THE WORLD - Astrological Associations

I conclude my astrological exploration of the Major Arcana with Trump 21, The World. The astrological associations established by the Order of the Golden Dawn (OGD) are the most commonly used in Tarot. However, as a professional astrologer, I always find it interesting when someone develops another system. The use of astrological associations with Tarot is completely up to the reader. This is merely intended to be interesting and fun.

Thoth Tarot by Aleister Crowley
Crowley titles Trump 21 "The Universe," as does Book T. Crowley notes: "The first and most obvious characteristic of this card is that it comes at the end of all, and is therefore the compliment of the Fool. It is attributed to the letter Tau. . . The letter Tau is attributed to Saturn, the outermost and slowest of the seven sacred planets; because of these dull, heavy qualities, the element of earth was thrust upon the symbol." Indeed, Saturn traditionally rules the zodiac sign Capricorn, an Earth sign, as well as Aquarius (an Air sign).

One World Tarot by Crystal Love
In this deck, Crystal Love associates The World (Trump 21) with the Sun. She writes: "Without the rays of the Sun. . . life on Earth would not exist. "

A.E. Thierens, PhD. (Astrology & the Tarot)
Thierens associates The World with the planet Neptune. In modern astrology, Neptune rules (or co-rules) Pisces, the 12th and last sign of the zodiac. Thierens writes that this card represents, among other things, "the cosmic origin of life, to which the candidate for initiation returns, and which now and then appears in dreams. . . The relations of Neptune with the Moon and the lunar body are not unknown to astrologers nowadays."

The Celestial Tarot by Brian Clark
Clark attributes The World to "Saturn, at Journey's End." He writes: "At journey's end we encounter Saturn, the Lord of Karma, acknowledging our hard-won triumphs and heroic battles. . . The planet Saturn marks the edge of the visible solar system and reminds the pilgrim of his earthly and human form, his imperfections, fears, and limitations. . . Saturn is the natural ruler of the mid-heaven, the symbolic pathway into the world and an image of the goals we strive to reach in life."

The Mandala Astrological Tarot by A.T. Mann
Mann associates Trump 21, World, with the planet Saturn. He writes: "Saturn is physical form and existence as governed by the mechanism of time. . . Capricorn is the limitation of laws made physically manifest, and Aquarius is the same laws which control and describe the divine plan to which humanity is subject." Mann points out that Saturn is exalted in the sign Libra, which commonly represents "the integration of opposites on the battleground of the self in its experience of life."

The Whispering Tarot by Liz Hazel
Liz Hazel notes that the Golden Dawn lists the attribution for Trump 21 as "Saturn." She herself associates the card with "the planet Earth, spirit or the fifth element, the quintessence." The OGD also lists "Earth" as an attribution for The World, but (as with Crowley), this is most likely a reference to the element Earth rather than the planet Earth.

I welcome your comments!

Zanna