Tarot and the Twelve houses of the Zodiac

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 May 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Phoenix	09 May 2002
I was wondering if anyone here has used the Tarot in conjunction with the Twelve Houses of the Zodiac. I am doing a research project on astrology, and found a great website that had the meanings of each house of the zodiac, and now, I have an urge to read the dards with the houses. But I don't know if I should use the Najor Arcana only or both. Any suggestions??

Pollux	11 May 2002
Some people also use a 13th card as a Significator, a kind of "summary" of the year, a general advice for the querent and his behaviour... You can take which one you please: the 13th after the first 12, the one at the bottom, the first card, one in the middle... As in most things with Tarot, just do what feels right for you. And this spread is especially used at birthdays (Return of the Sun), for a general idea of what is going to happen in the new year, and a suggestion regarding which "fields" one must be particularly careful with. Lastly, I have seen and heard (of course, on Aeclectic! :)) of people using both just Majors or the entire deck. Personally I take the 13th card as Significator, tend to do it at birthdays, and just use Majors - I think they are more suitable for the type of spread.

Thirteen	19 May 2002
I use this spread almost exclusively--love it, and find it good as a general spread for looking at what's happening this month in the person's life--in addition to using it as a birthday spread with each card as a particular month (I usually use Aries as April and go from there). It works really well as it examines each aspect of a person's life--siblings, mother, children, partner, father, friends, enemies, neighbors, as well as home, play, work, health, finances and travel. Let's see if I can elaborate a little on what Zorya laid out.... Cards are indeed, done in a circle. Start with Aries to the left at the "9:00" position. You just place the cards, counter-clock-wise around as if they're each numbers on a clock. So Taurus is 8:00, Gemini 7:00, Cancer 6:00, Leo 5:00, etc. Quote: Originally posted by zorya 1. aries= the querent, his/her personality,potential, current problems. If you want to lay down a 13th card, as Pollux suggested, dead center to stand as the signifier, then what you can do is say that the center card is, objectively speaking, where the person is. Aires, the first card, then becomes their subjective view of themselves, their situation and/or the problems they feel they're facing. Example: Center card is 2/Swords. Aries card is 3/swords. The person sees themselves as 3/swords wounded, betrayed. But the truth is, 2/swords, they had to compromise and they're not happy about it, but it was fair and it's working, if only temporarily. Or, you can pick out a signifier and just set it in the center as the anchor for the spread. Quote: 2.taurus= q's financial situation and material affairs -Taurus is also what the person values in their life. This makes it easier to interpet things like court cards that appear in that position. It might be that that queen of cups is paying the rent for you (financial situation)--or, if the queen seems to stand more for the querent, that the thing the querent values most in life is their psychic abilities, intuition or imagination. Quote: 3.gemini= travel and communication, mental activities 4.cancer=homelife, family -Gemini as "travel" is short trips. Get the chariot here and it's really a quick trip by car somewhere. Gemini is also messages (e-mails, phone calls), siblings and neighbors. So if your queen of cups shows up here, you might be getting a phone call from your sister ;) -Cancer can also stand for the querent's mother. Quote: 5.leo= q's pleasures, love affairs, speculations 6.virgo=health,food -Leo is also children, if the querent has any. -Virgo is both health and/or job; the everyday grind, the work we do to pay the bills. Quote: 7.libra=partnerships, marriages ,enemies 8.scorpio=inheritance, legacies,deaths,taxes, occult -Libra can also, of course, be legal matters. Court cases, disputes, and such. -Scorpio can also be read as the near future; what's going to change, what new thing will be appearing in the querent's life next month. Quote: 9.sagittarius=philosophy,religion, dreams,ideals,education 10.capricorn=career,profession, public life, government, honor -Sagittarius can also indicate long trips. So if the chariot appears here, it's not a quickie road trip but a months on the road. Regarding religion/ideals: I often read this card as what the person should have faith in--or still does have faith in. -Capricorn is the career, what the person is working toward being or doing with their life. Not their job, but their ambition. It can also stand for the querent's father. Quote: 11.aquarius=friends, associates, organizations,hopes, wishes 12.pisces=burdens, restrictions,secret fears, seclusion, self-undoing, institutions, secret enemies. Nothing really to add to either Aquarius or Pisces, save that I often use Pisces to point out the person's "blind spot"--something that's blinding them to other, more important concerns. The "self-undoing" element there. This is a great spread by the way. A little complex, but really complete and a lot of fun. Enjoy.

