Updated December 1, 2024
Assigned Tarot at Birth
Most folks know their astrological or zodiac sign, meaning their sun sign. Many might also know their moon and rising signs. Some people are aware of their life path number in numerology as well, but did you know you also have a Tarot birth card? You do! You have at least two, sometimes three, Tarot birth cards, and you can use your date of birth to find them.
Major Arcana Tarot cards, the ones we are focused on here, are numbered from 0 to 21, and for birth cards, usually only those numbered from 1 to 21 are used. But just to make things more interesting, some belief systems make the 0 card into 22, then reduce the 22 to 4 (2+2=4).
Some schools of numerology simply pick the day of birth as one birth number. Then they take the month, day, and year numbers of the date of birth, and add these numbers up together for an additional birth number. Some practitioners add these numbers up in different ways. It’s all easy-peasy to figure out, but it can reveal worlds of knowledge about what is certainly one of the most fascinating topics on earth: Yourself, of course! (And anyone else you care about, naturally.) So, to learn about how to find your birth cards in Tarot, jump right into this pool of wonderful You!
Calculating Your Tarot Birth Cards
There are two ways to calculate your Tarot birth cards. To calculate one birth card, you add all of the numbers in your birthdate together (month, day, year.) For example, if your birthday is December 20, 1987, you will add 1 + 2 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 9 + 8 + 7 = 30. Any number higher than 21 should be reduced further by adding the two digits together (e.g. 3 + 0 = 3). So, for this example, the Birth Card is card number 3 – the Empress.
The second method assumes that you have two birth cards. To find them, add the numbers in your birth date – i.e. DD + MM + 19 + YY. (For those born in the year 2000 and beyond, use 20 instead of 19.) For example, if your birthday is February 20, 1954, you will add 2 + 20 + 19 + 54 = 77
Then add those 2 digits together. In this case, 7 + 7 = 14. This gives us the first Birth Card – Temperance (card number 14). Next, reduce this down to one number for the second Birth Card (e.g. 1 + 4 = 5) – the Hierophant.
If your birthday adds up to a three-digit number (e.g. 12 + 20 + 19 + 87 = 138), the first two digits will become one number (e.g. 13) and are added to the third digit (e.g. 13 + 8 = 21).
The first Birth Card would be the World. The second Birth Card is the Empress (2 + 1 = 3).
The Master Number Question
To dive a little deeper into this, if any of your numbers add up to 11, 22, or 33, these are master numbers and have an even more powerful influence in your life. Many say we are not to break master numbers down, as in 11: 1+1=2, but it can be helpful to read the reduced results to add even more insight into yourself. So, in this case, you would read 11 as both Justice (11) and the High Priestess (2). Since the Major Arcana only has the master numbers of 11 (Justice) and potentially 22 (the Fool) represented, think of 33 when reduced as being a more power-packed 6 and read the Lovers card for more enlightenment.
Questions to Ask About Your Birthdays
Now, in addition to the brief meanings described below, you get to do your own spiritual sleuthing by simply studying each card with the eye of a Soul Detective and asking yourself some questions, such as:
- What is your card telling you? If you but gaze upon it with a sincere heart and a listening inner ear, it will speak to you.
- What does it want to teach you?
- You might be drawn to the colors, the symbols, or the figures in a card. How do they resonate with you?
Learn Your Card Through Dreams
You might even try to read your card using a method from Edgar Cayce. He did this to absorb information inside books. (It worked. He’d wake up the next morning knowing what the book said, and he did this without reading any of it before he went to sleep.) Put the card under your pillow, then set your subconscious mind to work and ask for dreams to give you guidance from your birth card.
Meaning of Each Tarot Birth Card
Here is the promised list of essential meanings for each card and how they can work together for you. (If you hunger for more soul knowledge, be sure to check with one of our Numerology Psychics for deeper guidance.)
1/10 Magician/Wheel of Fortune
You are a natural manifester of good luck and fortune, and you can ride the ups and downs of life using the magical force of the Universe like a pro.
2/11 High Priestess/Justice
You have a balanced way of looking at life and you see the truth of things with your intuitive gift of clear, detached insight.
3/12 Empress/Hanged Man
You create from your soul, and you nurture who and what you love from a gentle, deeply spiritual place of peace.
4/13/22 Emperor/Death/Fool
You are a powerful conduit of life’s energy, for you have the faith and trust to create needed change, upon which you build a new life with clear sight.
5/14 Hierophant/Temperance
You are a healing Earth angel who brings balance, freedom, and light to structure, convention, and tradition through teaching, mentoring, and guidance.
6/15 Lovers/the Devil
You are the essence of love in all its forms, and you strive to always choose higher love over the basest passions, as Universal Love flows through you with every breath you take.
7/16 Chariot/the Tower
You are courageous in your determination to remove barriers and shake off obstacles as you gallop across the stars creating positive change.
8/17 Strength/Star
You shine with the power of the sun, moon, and stars, and you are blessed with the strength of love in your being as you inspire others to feel greater hope and optimism.
9/18 Hermit/the Moon
Meditation is a natural state for you, for you are enchanted by the hidden mysteries of things, and intuitively sense that which cannot be physically seen.
1/10/19 Magician/Wheel of Fortune/the Sun
You are a fireball of love and light, filled with optimism that every turn of events will work together for your good, because you know you are a master of manifestation.
2/20 High Priestess/Judgement
You are awake, aware, perceptive, and very sensitive to the calling of Spirit as you rise up from the mundane and see all things from the perspective of the Mystic.
3/21 Empress/the World
You joyfully give birth to wondrous creations, inspiring others to fulfill their heart’s desires and see them blossom as they unite with their deep inner power.