Earth cards

Earth cards showing major arcana Magician, Empress, Hierophant, Hermit, Devil, and World

Now that the sun is in Taurus, we’re in a sweet and powerful phase of the year, one that can give us a feeling of our strength in the world. Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus, which brings us all kinds of earthly delights in this sign.

When it’s earth energy you’re working with, think about what nourishes you on a physical level: what you’re eating, how comfortable your clothes are, where you like to sit.

You may already know that earth signs are associated with the suit of Pentacles in tarot. I often draw on tarot card associations when I’m writing astrological chart descriptions for people.

Many of the cards feel a little overly specific and sometimes depressing — do I really think the bummer 5 of pentacles, which is about feeling shortchanged and even snubbed, is how the average Taurus’s day feels? Not really, but I do recognize that there’s a particular shared earthy energy between them.

In tarot, these cards are associated with the fixed earth energy of Taurus.

  • 5 of pentacles
  • 6 of pentacles
  • 7 of pentacles
  • King of pentacles
  • the Hierophant
  • the Empress (because of Venus rulership)

As I thought about this, I started to wonder what all the cards in the same suit would feel like if laid out in the same place.

These cards are associated with the mutable earth energy of Virgo.

  • 8 of pentacles
  • 9 of pentacles
  • 10 of pentacles
  • Knight of pentacles
  • the Hermit
  • the Magician (because of Mercury rulership)

Rounding out the earth signs, these cards are associated with the cardinal earth energy of Capricorn.

  • 2 of pentacles
  • 3 of pentacles
  • 4 of pentacles
  • Queen of pentacles
  • the Devil
  • the World (because of Saturn rulership)

The major arcana cards of this set stand together in an interesting way. All are related to worldly experiences. The Hermit, Devil, and Hierophant connect to the earthy zodiac signs themselves, while the Magician, World, and Empress symbolically represent Mercury, Saturn, and Venus — the signs’ respective rulers.

If tarot interests you, I’ll just mention that I have a Medium series on the subject where I’m going one by one through the cards.

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