Q&A With Joy: Astrology of the Tarot Pages

Astrological Correspondences of the Tarot Pages

I was having lunch with a friend the other day and he asked me about the Pages in the tarot. He wanted to know if they had an astrological correspondence. Our discussion led to other questions, including the gender of the Pages. If you also want to know the astrology of the tarot Pages, and other fun facts, read on!

The Question: What is the Astrology of the Tarot Pages?

Do the tarot Pages have an astrological correspondence? If you call them Princesses, does that mean they’re girls?

The Pages Are the Quadrants of the Astrological Chart

The astrological chart is divided into four primary sections, based on the Ascendant/Descendant axis combined with the Midheaven/IC axis. Moving counter-clockwise from the Ascendant on the left, we start with the first quadrant. In the natural order of the signs, Aries falls on the ascendant. According to this model, the first quadrant comprises the signs of Aries, Taurus, and Gemini. The middle of these three signs is the fixed earth sign Taurus, so the earth element tarot Page goes here — the Page of Pentacles. The second quadrant moves from the IC up to the descendant, including the signs of Cancer, Leo, and Virgo. The Page of Wands, matching the element of the fixed fire sign Leo, lands here. Accordingly, we place the Page of Cups in the third quadrant and the Page of Swords in the fourth.

To recap:

1. First quadrant, Aries-Taurus-Gemini = Page of Pentacles
2. Second quadrant, Cancer-Leo-Virgo = Page of Wands
3. Third quadrant, Libra-Scorpio-Sagittarius = Page of Cups
4. Fourth quadrant, Capricorn-Aquarius-Pisces = Page of Swords

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You’ll notice that the four fixed signs in the natural chart, and therefore the four Pages, follow the same placement of the four kerubs on the Wheel of Fortune and World cards. The Bull for Taurus is lower left, Lion for Leo is lower right, the Eagle for Scorpio is upper right, and the Angel for Aquarius is upper left.

The Thrones of the Aces

Furthermore, the Pages are titled the Thrones of the Aces. This means that each Page is the foundation or support of the Ace of the same suit. In fact, some tarot philosophies see the Pages as pregnant. They are holding and protecting this new energy until it is ready to be born.

On the Tree of Life, the court cards match certain sephiroth, based on how the Divine Name of God, the Tetragrammaton, fits onto the Tree. The RWS Kings (or the Thoth Knights) correspond to Yod, fire, and the second sephirah, Chokmah. The Queens are Heh, water, and the third sephirah, Binah. The RWS Knights (or Thoth Princes) are Vav, air, and the sixth sephirah, Tiphareth. Completing the cycle, the Pages (or Thoth Princesses) are Final Heh, earth, and the tenth and final sephirah, Malkuth.

Kabbalists say that Malkuth is the Kether of a new Tree. This means that the lowest sephirah, number 10, becomes the first sephirah as the Tree is reiterated as it descends through the four worlds. The four Pages become the four Aces!

Now you know not only the astrology of the tarot Pages, but also their qabalistic correspondence!

So If the Pages are Princesses, Are They Girls?

Each reader will develop their own relationship with the court cards and how and if they relate to gender. Also, some decks may illustrate the court cards with clearly gendered characters, while some may leave it up to the reader’s imagination.

Personally, I don’t assign gender to the courts. I assign them certain qualities. The Queen of Cups can come up for a man, woman, or a person anywhere on the continuum of fluidity. But this card, as the sign of Cancer, will address an individual who is nurturing, loving, emotionally expressive, imaginative, etc.

However, certain questions require a gender-specific answer. For instance, some pregnant people wish to know the gender of their unborn child. Pages often indicate pregnancy. In this case, I wouldn’t use the Pages to represent girls and the Knights to be boys, although some readers might. Instead, because the Page has almost always already come up to represent the pregnancy and future child, I will use the masculine or phallic suits, the Wands and Swords, to indicate male children and the feminine or cteic suits, the Cups and Pentacles, to indicate female children. That is to say, if the Page of Wands came up to indicate the child, I would suggest it would be a boy.

Otherwise, I don’t find the Pages and Knights to address specific genders. If gender does need to show up in the reading, I am more likely to see the Queens and Kings indicate their traditional gender. But in my readings, it’s not typical for the Pages or Knights to express gender.

What Do Your Cards Say?

How does gender show up in your deck? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!