Tarot Birth Card Calculator

Your tarot birth card is the Major Arcana card that matches your date of birth. Tarot writer Mary K. Greer popularized the idea: you turn your birthday into a number from 1 to 21 and match it to the card with the same number. Many readers treat that card as a symbol of your core themes, the lessons and strengths that tend to follow you through life.

Some birthdays give you one card. Others give you two, called the Personality card and the Soul card. Vela's calculator finds them for you and shows every step, so you can check the math yourself. Birth cards are a reflection tool and a bit of fun, for entertainment purposes only.

1. Add the month, day and year as whole numbers. Don't split them into digits yet.
2. Add the digits of that total to get a smaller number.
3. If the result is 22 or more, add its digits once more. Most birthdays land on a number from 1 to 21 after step 2, so this step is rare.
4. Match the number to the Major Arcana (Rider–Waite numbering, where Strength is 8 and Justice is 11).

Example: born August 17, 1990

• 8 + 17 + 1990 = 2015
• 2 + 0 + 1 + 5 = 8
• 8 is a single digit, so you have one card: Strength. It is both your Personality card and your Soul card.

Example with two cards: if your total comes out to 13, your Personality card is Death (13) and your Soul card is The Emperor (1 + 3 = 4).

When your result is a two-digit number from 10 to 21, you get two cards:

• Personality card: the Major Arcana card for the number itself. It describes how you come across and the energy you bring to the world.
• Soul card: the card for the sum of those two digits. It describes what drives you underneath, the quieter side that shows up when you are most yourself.

If your result is a single digit from 1 to 9, one card does both jobs. It is your Personality card and your Soul card at once.

The one triple is 19. It gives you The Sun (19) as your Personality card, with Wheel of Fortune (10) and The Magician (1) behind it.

Here is every combination, with a short note on how the two cards fit together.

• 10 and 1: Wheel of Fortune and The Magician — change and cycles, steered by your own will.
• 11 and 2: Justice and The High Priestess — fairness on the outside, deep intuition underneath.
• 12 and 3: The Hanged Man and The Empress — a new point of view, rooted in care and creativity.
• 13 and 4: Death and The Emperor — endings and fresh starts, backed by structure.
• 14 and 5: Temperance and The Hierophant — balance and patience, shaped by tradition and teaching.
• 15 and 6: The Devil and The Lovers — strong attractions, and the choices that come with them.
• 16 and 7: The Tower and The Chariot — sudden change, met with drive and focus.
• 17 and 8: The Star and Strength — hope and healing, held up by quiet courage.
• 18 and 9: The Moon and The Hermit — a vivid inner world that likes time alone.
• 19, 10 and 1: The Sun, Wheel of Fortune and The Magician — warmth and success, with luck on your side and the skill to use it.
• 20 and 2: Judgement and The High Priestess — a calling that you can hear when you listen.
• 21 and 3: The World and The Empress — completion and growth, with plenty of creative energy.

If your result is a single digit, you get one card:

• 1: The Magician — skill, focus and making things happen.
• 2: The High Priestess — intuition and inner knowing.
• 3: The Empress — creativity, comfort and nurturing.
• 4: The Emperor — structure, leadership and stability.
• 5: The Hierophant — tradition, teaching and shared values.
• 6: The Lovers — relationships and choices of the heart.
• 7: The Chariot — willpower and moving forward.
• 8: Strength — patience, courage and a calm hand.
• 9: The Hermit — solitude, reflection and wisdom (this card stands alone, with no pair).

Each card's full meaning is in our tarot card meanings guide.

You can use the same method to find a card for the current year. Add the month and day of your birthday to the current year instead of your birth year, then reduce the total just as above. Many readers use it as a theme for the year ahead. This calculator doesn't work out year cards, but it takes about a minute with a pen.

Your birth card is the same for life. If you would like a card for today, try the tarot card of the day, or ask a question in the free tarot reading. Numerology fans can also find their life path number, which uses your birth date in a different way.