Timing Events in Tarot Readings

The combination of Tarot and Astrology can enable the Reader to pinpoint almost any day of the year when making a prediction. The twelve zodiac cards in the Major Arcana are associated with thirty days, while the Minor Cards 2-10 represent ten days each. The Knight, Queen and Prince of each element also represent 30 days, but, there is a 10 day overlap between them and the zodiac signs.

Tarot and Astrology
Major Court Cards Minor Decanates Dates
(Moon ctd) Queen Wands 10 20-30 Pisces Mar 11- Mar 20
Emperor 2 0-10 Aries Mar 21- Mar 30
3 10-20 Aries Mar 31- Apr 10
Prince Disks 4 20-30 Aries Apr 11- Apr 20
Hierophant 5 0-10 Taurus Apr 21- Apr 30
6 10-20 Taurus May 1 - May 10
Knight Swords 7 20-30 Taurus May 11 - May 20
Lovers 8 0-10 Gemini May 21 - May 31
9 10-20 Gemini Jun 1 - Jun 10
Queen Cups 10 20-30 Gemini Jun 11 - Jun 20
Chariot 2 0-10 Cancer Jun 21 - Jul 1
3 10-20 Cancer Jul 2 - Jul 11
Prince Wands 4 20-30 Cancer Jul 12 - Jul 21
Lust 5 0-10 Leo Jul 22 - Aug 1
6 10-20 Leo Aug 2 - Aug 11
Knight Disks 7 20-30 Leo Aug 12 - Aug 22
Hermit 8 0-10 Virgo Aug 23 - Sep 1
9 10-20 Virgo Sep 2 - Sep 11
Queen Swords 10 20-30 Virgo Sep 12 - Sep 22
Justice 2 0-10 Libra Sep 23 - Oct 2
3 10-20 Libra Oct 3 - Oct 12
Prince Cups 4 20-30 Libra Oct 13 - Oct 22
Death 5 0-10 Scorpio Oct 23 - Nov 2
6 10-20 Scorpio Nov 3 - Nov 12
Knight Wands 7 20-30 Scorpio Nov 13 - Nov 22
Art 8 0-10 Sagittarius Nov 23 - Dec 2
9 10-20 Sagittarius Dec 3 - Dec 12
Queen Disks 10 20-30 Sagittarius Dec 13 - Dec 21
Devil 2 0-10 Capricorn Dec 22 - Dec 30
3 10-20 Capricorn Dec 31 - Jan 9
Prince Swords 4 20-30 Capricorn Jan 10 -Jan 19
Star 5 0-10 Aquarius Jan 20 - Jan 29
6 10-20 Aquarius Jan 30 - Feb 8
Knight Cups 7 20-30 Aquarius Feb 9 - Feb 18
Moon 8 0-10 Pisces Feb 19 - Feb 28
9 10-20 Pisces Mar 1 - Mar 10
Queen Wands 10 20-30 Pisces Mar 11 - Mar 20

Note the orderly structure to the attributions, which should help memorisation. Good Tarot decks will have most of this information on each card. The information above can also be used to assign a Significator according to birthdate.

As long as the spread you use has a final or determinative position you can utilize the method if you remember to ignore the divinatory meaning, otherwise nothing but discord can happen in the first twenty days of June!

Events in the Past

Time-travel is possible too. If the astrological aspect of a card points to the recent past - say a few months ago - you may find that events at that time are pertinent to the current situation facing the querent.

Fine-Tuning your Predictions

If the reading points to an event happening in the next month, it is possible to narrow down the period to approximately seven days. For this, we use the Aces. Knowledge of the Moon Phases is a useful skill:

Ace Disks
First Quarter
Ace of Cups
2nd Quarter
Ace of Swords
3rd Quarter
Ace of Wands
4th Quarter

To determine the day, simply look to see if one of the planetary cards is significant:

Sunday
Sun, Sun
Monday
Moon, High Priestess
Tuesday
Mars, Tower
Wednesday
Mercury, Magus
Thursday
Jupiter, Fortune
Friday
Venus, Empress
Saturday
Saturn, Universe

The divinatory meanings of the cards are ignored, otherwise Tuesdays will always be disastrous... Conversely, if the reading suggests events are not particularly predictable, we might see either the Fool, the Hanged Man or Judgement cards in the “Outcome” position of a Spread.

Determining the Hour

Need more precision than a day? The traditional system of planetary hours comes to the rescue.

Planetary Hours
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat * **
Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun Mon Mar 8 1
Mon Mar Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun 9 2
Sat Sun Mon Mar Mer Jup Ven 10 3
Jup Ven Sat Sun Mon Mar Mer 11 4
Mars Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun Mon 12 5
Sun Mon Mars Mer Jup Ven Sat 1 6
Ven Sat Sun Mon Mars Mer Jup 2 7
Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun Mon Mars 3 8
Mon Mars Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun 4 9
Sat Sun Mon Mars Mer Jup Ven 5 10
Jup Ven Sat Sun Mon Mars Mer 6 11
Mars Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun Mon 7 12
Sun Mon Mars Mer Jup Ven Sat 8 1
Ven Sat Sun Mon Mars Mer Jup 9 2
Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun Mon Mars 10 3
Mon Mar Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun 11 4
Sat Sun Mon Mars Mer Jup Ven 12 5
Jup Ven Sat Sun Mon Mars Mer 1 6
Mars Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun Mon 2 7
Sun Mon Mars Mer Jup Ven Sat 3 8
Ven Sat Sun Mon Mars Mer Jup 4 9
Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun Mon Mars 5 10
Mon Mar Mer Jup Ven Sat Sun 6 11
Sat Sun Mon Mar Mer Jup Ven 7 12

*Hours from sunset to sunset

**Hours from midnight to midnight

The Four Seasons

There are times when a vague prediction date is required. The Princesses do not have an astrological attribution, but they can represent the four seasons.

Spring
Princess Wands
Summer
Princess Cups
Autumn
Princess Swords
Winter
Princess Disks

Armed with this information, you have the ability to make predictions as accurately or vaguely as required, and depending on the situation. No other system of divination has such a range of timings.