Each week of the Liturgical Year has its own Tarot Arcana as do some notable days, as laid out in the seasonal charts on this page.
Check this page to see the distribution of the Arcana throughout the year.
Here are my blog posts which describe each week or day of the Liturgical Year in more detail, with regular updates as my thoughts mature.
Advent
There are two seasonal cards: (9) The Hermit and (20) Judgement.
(9) The Hermit reminds us that Advent is a season of fasting; (20) Judgement reminds us that Advent anticipates the Four Last Things as well as the Nativity of Christ.
| Week | Arcana | OT | NT |
| Advent 1 | (7) Chariot | Psalm 84:12-13 | Romans 13:12 |
| Advent 2 | (2) High Priestess | Proverbs 9:1 | John 5:39 |
| Advent 3 | (16) Tower | Isaiah 61:1 | 1 Corinthians 4:5 |
| Advent 4 | (14) Temperance | Isaiah 43:13 | John 1:26-27 |
Christmas
The seasonal card for Christmastide is The Fool.
*Display the Sun from Christmas Day until the 1st Sunday after Christmas Day when it is replaced by the High Priestess.
Read a part of Ficino’s De Sole each day.
| Day or Week | Arcana | OT | NT |
| Christmas Day | (19) Sun* | Isaiah 7:14 | John 1:1-5 |
| St. Stephen | (12) Hanged Man | Isaiah 7:14 | John 1:1-5 |
| St. John | (21) World | Isaiah 7:14 | John 1:1-5 |
| Holy Innocents | (13) Death | Isaiah 7:14 | John 1:1-5 |
| King David’s Day | King of Swords | Samuel 16:12-13 | Matthew 22:41-45 |
| 1st Sunday after Christmas | (2) High Priestess | Isaiah 7:14 | Galations 4:6-7 |
| Circumcision (New Year’s Day) | Ace of Swords | ||
| 2nd Sunday after Christmas | Ace of Pentacles | Isaiah 9:2 | John 9:5 |
Epiphany
There are two seasonal arcanae for Epiphany, (1) The Magician and (17) The Star, with (1) The Magician in the East and (17) The Star in the West.
Read a part of Ficino’s The Star of the Magi each day.
| Day or Week | Arcana | OT | NT |
| Epiphany | (1) Magician & (17) Star | Numbers 24:17 | Matthew 2:10 |
| Epiphany 1 | (11) Strength | Psalm 92:12-14 | Romans 12:2 |
| (Epiphany 2) | (4) Emperor | Psalm 1:2 | John 2:10 |
| (Epiphany 3) | (7) Chariot | Numbers 24:17 | Matthew 8:13 |
| Candlemas | Queen of Rods | Luke 2:29 | |
| (Epiphany 4) | (16) Tower | Proverbs 4:23 | Matthew 8:23-26 |
| (Epiphany 5) | (5) Hierophant | Psalm 110:3-4 | Colossians 3:12-13 |
| (Epiphany 6) | (15) Devil |
Shrovetide
A shadowy period between the seasons of Epiphany and Lent, a time of carnivals and masquerades, Shrovetide anticipates the Lunar festival of Easter and is best symbolized by (18) The Moon.
| Week | Arcana | OT | NT |
| Septuagesima | (8) Justice | Ezekiel 18:27 | Matthew 20:7 |
| Sexagesima | (10) Wheel of Fortune | Psalm 113:6-7 | Luke 8:14-15 |
| Quinquagesima | (6) Lovers | Proverbs 15:17 | 1 Corinthians 13:1 |
Lent
During this time of self-discipline and fasting, (9) The Hermit is the seasonal card. This season begins and ends with (15) The Devil, denoting the temptation of Christ and the harrowing of Hell respectively, however, The Hermit (9) is removed at 11:59pm on the eve of Maundy Thursday along with The Hanged Man (12).
| Day or Week | Arcana | OT | NT |
| Ash Wednesday | (15) Devil | ||
| Lent 1 | (14) Temperance | Proverbs 4:23 | Matthew 4:4 |
| Lent 2 | (11) Strength | Psalm 51:10-13 | Matthew 15:28 |
| Lent 3 | (4) Emperor | Psalm 5:11 | Luke 11:20 |
| Lent 4, Mothering Sunday | (3) Empress | Isaiah 66: 10-11 | Galatians 4:26 |
| Lent 5 | (5) Hierophant | Genesis 14:18-20 | John 8:58 |
| Annunciation | (2) High Priestess | Magnificat | |
| Palm Sunday | (12) Hanged Man | Zechariah 9:9 | John 12:24 |
| Maundy Thursday | (1) Magician | 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26 | |
| Good Friday | (13) Death (alone) | Psalm 22:18-20 | John 19: 5 |
| Easter Eve | (18) Moon & (15) Devil (reversed) | Exodus 14: 29-30 | 1 Peter 3: 18-19 |
Easter
The seasonal card for Easter is (20) Judgement.
