What’s the Tarot Card for Capricorn

“What tarot card is Capricorn?” is a question many Capricorns ask when they first start learning tarot.

The answer to that question might be a little more complicated than you’d expect. The reality is that there isn’t just 1 tarot card that represents the zodiac sign of Capricorn. There are 5.

If that sounds complicated, the good news is that only one of those 5 cards is a Major Arcana card. The other 4 cards that represent Capricorn are Minor Arcana cards.

So let’s start with the most important card —

 

The tarot card that represents Capricorn

The tarot card that best represents Capricorn is “The Devil“.

This is one of those tarot astrology associations that often bothers people, so let’s explain this carefully before anyone gets upset: The Devil tarot card doesn’t imply Satanic influence, possession or anything sinister.

The Devil in tarot implies temptation and the replacement of wholesome things with superficial ones. Temptation and the struggle against desire is a very universal human experience.

 

Capricorn and the Devil

“Okay”, you’re probably thinking, “but still — what does the Devil have to do with Capricorns?”

On a visual level, the creature on the Devil card and Capricorn both have horns and are half-goat.  That alone is a greater Capricorn similarity than with any other tarot card.

On a higher level though, Capricorns wrestle with worldly temptation and the balance between higher thought and material desire.  As an Earth sign, Capricorn stands rooted in the physical material realm but stands at the gateway to higher emotional and spiritual realms.

Capricorn’s ruling planet Saturn forms the planetary boundary between the inner material planets and the greater worlds beyond.

Likewise, Capricorn’s ruling planet Saturn forms the planetary boundary between the inner material planets and the greater worlds beyond.   In this sense, Saturn represents the conflict between the ego and the self-restraint required to exceed material boundaries.

As with the Devil tarot card, the restraints on the pictured man and woman are loose, and appear to be of their own making. Capricorns can likewise be their own worst enemy — torn between the reams of the material and the higher mind.

 

Minor Arcana tarot cards associated with Capricorn

Aside from the well-known association with the Major Arcana Devil card, there are also 4 additional Minor Arcana cards which are frequently associated with the sign of Capricorn.

The Minor Arcana cards associated with Capricorn are:

• The Two of Pentacles
• The Three of Pentacles
• The Four of Pentacles
• The King of Pentacles

These 4 Minor Arcana Wands cards are linked to the sign of Capricorn for two reasons:

1. They share a primary elemental association to Earth.
2. They share a cardinal astrological modality.

Fixed astrological modalities indicate beginnings, action and initiation of movement. To read more about the subjects of astrological modality and primary elements, and how they can be used to connect astrology to tarot, see our post on the correspondences between astrology and tarot cards.

 

Why learn what tarot card is Capricorn?

Another question many tarot students ask is, “Why learn what tarot card represents Capricorn? Aren’t the basic meanings of each tarot card enough?”

The truth is, it’s possible to study both tarot and astrology and never connect the two fields.  But for those who take the extra step to learn the correspondences between astrology and tarot cards, the extra layer of meaning can be extremely rewarding.

Knowing that a specific card may represent a planet, a sign, a person born under that sign, or even a month of the year, can open new dimensions to your tarot interpretations.

Now that you understand the tarot astrology connection between the Devil tarot card and Capricorn, try applying these insights in your one of iFate’s award-winning free tarot readings.