AUTHOR’S NOTE: Recently, someone in the r/tarot sub-reddit community voiced the opinion (for which they had been previously chastised and downvoted) that some of the astrological correspondences proposed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn for the Major Arcana of the tarot just don’t seem to hold water. Although I don’t personally agree with the substitutions made by that individual, I wholeheartedly endorse the idea of rethinking the entire scheme. This was my reply (slightly edited and expanded):

“Several years ago I did something similar with all of the Golden Dawn correspondences for the Major Arcana since I just can’t swallow some of them from an astrological perspective. For the Chariot (despite the fact that Paul Foster Case practically hyperventilated and foamed at the mouth trying to justify the Cancer attribution) I felt that Jupiter is a better expression of “triumph” (it is after all the “Greater Benefic” in traditional astrology) and Cancer is a more appropriate fit for the Wheel of Fortune because it symbolizes the “yin-and-yang” evolution of lunar change without favoring either one. I also believed that the Moon belongs with the Moon trump to complement the Sun’s correspondence to the Sun card, so I moved Pisces to the High Priestess since that path is the direct Way of Return for the “Christ consciousness” from the solar sphere of Tiphareth to the “crown” of Kether and beyond. (In addition, tarot arose during the mystical Age of Pisces that Aleister Crowley so vehemently skewered in his promotion of Thelema and the Age of Horus). It is also a mutable sign with philosophical and spiritual implications that align with Sagittarius on the “Path of the Arrow” between the Moon sephira (Yesod) and Sun sephira (Tiphareth) on the Tree of Life (both signs convey aspects of the “higher mind”). It just seemed to make better sense. So consider this a vote of confidence in what you’re trying to do.”

Here is a repost of my earlier essay on the subject that I believe is still pertinent. It includes my thoughts on the High Priestess and was first presented here over seven years ago, so many of my recently-added esoteric followers may not have found their way to it yet.

Astrologically Rethinking the Major Arcana