Calculating and Working with Tarot Birth Cards and Life Path Numbers (Podcast Ep. 20 Blog)
In this blog, I will be discussing Tarot Birth Cards and Life Path Numbers and how you can work with these tools for self-exploration and aligning to your purpose.
Using your full birth date, you can calculate your Life Path Number and your Tarot Birth Card, both of which can reveal life lessons, obstacles, repeating themes and patterns that you will encounter throughout your life as well as insights into our talents, strengths, and personality characteristics that define us most. This is similar to how your zodiac sign reveals certain tendencies and characteristics in your nature.
There are several methods you can use to calculate your life path number and tarot birth card. I am going to teach the simplest way for this blog. Add together each number of your birthdate. For example, if your birthday is April 7, 1969, you will add all of those digits together in one line. So we add 4 +7+ 1+ 9+6+9 and this equals 36. Reduce this down to the lowest number by adding these digits together so 3+6 is 9. So, for this example, the birth card is the Hermit because it is the number 9 in the tarot and this person’s life path number is 9.
Light Seers Tarot - Hermit Card
Here I am providing links to a life path number calculator click here and a tarot birth card calculator click here if you need help finding your number. On some of the calculators they will give you tarot birth card pairs. For instance, I am a life path 4 so the Emperor card is my birth card and the Death card is my teacher card. This is because the death card is #13 in the Major Arcana and 13 reduces to 4. So I can work with this pair of cards to identify patterns and life lessons on my path. Both are very important cards.
The birth cards come from the Major Arcana in the tarot. Your birth card has a great deal to teach you! I believe your Tarot Birth Card is one of the most important cards in the tarot for you to work with as it gives you clues and insight into the life lessons, tests, experiences, and challenges you will encounter over your lifetime.
To begin working with your Tarot Birth Card set this card out in your environment, so you encounter it daily. Meditate with the card and see which messages start to come through for you. You can pathwork with your favorite version of this card. Pathworking is where you step inside the card and take in the surroundings of the card, and you can hold a conversation with the images and figures in the card. Ask what message does this card have for you?
And you can journal on the themes this card represents for you. And reassess your progress throughout the year with this card’s themes. Journal about the emotions the card images stir up for you. Journal about what you see in the card and how you feel about the card – pay attention to the colors and energies in the card and their affect on you. Note if you have positive or negative associations with the cards and explore what could be the roots of those feelings?
I wrote down a list of questions that might help you explore your Tarot Birth Cards further. You can use this as a Spread and pull cards on these questions or you can use these questions as journal prompts to help you reflect on what your tarot birth card might have to teach you.
Does your Birth card resonate with you? If not, explore why.
Does your birth card challenge you in your daily life?
What can the archetype of this card teach you?
What message does this archetype have for you now?
What can they show you?
How can this archetype help you grow?
How can you embody their energy and incorporate it into your life?
What advice can they give you?
What direction would they point you in?
What instruction would they offer you at this time?
Does your birth card scare you? If so, journal about why this is.
*And remember when something intimidates or frightens you, this is a signal that more work needs to be done in this area. It could mean this card has a lot to teach you and may push you toward change or to be more open to those concepts.
Look back and identify challenging times in your life and determine if there was a life lesson related to this birth card that was at play at that time and write those examples down in your journal. You might start to see a pattern emerge.
Our birth card helps us understand ourselves and our life path better. This archetype gives us direction in life and clarity on our mission. Knowing our birth card can give us insight by giving us a peek into the major themes, challenges, and tests we will experience over our lifetime over the many phases of life where these challenges can morph into new obstacles or learning experiences. However, they will still carry that basic essence of the birth card energy we are here to master, even if the challenges evolve as we grow. This card is a major clue about your purpose in this lifetime. Remaining focused on your birth card will help you remain aligned with your purpose and will help you accomplish your life lessons.
I love that the birth cards give us a head’s up on challenges we will face throughout our life and how to handle them as we work through this maze. Much like the year ahead spreads give us foresight into the challenges of the next year so that we can plan a strategy, birth cards give us the same glimpse into what our major life lessons will be and the form they will take. It is much easier to pass those tests when we are prepared and armed with foresight and the knowledge of what to look for.
