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
11 articles, 0–10. 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 |
- 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
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
1 articleThe two articles that open the series: the numbers in the Major Arcana, and the numbers from Ace to Ten in the Minor Arcana.
The number series
11 articlesAn article for each number, 0–10: 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 Path2 is the number of partnership, listening and sensitivity. Explore Life Path 2, master number 11, house number 2, Bet in gematria, and The High Priestess with the four Twos in tarot.4 min read
- Number 3 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life Path3 is the number of creation, expression and growth. Explore Life Path 3, house number 3, Gimel in gematria, and how The Empress and the four Threes express what is born from relationship.3 min read
- Number 4 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life Path4 builds structure, boundaries and stability. Explore Life Path 4, house number 4, Dalet in gematria, and how The Emperor and the four Fours reveal the gift and shadow of structure.3 min read
- Number 5 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life Path5 interrupts stability and brings movement, change and learning through experience. Explore Life Path 5, house number 5, He in gematria, The Hierophant, the four Fives and Temperance 14/5.3 min read
- Number 6 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life Path6 seeks connection, responsibility and renewed harmony. Explore Life Path 6, house number 6, Vav in gematria, The Lovers, the four Sixes and The Devil 15/6.3 min read
- Number 7 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life Path7 is the number of inquiry, discernment and inner direction. Explore Life Path 7, house number 7, Zayin in gematria, The Chariot, the four Sevens and The Tower 16/7.3 min read
- Number 8 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life Path8 is the number of power, achievement and responsible use of resources. Explore Life Path 8, house number 8, Chet in gematria, Strength, the four Eights and The Star 17/8.3 min read
- Number 9 in Numerology — Meaning, Personality and Life Path9 is the number of completion, compassion and release. Explore Life Path 9, house number 9, Tet in gematria, The Hermit, the four Nines and The Moon 18/9.4 min read
- Number 10 in Numerology — Meaning and the Completion of a Cycle10 completes the 1–9 sequence and returns to 1. Explore 10/1 in personal numerology, house number 10, Yod in gematria, Wheel of Fortune and the four Tens in tarot.4 min read