How the Four Elements Shape Your Tarot Card Readings

Ah, tarot reading. If you’re a beginner feeling overwhelmed right now, know that you’re not alone. Tarot reading is as complicated as life (since it mirrors it too). 

And if you’re in the early stages of learning tarot reading, you might be trying to identify and understand the major arcana and the minor arcana, and understanding all 78 cards is no joke.

You might even be wondering, “What if this gets too complicated?” or “Am I the kind of person who can really connect with tarot?” Trust me, most of the advanced tarot readers have been there. Tarot reading was never a breeze or a walk in the park, but hard work always pays off.

What Are the Elements in Tarot?

(this is from our newest deck: Tarot of Sacred Kingdoms: Talisman Edition)

Okay, so let’s start simple. There are five elements in tarot: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. These aren’t just cool-sounding words; they’re deeply tied to how we experience the world. Each element connects to a tarot suit or overarching theme, and understanding them can add layers of meaning to your readings.

• Earth (Pentacles): Think of stability, material things, and grounding. It’s about the physical world: finances, health, home. Do you know that feeling when you’ve been rushing around, and then you sit in your favorite chair, take a deep breath, and feel solid again? That’s Earth energy.
  
• Air (Swords): This one’s all about the mind. It represents thoughts, ideas, communication - and, yeah, the occasional overthinking. So if you’ve had a sleepless night replaying conversations in your head? That’s peak Swords energy. But it’s also the clarity you get when you finally figure something out.
  
• Fire (Wands): Passion, creativity, action. Fire gets things moving and lights the spark of inspiration. It’s like the excitement you feel when starting a new project, or the frustration of it burning out too quickly.
  
• Water (Cups): Emotions, intuition, relationships. Water flows where it wants to, sometimes calm and cleansing, other times overwhelming. Picture the warmth of a deep conversation with a friend or the ache of a heartbreak. Both are Water in action.
  
• Spirit (Major Arcana): This is the element that connects everything. It’s about the journey of self-awareness and spiritual growth. Spirit transcends the day-to-day and reminds us of the bigger picture: the lessons, cycles, and universal truths that shape our lives.
  

When I first started reading tarot, I felt overwhelmed by all the card meanings. Then someone pointed out the elemental connections, and suddenly, everything clicked (lol of course it wasn’t actually this fast but you get it, that it now makes sense, and it’s more relatable, yeah?) It’s like having a compass. Instead of seeing each card as a standalone puzzle, the elements help you thread them into a story.

For example, let’s say you pull the Ace of Swords. Knowing it’s linked to Air tells you it’s about a new mental beginning - maybe a fresh perspective or a brilliant idea. Add numerology (aces symbolize potential), and boom! You’ve got a deeper reading.

And when you look at the spread as a whole? That’s when the magic happens. An abundance of Cups might scream emotional overload or a need to focus on relationships. Too many Wands? You’re likely dealing with a whirlwind of activity or creative bursts, perhaps even burnout.

How Do the Elements Interact?

Here’s where things get interesting. The elements don’t just sit quietly in their corners; they interact, sometimes in harmony, sometimes in conflict. Let’s break it down:

• Earth and Water: These are best friends in the element world. Water nourishes Earth, helping ideas grow into something tangible, like how emotions and intuition can ground into action.
  
• Fire and Air: A dynamic duo! Air fuels Fire, sparking creativity and ambition. Picture ideas (Air) catching Fire to fuel an exciting new project.
  
• Fire and Water: These two don’t always get along. Fire wants action, while Water needs reflection. It’s like having the gas pedal and brake pressed at the same time.
  
• Earth and Air: This relationship is a bit tricky. Earth can anchor Air’s ideas into reality, but too much Earth might stifle Air’s free flow. On the flip side, too much Air can make Earth feel unstable.
  

By spotting these interactions in a spread, you can see whether energies are working together or pulling in opposite directions. It’s like understanding the chemistry between characters in a story, it makes everything richer and more meaningful.

Tarot Elements: Correspondences and Working with Elemental Dignities

Now, let’s talk about elemental dignities, a concept beautifully explored by Tina Gong. This approach examines how elements influence each other within a tarot reading.

Active vs. Passive Elements:

• Active: Fire (Wands) and Air (Swords) are outward-focused. They bring energy, movement, and change.
• Passive: Water (Cups) and Earth (Pentacles) are inward-focused. They provide reflection, stability, and grounding.
  

How Elements Interact:

• Strengthen: When the same element pairs up, their energy doubles. For example, two Fire cards can amplify passion and action, or escalate impulsiveness.
  
• Support: Some elements naturally complement each other. Fire and Air, for instance, work together to inspire and drive creativity. Water and Earth create a nurturing space for growth and healing.
  
• Weaken: Opposing elements cancel each other out. Fire might clash with Water, leading to frustration or emotional burnout. Air and Earth can feel like ideas without action or plans bogged down by too much caution.
  
• Neutral: When elements neither clash nor align, they can bring balance, or highlight areas needing attention.
  

Understanding these dignities can transform your readings, helping you see how the cards’ energies flow together...or don’t. Tina Gong’s insights are a great resource for diving deeper into this topic.

Working with the Elements in Your Practice

So, how do you start? Here are a few tips:

1. Observe the Balance: Look at the distribution of elements in your spreads. Are they balanced, or is one dominating? That can tell you where your focus needs to shift.
   
2. Practice Elemental Readings: Assign each card position in a spread to an element. For example, use the 5-card spread with slots for Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. This reveals the elemental health of a situation.
   
3. Blend Intuition and Knowledge: Don’t overthink it. If a card’s imagery or energy feels different from its “textbook” meaning, trust your gut. The elements are guides, not rules.
   

So you see, Tarot helps us reflect on life and become more aware of ourselves, our emotions, and our actions. By understanding the elements, you get to understand and weave stories, discover patterns, and deepen your intuition.

If you’ve noticed, the sample suits we’ve shown actually represent the 4 elements! These are the 4 elemental kingdoms of our Tarot of Sacred Kingdoms: Talisman Edition, which gives more highlight on the elemental aspects of the minor arcana. Feel free to stop by to know more about it!