Light Seers Tarot - Emperor
For example, being a life path 4 myself with the Emperor Tarot Birth Card (shown above), I am now armed with the knowledge that any challenges that arise with authority figures, father issues, the patriarchy, and control are part of the mission I am here to experience and master. Instead of being triggered by these repetitive challenges, I can be prepared to look out for any obstacles resembling this energy, and then make a logical plan to handle the situation without flying off the handle emotionally and reacting from a place of insecurity or fear. If I didn’t have this foresight, I could easily get caught off guard and be triggered by issues with authority and loss of control and react from an emotional place and dig a hole deeper for myself. In that case, I would risk not learning the lesson because I am too blinded by the injustice of the trials I face to see the value in the lesson at the time. That cycle would then play out over and over again with the possibility that I would never move forward to the next lesson.
By using tarot as the valuable psychological tool we know it to be, I can see these trials through a different lens. I can see these experiences as teaching moments and extract meaningful lessons along the way and then be aware of how each lesson builds on the next to create a stronger foundation of knowledge about myself and the world. This approach is more meaningful in the end. And I might add it is much less stressful while I am going through the process because I am able to see the larger picture as I go and not stuck in the middle of a maze while blindfolded. This is the beauty of tarot. It helps keep us focused on the larger experience we are living and connects us to the deeper meaning of our life.
Light Seers Tarot - 4 Cards In All The Tarot Suits
Now that you know your Tarot Birth Card, you can also pull out that number card in all 4 suits of the tarot to work with more specifically. For myself as a Life Path 4, that would mean pulling out the 4 of Pentacles, 4 of Swords, 4 of Wands and 4 of Cups (shown above). These cards will contain lessons I will be working with and encountering during this life. Notice when these cards pop up for you in your spreads. I know that I see these 4's all the time.
I want to point out that Tarot Birth Cards are different from Personal Tarot Year Cards. Your birth card is the same throughout your entire life and is calculated using your full birth date. Your Personal Tarot Year Card is one that you calculate every year by adding your month and day of birth to the present year. So, that card changes every single year and will help forecast which themes and challenges you will encounter over that 12 months. And something I learned recently is that this Personal Tarot Year Card actually starts on your birthday within that year. It does not start on January 1st of the new year unless Jan. 1st is your birthday. So this is different for everyone. If your birthday is March 15th then your Personal Tarot Year Card will kick in on March 15th of 2021 and play out over the course of the next 12 months until March 15th 2022.
When talking about the Tarot Year Cards, I want to point out that there is also a Universal Tarot Year Card which applies to everyone in the world. So each year you can calculate the Universal Tarot Year Card and Your Personal Tarot Year Card and analyze the two to see which energies, themes, or life lessons may play out for you over the course of the next year on a global and personal level. I discussed this topic at length in Episode 14 of the Healing Thru Tarot Podcast, and I walk you through how to calculate both your Universal and Personal Tarot Year Cards. I just wanted to clarify that these are very different from your Tarot Birth Card which is the same throughout your entire life.
For more information on how to work with your birth cards, Mary K. Greer covers more information in her workbook, Tarot for Yourself, A Workbook for Personal Transformation. She covers hidden factor cards also known as shadow cards and personality cards that are linked with your birth card. There is a link for this book at the end of this blog.
Life Path Numbers
There are a few ways to calculate your life path number. They have calculators online that do the math for you if you are unsure of which method to use. Link to online Life Path Number Calculator click here.
Personally, I have tried a few methods to calculate my life path number and have always ended up with numbers that reduce down to 4 no matter which method I use, and the description of the Life Path 4 fits me well. So I feel my number is correct. If you do find different numbers using the various methods, go with the number that you feel resonates the most with you.
And remember there are spectrums to everything. Think of this like your zodiac sign. Not every Capricorn is a workaholic or money-obsessed but most have a good work ethic or think it is important in some way. So there will be a continuum to the characteristics assigned to your life path number. It isn’t a one size fits all method. Don’t stress if the description doesn’t fit you perfectly. These are just tools to help you uncover more about yourself and your path. I always say that you are the best expert on yourself. If you think something doesn’t fit, then you would know that best.
