one is for wholeness.
two for duality and reflection.
three for new perspective and understanding.
four for solidarity and love.
five for turbulence and disruption.
six for recovery, renewed confidence, and grace.
seven for courage and the strength to go forward.
eight for recognition and glory.
nine for foundation and beginnings.
ten for realisation and renewal.

pages for youth and eagerness.
knights for responsibility and service.
queens for inspiration and strength.
kings for leadership and mastery.

As is evident by these charts, Tarot and Astrology are thought to be intimately linked.  Like the signs of Astrology, the characteristics of each of the Tarot cards do not suffice in themselves individually, but only tell a story when taken as a whole.  In astrology, location, time,  and definition  are of prime importance.  All are dependent on sky sector .  No single person has one sign which alone can describe their complex being and individuality(further explanation can be read in my Astrology section).  So too, in Tarot, no single Card is thought to fully represent life itself, but rather only one aspect of life.  The Major  Arcana, the 22 picture cards which characterize Tarot and serve as the main difference between a Tarot deck and a normal deck, reflect the same story told in the zodiac, with the inclusion of both the planets and the signs.  Meanwhile, the Minor Arcana, the 52 'normal' cards and the four pages not included in regular decks, reflect the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air, and describe the characteristic sign/planet combinations of those elements.

Like astrology, tarot is based on meaning, moments,  and location.  Each moment having a signature, each location having a characteristic, and each meaning having a specific card.  The cutting of the tarot deck is thought to freeze a moment in time and show the pattern at work within the moment.  The cards are attuned to the mind, and both are thought to be driven by the same pattern or pulse in the universe.  Individual cards are thought to reflect certain aspects of character and life, which, dependent upon the moment, take up significance by their location in the spread used to lay out the deck.

Unlike Astrology, Tarot has no proven historical basis for truth to back it up.  There have been associations made with the Jewish Kabbalah, or sacred tree of life, but even those are disputed by tarotists themselves.  The most reknowned tarotist group, the Order of the Golden Dawn, based its practice on the connections to the Kabbalah.  Some date tarot all the way back to the Egyptians and Indonesians.  The most prevalent veiw seems to be that tarot evolved as a way to communicate sacred wisdom without persection, either  during the middle ages while books were being burned, or in the ancient history of Islam.  The sacred wisdom was thought to be imbedded in the story of the cards.  The cards were then trivialized and promoted as a common game in order to ensure their existence.  Hence the ordinary deck of cards, composed of the minor arcana without the pages, may have evolved from the tarot deck.

I don't believe in the Tarot.  Ninety percent of the time my cards have no meaning to me when laid out, and I've done hundreds of spreads.  At best, to me, tarot  is a psychological tool which forces the person to find a new perspective in matters.  It does fascinate me however that such a game can inspire such fear and dread in people who should know better than to be superstitious.  Even if the cards were able to say something about the future, what then?  Do cards rule our future?  Was it not the bible itself which said something like 'believe in me and all of that will be powerless to influence you?'  It reminds me of that movie Labyrinth and how Sarah at the end has her realization and says:  "You have no power over me."  As long as people fear these things and refuse to even take a look at them for what they are, yes they do have power over those people.  They inspire fear in those people, and fear is probably one of the strongest forms of power that there is.

For further information on tarot, gamecards, and astrology, check the list of references below.

Online Free Tarot-readings
Kepler College--the first degree granting college for the study of astrology
Oldest Tarot Deck known
Tarot History and Evolution
The Jewish Kabbalah
The History of Gamecards
The Official Golden Dawn Site
The History of Astrology

Pollack, Rachel.  1999.  The Complete Illustrated Guide to Tarot.  Element Books Limited.  Boston, Massachusetts.