Every tarot card except the court cards carries a number, and numbers are the language of numerology. Put the two side by side and a few things become clear: the Fives in every suit are about struggle and change, the Major Arcana cards reduce to the numbers 1 to 9, and your date of birth points to one or two Major Arcana cards of your own. This guide shows how the numbers line up, how to find your tarot birth card, and where the two systems agree and where they part.
How tarot uses numbers
- Major Arcana: 22 cards numbered 0 to 21, usually in Roman numerals. This site follows the Rider-Waite-Smith order, where Strength is 8 and Justice is 11.
- Minor Arcana: in each of the four suits, cards run from Ace (1) to Ten. The four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen and King) have no number.
- Numerology: reduces numbers to a single digit, 1 to 9, by adding the digits. Some systems keep 11, 22 and 33 as master numbers.
In tarot, a number marks a stage in a story. An Ace is a seed, a Five is a test, a Ten is a cycle completed and sometimes overloaded (think of the Ten of Wands, a man bent under ten heavy sticks). In numerology, a number carries a lasting theme, linked with a planet. The two ideas are close enough to compare, and different enough that you should not treat one as the other.
The cards matched with 1 to 9
The numerology column uses the titles and planets this site uses for the Mulank (Moolank) numbers. For the Major Arcana, each card’s number is reduced by adding its digits: 13 becomes 1 + 3 = 4, and 19 becomes 10 and then 1.
| Number | Numerology (planet) | Minor Arcana | Major Arcana that reduce to it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The leader (Sun) | Aces, and Tens (1 + 0) | The Magician (1), Wheel of Fortune (10), The Sun (19) |
| 2 | The peacemaker (Moon) | Twos | The High Priestess (2), Justice (11), Judgement (20) |
| 3 | The guide (Jupiter) | Threes | The Empress (3), The Hanged Man (12), The World (21) |
| 4 | The builder (Rahu) | Fours | The Emperor (4), Death (13) |
| 5 | The communicator (Mercury) | Fives | The Hierophant (5), Temperance (14) |
| 6 | The nurturer (Venus) | Sixes | The Lovers (6), The Devil (15) |
| 7 | The seeker (Ketu) | Sevens | The Chariot (7), The Tower (16) |
| 8 | The achiever (Saturn) | Eights | Strength (8), The Star (17) |
| 9 | The warrior (Mars) | Nines | The Hermit (9), The Moon (18) |
The Fool is numbered 0 and stands outside the table. In the birth card method below, a total of 22 is read as The Fool.
Where the two systems meet, and where they do not
Tarot has its own planets, given to the Major Arcana by the Golden Dawn, an English occult society founded in 1888 whose system most modern decks follow. Set them next to the numerology planets and only two line up:
- The High Priestess, card 2, is given the Moon, and number 2 is ruled by the Moon in numerology.
- The Sun, card 19, is given the Sun, and 19 reduces to 1, the Sun’s number.
Elsewhere they differ. The Magician, card 1, is given Mercury, while 1 belongs to the Sun. The Empress, card 3, is given Venus, while 3 belongs to Jupiter. That is not a mistake in either system. They grew up in different places for different purposes, and a careful reader keeps them separate.
How to find your tarot birth card
The tarot birth card comes from the method made popular by the American tarot writer Mary K. Greer. It uses your whole date of birth.
- Write the day, month and year as ordinary numbers: 14, 3, 1990.
- Add them: 14 + 3 + 1990 = 2007.
- Add the digits of the total: 2 + 0 + 0 + 7 = 9.
- If the result is more than 22, add its digits again. If it is exactly 22, it is The Fool (0).
- That number is your first birth card, from the Major Arcana.
- If the number is 10 or more, add its digits once more. That card is your second birth card, read with the first. 22 pairs The Fool with The Emperor (4). 19 gives three cards: The Sun, the Wheel of Fortune (10) and The Magician (1).
Greer calls the first card the personality card and the last one the soul card. You can also let the birth card finder on the tarot hub do the sums.
Worked example 1: one card
14 March 1990
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Add day, month and year | 14 + 3 + 1990 | 2007 |
| Add the digits | 2 + 0 + 0 + 7 | 9 |
| More than 22? | No | 9 |
| Birth card | Major Arcana 9 | The Hermit |
One card only, because 9 is below 10. For the same date, the Mulank (Moolank) is 5 (1 + 4, from the day alone), and the Bhagyank is 9 (1 + 4 + 3 + 1 + 9 + 9 + 0 = 27, then 2 + 7).
Worked example 2: a pair
29 January 1988
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Add day, month and year | 29 + 1 + 1988 | 2018 |
| Add the digits | 2 + 0 + 1 + 8 | 11 |
| More than 22? | No | 11 |
| First card | Major Arcana 11 | Justice |
| Add the digits once more | 1 + 1 | 2: The High Priestess |
Here the Mulank is 2 (2 + 9 = 11, then 1 + 1), and the Bhagyank is also 2.
Your soul card and your Bhagyank
Look at the two examples again. The last card, 9 in the first and 2 in the second, has the same number as the Bhagyank. That is always true, because adding digits keeps the same remainder when you divide by 9, so both methods land on the same single digit. We checked every date from 1900 to 2100 and found no exception.
So the birth card is not a separate number from your numerology. It is your Bhagyank seen through the Major Arcana, with a first card added when your total stops at 10 or above. You can find your Mulank and Bhagyank together with the Mulank and Bhagyank calculator.
Using numbers and cards together
A number gives you a theme that stays with you; a card gives you a picture for the question you have today. Say your Bhagyank is 4, the builder, and you are deciding whether to start a business. Drawing the Eight of Pentacles, a craftsman carving one coin after another, would echo that theme of patient building. Drawing the Ace of Pentacles would put the stress on the opening itself. If the number and the card point the same way, the picture feels clearer. If they seem to pull apart, that is worth a conversation, not a worry.
Neither a number nor a card decides your path. They are two lenses, and you are still the one looking.
Read your numbers and cards together
Namieta works with both numerology and tarot, so she can read your birth card alongside your Mulank and Bhagyank in a tarot reading by video call, booked on WhatsApp. To start on your own, the numerology calculators work out the numbers in your name and date of birth.
Questions about tarot and numerology
Is my tarot birth card the same as my Mulank?
No. The Mulank (Moolank) uses only the day you were born. The birth card uses the whole date. For 14 March 1990, the Mulank is 5 but the birth card is The Hermit, 9. Your Bhagyank, which also uses the whole date, is the number that always matches the birth card's last card.
What if my total comes to 22?
In Mary K. Greer's method, 22 is read as The Fool (0) and paired with The Emperor (4), because 2 + 2 = 4. Some readers do not use the 22 rule at all, so if you work with a reader, ask which method they follow.
Why does my birth card have two or three cards?
When the first number is 10 or more, its digits are added once more, and that card is read with the first. 13 gives Death with The Emperor (4). 19 is the only total that gives three: The Sun, the Wheel of Fortune (10) and The Magician (1).
Do tarot numbers mean the same as numerology numbers?
They overlap, but they come from different systems. A tarot number marks a stage in the story of a suit or of the Major Arcana; a numerology number carries the theme of its planet. Use the table on this page as a bridge, not as an equation.
Can I use tarot and numerology together?
Yes. A number gives a lasting theme from your date or name; a card gives a picture for the question in front of you. The Mulank pages and Bhagyank pages cover the numerology side.