Like I said earlier The Life Path Number helps us to understand our primary life purpose, innate tendencies, talents, and the obstacles you may face over the course of your life. I will now walk you through each life path number which consist of the numbers 1 thru 9, and I will quickly cover the 3 master numbers of 11, 22 and 33. I will include the tarot birth cards that go with each life path number, so you can see how well they work together with the overlapping lessons, energies and characteristics. I pulled this information on each life path from a few different numerology sites. The main one was feliciabender.com she is the practical numerologist and seventhlifepath.com
Life Path 1: The Innovative Leader; Magician Tarot Birth Card. They are born leaders who are self-motivated, independent, imaginative, innovative, and are pioneers and creators. They are unique and individualistic and may feel like they don’t belong due to their uniqueness. Creative vision is their greatest gift, and they would make great entrepreneurs and inventors. The advice here is to Be bold, take risks, and follow that inner voice that marches to the beat of their own drum. Have trust in your skills as the Magician does. Manifest with the resources you have. You have all you need to be successful within yourself.
Life Path 2: The Intuitive Diplomat; High Priestess Tarot Birth card – They seek harmony and loathe conflict. They are happiest when being of service to self, family, and others. They thrive in service-oriented careers and when working with groups or mediating to bring about harmony and balance in stressful situations. They are detail-oriented and reliable to get the job done right. They are often very sensitive individuals and tend to gravitate toward relationships and family life. The advice is to rise above the drama and go inward to tap into your intuition which is your greatest gift.
Life Path 3:The Creative Communicator; Empress Tarot Birth Card – Their purpose is to develop creative self-expression, emotional sensitivity, joy, inspired communication and creative artistic pursuits. They are often artists, writers, and creators and often shape the culture around them with their creative vision. The Empress is a good match here for a fertile time for creativity and creative pursuits. The advice here is to tap into that creativity and find a way to express it and share it with the world because your gift is inspiring others with the beauty that only you can provide.
Life Path 4: The Systems Builder and Teacher; Emperor Tarot Birth Card. Their purpose is to develop security, stability, order and to work hard to meet their work goals. They are the workhorses of the group. They are serious, detail-oriented, and rational thinkers. They make great teachers no matter what their actual profession is. They often study a subject thoroughly, and when they master the material they turn around and teach it to others. Just like the Emperor, 4’s are natural leaders and master builders and planners, and they excel in the management of others. They often have family issues with their family of origin, and since the Emperor is the father figure in the Majors, these family issues may stem from an absent or overbearing father. The advice is to spread your vast knowledge to others, be more flexible, and when leading do it from a benevolent approach versus a need to control others.
Life Path 5: The Sensual Freedom Seeker; Hierophant Tarot Birth Card. They are all about freedom, fun, fearlessness, and lots of adventure. They have intense energy and intense lives, are impulsive and are free-thinkers. They love variety and get bored easily, so they seek constant stimulation. The Hierophant is associated with the zodiac sign Taurus which is very sensual. The lives of Life Path 5’s are all about the senses, and they live their lives to the fullest degree. They will thrive as entrepreneurs as they would rather not be subject to someone else’s authority. The advice for 5’s is to develop self-discipline and routine in life to help contain this limitless energy and vast life experience. Without discipline, order, and a focused sense of purpose, their life can be too chaotic and disordered.
Life Path 6: The Nurturing Visionary; The Lovers Tarot Birth Card. They are natural nurturers, visionaries, champions of justice and are very empathic. They have a heightened sense of responsibility and are often perfectionists, caretakers, and healers. Others will come to them for advice and guidance since they are the “responsible ones.” They highly value love and marriage and even if they don’t have children of their own, they will parent in other ways either with pets, friends, or coworkers. Many are extremely musically gifted or are gifted with other artistically creative endeavors. They are brilliantly creative, and the advice here is to find ways to use their creativity constructively and to learn not to overcommit to responsibilities in life or you are at risk of resentment and burnout.
Life Path 7: The Seeker; Chariot Tarot Birth Card. Their personal mission is to develop their spirituality and intuition. They are always seeking truth and knowledge and often explore life’s mysteries. They are often very intelligent, analytical, old souls, aloof and mysterious. They would excel as a philosopher, analyst, or researcher. The conundrum for 7’s is that they are both highly intuitive but also data-driven. The advice is to find a way to bridge both worlds even though they often don’t mix well and learn to be more emotionally available to loved ones for healthier relationships.
