I’ve been working on adding more numerology to my readings and honestly, connecting the number patterns across the Minor Arcana has been such a game-changer for my readings. Like, once you realize that all the Fours carry that stable, foundational energy, whether it’s cups, wands, swords or pentacles, everything just clicks.
I started tracking how the numbers progress through each suit. Seeing how the chaotic energy of the Fives always follows the stability of the Fours makes so much sense when you think about how life actually unfolds.
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This is great! Any time I’m doing a reading that has anything to do with timing, I think we need to use numerology as well as the meanings of the cards.
I wonder if we sometimes oversimplify the Aces as pure beginnings? They often carry seeds of their entire suit’s path.
When I taught my sister about tarot numerology last month, she struggled with the Sevens until I explained them as tests of faith, like how the Seven of Cups shows us drowning in choices while the Seven of Swords asks us to question our strategies. Now she pulls a Seven almost every week and texts me about what test she’s facing.
Has anyone else noticed what happens when certain numbers are completely missing from a reading?
Like when you lay out a Celtic Cross and there’s not a single Three anywhere, doesn’t that scream that the querent is avoiding collaboration or creative expression? I’ve been tracking absent numbers lately and they tell such a powerful shadow story, right?
Honestly, this is exactly what I needed to see! I’ve been dancing around the edges of using numerology for years, picking up my deck here and there but never really diving deep. Recently, I decided to make it a daily practice and pull cards every morning to really connect with the symbolism and meanings.
This will be really helpful, I might print it out or keep it on my phone.
This video that breaks down how each number builds on the previous one’s energy, showing how the whole Minor Arcana is basically one big story repeated four times through different elements. It’s pretty old but it made a big difference to me when I first started with the Tarot, paying it forward so hopefully it helps someonee else.
I’ve been tracking my own readings lately and noticed I kept pulling Sixes after difficult Five cards, which finally made me realize the Sixes are like the universe’s way of saying ‘okay, here’s your harmony after all that chaos’ - though it took me embarrassingly long to see that pattern!
Something you haven’t touched on yet is your skill of pattern recognition in readings. It’s vital for you to notice recurring numerological themes, and developing this ability can significantly enhance the depth of your interpretations.
I never expected to be the person noticing this stuff, but I’ve been seeing how the number 2 keeps showing up with this theme of balancing opposites - like with the High Priestess and her black and white pillars, it’s all about that space between two worlds or two choices. It’s helped me understand why the Twos in the minor arcana often feel like they’re about partnerships or decisions, that whole duality thing runs through every suit. The skeptic in me wants to roll my eyes at how perfectly it all fits together, but honestly, using these number patterns has made my readings way more cohesive.
Thank you for this!
Numerology is always one of those things I never really paid too much attention to but I always sort of know I’m missing something. The more meaning we can get from each card, the more value in a spread so it really does make sense.
In my town, we weave these cultural stories right into our numerology readings.
Picture this: what if every time the number 8 appears, especially alongside the pentacles, it’s not just a number, but a cultural messenger of prosperity and abundance? What if that Eight of Pentacles isn’t merely about craftsmanship, but carries centuries of local wisdom about wealth and fortune?
You know, when my grandmother first taught me to read cards, she always warned me about getting too caught up in the numbers.
Sure, numerology has its place, but if you lean on it too hard, you might miss what makes each card special, particularly those court cards. I mean, they’ve got all these personality layers and quirks that you just can’t boil down to a simple number.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a great resource but I think beginners especially need to be wary.
I do agree… we should be careful not to let the numbers override the querent’s actual experience.
If someone’s going through a difficult Nine energy (completion/culmination) but we keep insisting it’s ‘almost over,’ we might minimize their very real struggles. The numbers guide us, but empathy and ethical practice mean listening first, interpreting second.
I think there’s something really beautiful about how the tarot deck itself has 78 cards, when you break that down numerologically to 15/6, it’s like the whole deck is teaching us about finding balance (6) through the combination of insight (7) and work (8). Maybe that’s why tarot feels so complete as a system? It’s like even the structure of the deck is telling us a story about harmony through understanding and effort.
I’ve noticed the same pattern with the Threes and how they always bring that creative, collaborative energy, like when I pull the Three of Cups it’s all about celebration and community, while the Three of Pentacles shows teamwork in building something tangible. It’s wild how the numbers hold their core meaning across all the suits once you start paying attention to the patterns.
I started with just a tiny numerology section in one of my tarot books and it completely changed how I approach readings (even just understanding that each number carries its own energy signature across all four suits was mind-blowing).
Now I’m experimenting with numerology-based spreads that specifically look at number patterns in a reading, like when you pull multiple 3s, it’s highlighting all that creative, collaborative energy trying to manifest. How the numbers add this whole extra layer of meaning that ties everything together, especially when you start noticing the mathematical relationships between cards in a spread.
I started reducing all my cards down to their single digit (even the big numbers in the Major Arcana!). I only needed to master 10 core number themes instead of memorizing 78 individual card meanings.
You could probably not use the meanings of the cards entirely and just do Numerology readings with your deck using this.
The way different decks visually represent their numerology is awesome (like how the Rider-Waite shows literal cups/wands/swords counted out, while the Wild Unknown uses abstract patterns and sacred geometry. Some decks like the Thoth even incorporate astrological degrees and Hebrew letters into their number symbolism, creating these beautiful layers of meaning that shift depending on which artistic tradition you’re working with.
Perfect timing! This is such a helpful refresher (even those of us who’ve been reading for years sometimes blank on the reversed meanings or the subtler court card personalities.
I swear the Knight of Cups loves to slip my mind when I’m doing readings for others! Having this handy will definitely save me from those awkward shuffle-through) my-guidebook moments during sessions. The minor arcana associations especially - they’re like old friends you forget to call sometimes, you know?