Scorpion	19 May 2002
Hi, Phoenix! At risk of repeating anything Thirteen has said, here's the one I use (from the Complete Book of Tarot Spreads):- 1. The Ares in me: What I am and how I am. 2. The Taurus in me: What I have and how I own it. 3. The Gemini in me: What I think and how I think it. 4. The Cancer in me: What I feel and how I feel it. 5. The Leo in me: What I desire and how I choose it. 6. The Virgo in me: What I analyze and how I resolve it. 7. The Libra in me: What I balance and how I balance it. 8. The Scorpio in me: What I demand and how I demand it. 9. The Sagittarius in me: What I see and how I see it. 10. The Capricorn in me: What I gain and how I benefit from it. 11. The Aquarius in me: What I know and how I know it. 12. The Pisces in me: What I believe and how I believe it.

Thirteen	19 May 2002
LouiQ--I'd never seen this interpetation of the spread! Very cool! I can use this!

Scorpion	19 May 2002
Thirteen, Glad you like it! I've used it a few times and it seems to work. Here's another "Cycle of the Year" (variation 3, if you want the technical stuff!) which might appeal to you - while it doesn't name the Houses, it seems to run along the same lines:- 1. Who am I? (personal attributes, character) 2. How attached am I? (possessions, locality) 3. How easy is it for me to get on? (in the environment, social circles, communication) 4. How do I feel? (emotional life, relationship to mother, the feminine) 5. How do I express myself? (expressiveness, relationship to father, the masculine) 6. How do I adapt? (concerning my surroundings) 7. How do I approach others? (relationships, community) 8. What are my guides? (heros, ideas/ideals) 9. How do I determine? (world attitudes, worldview, giving meaning) 10. What do I create? (work, profession) 11. What sets me free? (living life successfully, support from friends) 12. What fulfills me? (spirituality, transcendence)

MeeWah	19 May 2002
LouiQ: These are wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing :)

Scorpion	20 May 2002
My pleasure, MeeWah, if it give people something to use! I'd better stop there, though, or I'll end up typing a whole book out!!! I think there's something like 122 spreads - claims to be the most complete collection.......

truthsayer	20 May 2002
there's a variation that i've used that can get a bit complicated but it provides really good information about what the person has going on this life. i get the person's natal chart and set up the spread from the corresponding tarot cards to the planets and houses. then you read the cards like a tarot reading and atrology chart combined. you can also do this w/ a progressed chart but i feel crossed eyed or cross brain hemisphered just thinking about it. i have to write it down to keep from getting confused as to what is where. a astrology house graph is perfect for writing this out. it's been a while since i've used this one so if anyone wants to try this one let me know. i'll research about what goes where and pull it together. i may have an astro house graph i can scan and add as an attachment. this is a great way to learn astrology while using something you know-tarot. of course, different ppl are going to have different ideas about what planets represent what cards. it crosses my mind that thoth might be a good one to test this spread on due to all the astrological correspondences. i can't vouch for it yet b/c i haven't tried it.

MystiqueMoonlight	21 May 2002
These are great spreads.... However just to deviate a little, but still in relation to this thread. Does anybody include the zodiac/planets to specific majors? I know there are several decks out there which actually have these printed on each major, but there seems to be a lot of difference of opinion. For example Thoth assigns Cancer to The Chariot, whilst Cagliostro assigns Cancer to Justice. Whilst I suppose it is obvious that Libra may be assigned to Justice (because of the scales I think?) I know Leo is often assigned to Strength, however I have seen Mars assigned to this card. I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions on this....

aeonx	21 May 2002
Thirteen: how do I lay out the cards and what positions should I use, when trying to figuring out the King of Cups? I'm a bit confused... :( ~aeonx~

Thirteen	21 May 2002
Use King of Cups as signifier, as he's the question you're trying to answer. Ring the cards around him, starting with Aries (9:00), moving on down counter-clockwise through Taurus (8:00), Gemini (7:00), Cancer (6:00), Leo (5:00), Virgo (4:00), Libra (3:00), Scorpio (2:00), Sag (1:00), Capricorn (12:00), Aquarius (11:00) and Pisces (10:00). The circle makes it pretty easy to take a look at the relationships between cards and to see "themes" running through the spread.

The Tarot and the Twelve houses of the Zodiac thread was originally posted on 09 May 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.