the Major Arcana, the end result is the same: you gain clarity, confidence, and connection to the rhythms guiding your life.

Curious to see how your chart and cards weave together? Start with your Essential Birth Chart for a personalized look at your cosmic DNA, then dive into a Life Cycle Tarot Reading to reveal the story of your past, present, and future. Together, they’ll show you not just what’s written in the stars, but how to play your hand wisely.