20d • Tarot
Why the Moon Belongs to Cancer in Astrology but Pisces in Tarot
If you’ve ever dived into both astrology and Tarot, you may have noticed something curious:
- In astrology, the Moon rules Cancer.
- In Tarot, The Moon card is linked to Pisces.
So which one is “right”? The answer is both, but for different reasons. Let’s unpack it.
🌙 Astrology: The Moon and Cancer
Astrology’s rulerships go back thousands of years to Babylonian, Greek, and Hellenistic traditions. Each planet was assigned to a zodiac sign (or two) based on essential qualities and cosmic order.
The Moon rules Cancer because they mirror each other in symbolism:
- Nurturing and protective energy
- Emotional depth and sensitivity
- Cycles and rhythms (lunar phases, ocean tides, fertility)
- Roots, family, and home
In astrology, the Moon is the inner world—our needs, feelings, and instinctual responses. Cancer embodies that same archetype, which is why the Moon belongs there.
🎴 Tarot: The Moon and Pisces
The Tarot is a much younger system. While playing cards go back to the 14th century, the astrological correspondences most readers use today were mapped in the 19th century by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
In this system, the Major Arcana were aligned with astrology, numerology, and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. The Moon (card XVIII) was paired with Pisces, not Cancer.
Why Pisces? Because the symbolism fits:
- Dreams, illusions, and spiritual veils
- Mysticism and hidden truths
- Confusion, uncertainty, and imagination
- Sensitivity and receptivity to unseen worlds
Pisces is the dreamer and mystic of the zodiac, the sign where reality and imagination blur. That makes it the perfect match for the dreamlike, mysterious imagery of The Moon card.
✨ Why the Difference?
Here’s the key: astrology and Tarot weren’t originally designed as one unified system. They overlap now, but they grew from different traditions.
- Astrology’s Moon = Cancer→ Based on rulerships established thousands of years ago in classical astrology.
- Tarot’s Moon = Pisces→ A much later esoteric overlay, chosen by the Golden Dawn to emphasize illusion, dreams, and mysticism.
And here’s an interesting nuance: both Cancer and Pisces are lunar in flavour.
- Cancer reflects the maternal, emotional, protective face of the Moon.
- Pisces reflects the mystical, illusory, subconscious face of the Moon.
🌌 The Bigger Picture
Rather than a contradiction, this difference shows us how vast lunar symbolism really is. The Moon can’t be boxed into one single meaning. She is changeable, reflective, and multidimensional.
- Astrology teaches us about the Moon as our inner emotional compass, rooted in Cancer.
- Tarot teaches us about the Moon as a symbol of dreams, illusions, and spiritual uncertainty, aligned with Pisces.
Both are true—just seen through different lenses.
So next time you encounter the Moon in your chart or in a reading, remember: she has many faces, and each system highlights a different one.
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Why the Moon Belongs to Cancer in Astrology but Pisces in Tarot
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