The Major Arcana and the Zodiac Houses

In the Major Arcana Exaltations table (which I reproduced in a prior post), only some Arcana are associated with Zodiac signs. Twelve Arcana are associated with specific signs, while the remainder are associated with the planets/days (except Saturn/Saturday) and the elements (specifically Air, Fire, and Water).

But couldn’t all of the Major Arcana be associated with Zodiac signs? Hypothetically, yes.

On the figure below, the remaining ten Arcana are assigned to the twelve signs based on their planet. If the Arcanum's associated planet matches the ruling planet of the sign, then it is associated with it. These planetary associations come from the Golden Dawn's publications and include the outer planets beyond Saturn.

As you can see, this leaves an asymmetry because there are twelve Zodiac signs and twenty-two Major Arcana. So The Magician (Mercury) and The Empress (Venus) are duplicated: The Magician appears under both Gemini and Virgo, The Empress under Libra and Taurus.

There are also associations with the Minor Arcana, the Decans, etc. as shown on the figure below, but I won't get into those here. 

The Nephilim game rules don't concern themselves with the decans, minor arcana cards, qualities, etc. Only the associations between the Ka-elements, the planets, the days of the week, and the astrological months are relevant.

Below is a consolidated Exaltation table that compares the major correspondences I could find. The bonuses noted by the Major Arcana book itself are indicated in italics. These are the primary correspondences!

Arcanum Month Planet Element
0 Fool Aquarius Uranus Air
I Magician Gemini, Virgo Mercury Air
II High Priestess Cancer Moon Water
III Empress Libra, Taurus Venus Earth
IV Emperor Aries Mars Fire
V Hierophant Taurus Venus Earth
VI Lovers Gemini Mercury Air
VII Chariot Cancer Moon Water
VIII Strength Leo Sun Fire
IX Hermit Virgo Chiron Earth
X Wheel Sagittarius Jupiter Fire
XI Justice Libra Venus Air
XII Hanged Man Pisces Neptune Water
XIII Unnamed Scorpio Pluto Water
XIV Temperance Sagittarius Jupiter Fire
XV Devil Capricorn Saturn Earth
XVI Tower Aries Mars Fire
XVII Star Aquarius Uranus Air
XVIII Moon Pisces Neptune Water
XIX Sun Leo Sun Fire
XX Judgment Scorpio Pluto Fire
XXI The World Capricorn Saturn Earth

Is this relevant to gameplay? Not really, I just thought it would be fun to collect and share!

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