Larisa
What the glossary is for
Tarot and astrology have a language of their own, and once the words are clear the reading becomes clear too. Knowing that the Major Arcana are the deck’s 22 principal cards, or that the rising sign is the sign on the eastern horizon at the moment you were born, turns an unfamiliar phrase into something you can use. Every entry opens with a definition that can be quoted on its own, then covers the term’s background, how it works in a reading and concrete examples.
Terms by topic
How the deck is built. The Major Arcana and Minor Arcana; the four suits, Cups, Pentacles, Swords and Wands; the Aces, the numbered cards and the court cards. Once you know a Minor Arcana card’s suit and number, you can roughly tell what it says before you have even read its meaning.
Reading techniques. Tarot spread, card positions, reversed cards, the clarifier card, the jumper card and elemental dignities: the words for how cards talk to each other on the table.
Concepts. Archetypes, the Fool’s Journey, the shadow card and the tarot birth card: ideas that let you see the larger story behind the cards.
Astrology. The ascendant or rising sign, the fourth house and tarot and astrology correspondences: for understanding a birth chart and the bridge between cards and signs.
Frequently asked questions
What do the 12 houses mean?
The houses divide a birth chart into twelve areas of life: identity, money, communication, home, creativity, daily work, partnership, shared resources, beliefs, career, friends and the inner world. The house a planet sits in shows the area of life where that planet’s energy is at work. In quadrant house systems such as Placidus, the ascendant marks the start of the first house; in whole-sign houses, the entire rising sign is the first house. The fourth house, for example, describes home, family and roots. All twelve are in reading the houses in your birth chart.
What are aspects?
Aspects are the angles between two planets in a chart, and they describe how those planets talk to each other. A conjunction (0°) merges two energies, a trine (120°) and a sextile (60°) let them flow easily, a square (90°) creates tension that asks for effort, and an opposition (180°) pulls you to balance two ends. Hard aspects are not bad; they are often where a person grows the most.
What are the North Node and Chiron?
The lunar nodes are the two points where the Moon’s orbit crosses the Sun’s path; in astrology the North Node describes the direction that calls you to grow, and the South Node what is familiar and comfortable. Chiron is a small body on an eccentric orbit that reaches inside Saturn’s orbit and almost as far as Uranus. In astrology, the “wounded healer” symbol links personal vulnerability and experience with the question of how we understand and respond to other people’s difficulties.
What is a Saturn return?
A Saturn return is Saturn coming back to the position it held when you were born, which happens roughly every 29.5 years. The first comes around the ages of 28 to 30, the second around 57 to 60. It is read as a period that tests responsibility, structure and maturity: demanding, but a threshold that asks you to stand on your own feet. Contacts like this between the moving planets and your chart are covered in astrology transits explained.
What do querent and significator mean?
The querent is the person the reading is for; if you are reading for yourself, the querent is you. The significator is a card chosen deliberately from the deck to represent that person or the subject, usually a court card, often placed at the centre of the spread. It is not used in every reading, but it gives a spread a clear focus.
What do the four suits represent?
The four suits describe four areas of life. Cups belong to water and speak of feelings and relationships; Pentacles belong to earth and deal with money, work and the body. Swords belong to air and cover thoughts, decisions and conflict; Wands belong to fire and speak of desire, courage and taking action.
Where to start
If you are new to tarot, begin with the Major Arcana, Minor Arcana and the four suits, then move on to reversed cards and card positions. To see how these terms come together in a real reading, how to read tarot cards is a good next step.