Tarot birth card calculator
Enter your date of birth to find your tarot birth cards and your year card, with every step of the calculation shown.
How birth cards are calculated
The method was popularized by tarot author Mary K. Greer. Add your birth month, day and year as whole numbers: for 15 July 1985 that is 7 + 15 + 1985 = 2007. Add the digits of the total: 2 + 0 + 0 + 7 = 9. If the result is 22 or more, add its digits again. The final number is a Major Arcana card (9 is the Hermit). If it has two digits, add them together for your second birth card: 19 gives the Sun (19) and the Wheel of Fortune (1 + 9 = 10), which then gives the Magician (1 + 0 = 1), so 19 is the one result with three cards. A result of 22 counts as the Fool (card 0, also numbered 22) paired with the Emperor (2 + 2 = 4).
The calculator does exactly this, shows each step, and also works out your year card for the current year: the same sum with this year in place of your birth year. Your year card is a theme for the twelve months from your birthday.
What your birth cards mean
Your birth cards are read as a lifelong theme rather than a prediction: the higher card is how that theme shows up in the world, the lower card is the inner work behind it. They do not change, which is why many readers keep them in mind when those cards turn up in a reading.
The possible pairs
| Number | Birth cards |
|---|---|
| 22 | The Fool and The Emperor |
| 21 | The World and The Empress |
| 20 | Judgement and The High Priestess |
| 19 | The Sun and Wheel of Fortune and The Magician |
| 18 | The Moon and The Hermit |
| 17 | The Star and Strength |
| 16 | The Tower and The Chariot |
| 15 | The Devil and The Lovers |
| 14 | Temperance and The Hierophant |
| 13 | Death and The Emperor |
| 12 | The Hanged Man and The Empress |
| 11 | Justice and The High Priestess |
| 10 | Wheel of Fortune and The Magician |
A single-digit result (for example 9, the Hermit) gives one birth card.
Questions
What is my tarot birth card?
Add your birth month, day and year, then add the digits of the total until you get 22 or less. That number is your Major Arcana birth card; if it has two digits, their sum gives your second card. The calculator shows every step, so you can check the result by hand.
Can you have three birth cards?
Yes, only if your total is 19: the Sun, the Wheel of Fortune and the Magician.
What is a tarot year card?
The same calculation using the current year instead of your birth year. It gives a theme for the year from one birthday to the next.
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