The meaning behind the numbers
Numerology
An introduction to what the numbers mean, to cycles and birth numbers, and to their connection with the tarot cards.
The number series
Each number, its card, and its counterparts in the Minor Arcana
12 articles, 0–10 and Master Number 11. Each row opens the article on that number: what it carries, which Major Arcana card bears it, and where it returns across the four suits.
| Number | Wands | Cups | Swords | Pentacles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number 0The Fool | No counterpart in the Minor Arcana | |||
| Number 1The Magician | Ace | Ace | Ace | Ace |
| Number 2The High Priestess | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Number 3The Empress | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Number 4The Emperor | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Number 5The Hierophant | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Number 6The Lovers | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Number 7The Chariot | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Number 8Strength | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Number 9The Hermit | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Number 10Wheel of Fortune | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Master Number 11Justice | No agreed eleventh card in the Minor Arcana | |||
- Number 0The Fool · the only number without a Minor Arcana counterpart
- Number 1The Magician · beginning, initiative, spark
- Number 2The High Priestess · duality, listening, connection
- Number 3The Empress · creation, expression, growth
- Number 4The Emperor · structure, stability, boundaries
- Number 5The Hierophant · movement, challenge, learning
- Number 6The Lovers · harmony, choice, relationship
- Number 7The Chariot · direction, perseverance, inner truth
- Number 8Strength · power, self-mastery, balance
- Number 9The Hermit · ripening, independence, completion
- Number 10Wheel of Fortune · cycle, culmination, new beginning
- Master Number 11Justice · sensitivity, inspiration, grounding
Where to begin
Introduction
Numerology reads numbers as a language of qualities, processes and cycles. Beyond their quantity, the numbers take on meanings in different traditions that help describe beginning, partnership, creation, change, completion, and the movement from one stage to the next.
Knowing what the numbers mean symbolically also deepens a tarot reading: the Aces bring beginnings, the Tens show a peak or a completion, and cards that repeat the same number across the four suits show how one principle plays out in feeling, action, thought and matter.
Foundations
Starting points
The numbers 1 to 9
Each number has a basic quality of its own, from awakening and beginning, through connection and building, to ripening, ending and preparing for a new cycle.
Birth numbers and life path
Calculations based on the date of birth are used to look at the strengths, lessons and recurring themes along a personal path.
Numbers in the tarot
The number gives every card another layer. Together with the suit, the figure and the symbols in the picture it makes for a more precise, richer reading.
In depth
Articles by topic
The two guides, an article for every number in the series, and everything written on numbers and cards. Search the articles, or pick a topic from the list.
Guides
3 articlesThe two articles that open the series: the numbers in the Major Arcana, and the numbers from Ace to Ten in the Minor Arcana.
- Introduction to Numerology: What It Is, How to Calculate, and What the Numbers RevealWhat numerology is, where it came from, how to reduce a birth date and a name to a single digit, what each number from 1 to 9 means, and an introduction to the Life Path, Personal Year, Pinnacles, and Challenges.17 min read
- Tarot Numerology — The Numbers Connecting the Major and Minor ArcanaA roadmap to tarot numerology: how the numbers 0–10 form a progression of growth, how the same number works in the Major Arcana and across the four suits, and how to recognize numerical families and repetitions within a spread.13 min read
- Numerology in the Minor Arcana — From Ace to TenIn the Minor Arcana the number tells you which stage of the process you are in, and the suit tells you which part of life it is happening in. A guide to the Aces through the Tens across all four suits.10 min read
The number series
12 articlesAn article for each number, 0–10 and Master Number 11: its Major Arcana card, its counterparts in the four suits, and what it brings to a reading.
- Number 0 in Numerology — Meaning, Potential and the Space Before the Beginning0 is not “nothing.” In numerology it is the open field from which every number emerges — potential, wholeness and possibility — and in tarot it is The Fool, standing before the numbered journey begins.4 min read
- Number 1 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life Path1 is the number of beginnings: initiative, independence, will and direction. Explore Life Path 1, house number 1, Aleph in gematria, and how The Magician and the four Aces express this number in tarot.13 min read
- Number 2 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life PathExplore number 2 through relationships, work, emotional life, Chokmah, the High Priestess, and the four Twos—with Life Path calculations and practical reading examples.11 min read
- Number 3 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life PathExplore number 3 through creativity, relationships, work, Binah, the Empress, and the four Threes, with calculations and examples of recurring numbers in a reading.10 min read
- Number 4 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life PathExplore number 4 through stability, relationships, work, Chesed, the Emperor, and the four Fours, including Life Path 4, master number 22, and practical reading examples.10 min read
- Number 5 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life PathExplore number 5 through freedom, change, relationships, work, Geburah, the Hierophant, and the four Fives—with Life Path calculations and practical reading examples.10 min read
- Number 6 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life PathExplore number 6 through love, responsibility, relationships, work, Tiphareth, the Lovers, and the four Sixes, including Life Path 6 and master number 33.11 min read
- Number 7 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life PathExplore number 7 through inquiry, relationships, work, Netzach, the Chariot, and the four Sevens—with Life Path calculations and practical reading examples.10 min read
- Number 8 in Numerology: Meaning, Personality and Life PathExplore the meaning and significance of number 8 in numerology, number 8 personality traits, Life Path Number 8 and its calculation, and why 8 is not a master number.8 min read
- Number 9 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life PathExplore number 9 through compassion, completion, relationships, work, Yesod, the Hermit, and the four Nines—with Life Path calculations and practical reading examples.11 min read
- Number 10 in Numerology — Meaning and the Completion of a CycleExplore number 10 as completion and a new beginning: Life Path 10/1, house numbers, Yod, the Wheel of Fortune's four figures, and the four Tens in tarot.6 min read
- Master Number 11 in Numerology — Intuition, Inspiration, and the Connection to TarotWhat Master Number 11 means, why it is written as 11/2, the strengths and challenges associated with it, where it appears in a numerology chart, and how it connects to Justice, Strength, and The High Priestess in tarot.14 min read