LIFE PATH 8: The CEO & Material Manifester; Strength Tarot Birth Card. Their personal mission is to develop abundance, power, and the satisfaction that comes from success in the material world. The lesson of the 8 Life Path is how to manage their personal relationship with power and money. This path is about establishing and building financial security. They are resilient, physically and emotionally strong (just like the Strength card), are often workaholics, and commonly have family issues they have to work out. They are often magnetic and can make a great leader and organizer because of their ability to see the big picture of things. The advice here is to learn how to use power and authority wisely and for the good of others and not to dwell on the negative in life.
Life Path 9: The Creative Humanitarian; The Hermit Tarot Birth Card The 9 Life Path is the most evolved in numerology and has one of the strongest vibrations because it contains the qualities of all the other numbers. They are wise old souls, and their lives are meant to be expansive and spiritually challenging. They often struggle with setting personal boundaries with family. They have a high regard for humanity, and they strive to inspire others with their compassion for humanity. They do well in creative fields where they can share their talent with the world. Many gifted musicians, actors, and artists are on the 9 Life Path. The advice here is to focus on letting go and surrendering, especially when it comes to family conflicts, abandonment issues, or co-dependency. And just like The Hermit they are most at peace when they clear the mind and tune in to their intuitive inner voice.
Life Path 11: The Inspired Healer; Justice Tarot Birth card (11 reduces to 2 so The High Priestess can be used as well). They are healers in every sense of the word. They are extremely intuitive and constantly connected to the other side. They use their creative and intuitive talents to heal the world. They are teachers, artists, leaders across many fields, and psychic healers. Their focus is on harmony and love and light. They can heal others just with their presence. The advice here is to find a way to ground to the earth because this is often a struggle for such intuitive dreamers who are often in the clouds. Developing a strong psychic protective shield is key due to their sensitive nature and intuitive line of work.
Life Path 22: Master Teacher and Systems Builder; The Emperor Tarot Birth Card. Life Path 22 is a double 2 which is all about harmony and love and also a 4 which is rooted in process and stability. They will use the hardwork of the 4 and tap into the bigger picture for manifesting systems into existence in the material world that will benefit and elevate humanity by changing the everyday lives of people around the world. The advice here is to stop doing everything yourself and learn to delegate, so you can achieve your higher purpose. And Dream BIG!
Life Path 33: Masterful Teacher and Healer; The Lovers Tarot Birth Card. They are inspired visionaries. As a double 3 they will be focused on creative expression and emotional sensitivity combined with the life path 6 lessons anchored in nurturing, acceptance and vision. The number 33 is the “Christ Number,” which falls in line with helping, healing, and spreading love, joy, truth, and justice. They will be called to teach by the power of love just as Christ did with a nurturing and giving heart. Giving will be their main focus. They will be led to learn from their own wounds and learn how to heal themselves first before they can show the world how to heal. The advice here is to stay realistic and remain positive and anchored in love in order to give to the world and promote healing. Find a way to shine your light even through the darkest times you face. Don’t let the injustices of the world dampen your light or your creativity. It is how you heal others.
Hopefully, this information on life path numbers and their corresponding tarot birth cards helps you to dive a little further into self-exploration to understand more about your path and lessons to master while you are here.
APRIL TAROT CHALLENGE
I am hosting a Self-Improvement Tarot Challenge on Instagram for the month of April. I created prompts for each of the 30 days in April for us to pull a tarot card related to mental health and self-care. Follow the challenge using the #httselfimprovementtarotchallenge and feel free to tag me in your posts @healingthrutarot - Prompts are included below and you can find them on my Instagram page. Feel free to join in on the challenge.
Life Path Number Calculator click here
Tarot Birth Card Calculator click here
Books and Decks shown in this blog or recommended are below: click on title to go to the product. Some of these are amazon affiliate links and it helps me out if you use these links. Thanks for your support.
Mary K Greer workbook, Tarot for Yourself, A Workbook for Personal Transformation
PODCAST
Link to Podcast Episode 20 on Anchor click here
Other relevant Podcast Episodes - Ep. 14 of Healing Thru Tarot: Year Ahead Spreads + Calculating Your Personal Tarot Year Card. Click here to listen.
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