Unless Easter is very early, the Easter season continues into May, which is “Mary’s month.” (3) The Empress is displayed throughout the month. The Regina Coeli is chanted each morning of May.
| Day or Week | Arcana | OT | NT |
| Easter Day | (20) Judgement | Isaiah 60:1-2 | John 11:25 |
| Easter 1 | (6) Lovers | Psalm 16:10 | 1 John 5:11-12 |
| Easter 2 | (5) Hierophant | Isaiah 40:11 | John 10:14 |
| Easter 3 | (17) Star | Psalm 36:9 | John 16:22 |
| Easter 4 | (10) Wheel of Fortune | Isaiah 26:3 | James 1:17 |
| Easter 5 | (1) Magician | Proverbs 16:3 | James 1:25 |
| St. George | Knight of Swords | Isaiah 27:1 | Ephesians 6: 10-11 |
| May Day | (3) Empress | ||
| Ascension Day | (21) World | ||
| Sunday after Ascension Day | (8) Justice | Proverbs 10:12 | 1 Peter 4:10 |
| Whitsun | (16) Tower | Joel 2:28 | Luke 14:11 |
Trinity
(19) The Sun is the seasonal card for 23 weeks of this long season. During Trinity the Fool travels through the houses of the Upper Arcana. There are always at least 22 Sundays after Trinity Sunday, so the Fool appears with The Trinity Sun and then, during the following 21 “Sundays after Trinity” proceeds through the Upper Arcana. The Fool card does not remain on display all that time, as the Fool is embodied in the one who meditates upon the cards. Instead, he reappears on the 22nd Sunday after Trinity.
On the 19th Sunday after Trinity (19) The Sun is displayed alone and Ficino’s De Sole is read during the week.
From the 23rd Sunday after Trinity, (19) The Sun is replaced by the lesser light of (18) The Moon as the liturgical year draws to a close and autumn draws in. This is another shadow time before the fasting season of Advent, just as Shrovetide comes before Lent.
The last Sunday of the Trinity Season is always “Stir Up Sunday.” In a very short Trinity season, where Stir Up Sunday is the 22nd after Trinity, The Fool and (10) The Wheel of Fortune will both be displayed alongside (19) The Sun. From Trinity 23 until the beginning of Advent, the seasonal arcana of The Sun (19) is replaced by The Moon (18) as we enter the shadowy period between the end of the Fool’s Trinitarian pilgrimage of initiation and the beginning of Advent.
| Day or Week | Arcana | OT | NT |
| Trinity Sunday | Fool | Job 38:4 | John 3:8 |
| Corpus Christi | Ace of Pentacles | ||
| Trinity 1 | (1) Magician | Isaiah 26:3 | 1 John 4:17-18 |
| Trinity 2 | (2) High Priestess | Proverbs 23:7 | John 3:5 |
| Trinity 3 | (3) Empress | Job 22:21 | Luke 15:8 |
| Trinity 4 | (4) Emperor | Psalm 1:2 | Luke 6:36-38 |
| Trinity 5 | (5) Hierophant | Genesis 14:18-20 | Luke 5:4 |
| Trinity 6 | (6) Lovers | Song of Solomon 6:3-4 | 1 Corinthians 2:9 |
| Trinity 7 | (7) Chariot | Ecclesiastes 11:1 | Mark 8:8 |
| Trinity 8 | (8) Justice | Proverbs 16: 11 | Matthew 7:20 |
| Trinity 9 | (9) Hermit | Psalm 51:10-12 | Luke 16:9 |
| Trinity 10 | (10) Wheel of Fortune | Ecclesiastes 1: 2 & 9 | Luke 19:43-44 |
| Trinity 11 | (11) Strength | Judges 14:14 | Luke 18:14 |
| Trinity 12 | (12) Hanged Man | Psalm 46:10 | 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 |
| Trinity 13 | (13) Death | Psalm 23:4 | Luke 10:30 & Philippians 1:21 |
| Trinity 14 | (14) Temperance | Proverbs 4:23 | Galatians 5:22-23 |
| Trinity 15 | (15) Devil | Job 3:25 | Matthew 6:28-29 |
| Trinity 16 | (16) Tower | Psalm 92:7-9 | Ephesians 3:13 |
| Trinity 17 | (17) Star | Psalm 92:12-14 | Ephesians 4:4-6 |
| Trinity 18 | (18) Moon | Psalm 36:9 | Matt 22:37-39 |
| Trinity 19 | (19) Sun | Malachi 4:2 | Ephesians 4:25-26 |
| Trinity 20 | (20) Judgement | Isaiah 26:19 | Matthew 22:14 |
| Trinity 21 | (21) World | Proverbs 8:27-28 | Ephesians 6:19-20 |
| November 5th | Psalm 113:9-10 | ||
| Martinmas (Remembrance Day) | (4) Swords | Psalm 23 | |
| (Trinity 22) | Fool | Genesis 1:27 | Philippians 1:9-11 |
| (Trinity 23) Moon | (7) Chariot | Psalm 46:1-2 | Matthew 22:21 |
| (Trinity 24) Moon | (15) Devil | Zechariah 3:2 | Colossians 1:3 |
| (Trinity 25) Moon Epiphany 3 Collect | (7) Lovers | Numbers 24:17 | Matthew 8:13 |
| (Trinity 26) Moon Epiphany 2 Collect | (8) Justice | Psalm 1:2 | John 2:10 |
| Stir-up Sunday Moon | (10) Wheel of Fortune | Isaiah 40:31 | Philippians 3:13-14 |
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