Let’s Talk Tarot Significators
This is a concept that I am thoroughly confused on and yet have a solid grasp of.
So what is a significator? Put simply, it’s a Major Arcana or court card that represents you in a reading. You can either choose one or let your deck decide. Some people only use court cards, some only use Major Arcana, some rare readers use every card in the deck as an option. You can also just pick a court card based on your personality, which seems to be the most common method.
Many tarot spreads have a specific card used to represent the querent, and it’s usually drawn just like every other card in the spread. This is helpful if you don’t know where you are in relation to the spread. Some spreads have you pick a card for the querent alone, while others have you pick cards specifically for everyone involved in the spread.
There’s also the idea that tarot significators can be chosen based on topic. Wands for work and business, Cups for love, family, and relationships, Swords for strife and use of logic, and Pentacles for finance and health. This topic theory also extends into the Major Arcana:
The Fool for new beginnings and moving forward.
The Magician for new enterprises and trickery.
The High Priestess for psychic ability, spiritual development, and secrets.
The Empress for parenthood, nourishment, and development.
The Emperor for business and the height of a job.
The Hierophant for tradition and the opinion of parents, religious figures, and other people in power.
The Lovers for lovers, soulmates, and choice.
The Chariot for fame, glory, and achievements.
Justice for law, equality, and morals.
The Hermit for self-discovery and study.
The Wheel of Fortune for luck and a turn of fortune.
Strength for courage, strength, and health.
The Hanged Man for health and sacrifices.
Death for life-changing decisions and situations.
Temperence for peace and happiness.
The Devil for adddictions, obsessions, and breaking patterns of behavior.
The Tower for sudden shocks.
The Star for hopes and wishes.
The Moon for uncertainty, unloyal spouses, dreams, and even polyamorous relationships (which is a little yikes that this card bundles two very different kinds of spouses together, but what can you do other than not use it).
The Sun for holidays and family happiness.
Judgment for calling and destiny.
The World for travel and trips around the world.
There are also a few significator ideas that I find myself disliking, such as picking a court card from a suit based on a combination of your gender, age, and physical appearance (yes, all three at once), or just using the High Priestess for female “seekers” and the Magician for male “seekers” (what about seekers who are non-binary, genderfluid, agender, and so forth? No answer in sight about those).
So how do you use a significator? Well, it’s just like every other card used to represent you – to give you an idea of where you are in the situation you’re asking about. You can use it to focus the reading and focus your energy. You can use the direction it’s pointing during a spread to see what’s in the past (what it’s facing), what’s in the future (what it isn’t facing), and what’s in the present (what’s in the same column as the significator). There are more methods than this, so I encourage you to study them, if only for your entertainment.
http://tarotbyhilary.com/get-to-know-the-significator/
https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/2172
https://divinationandfortunetelling.com/articles/2017/4/29/how-to-select-a-tarot-significator
https://divinationandfortunetelling.com/articles/2017/4/29/how-to-use-a-tarot-significator
