Derived Houses and the Court Cards

Court cards are the Tarot reader’s secret weapon when reading an astrological spread.

We know what the twelve houses represent, but the real sophistication comes from Derived Houses, where instead of counting from the first house or Ascendant, we start counting from any of the other houses, perhaps to or from a house that has a court card. Here are the relationships derived from the Houses:

Relationship between the court cards

1. Querent, Grandparent (4th of 10th)
2. Financier
3. Siblings, neighbours, friends of children (11th of 5th)
4. Parent, maternal cousin (5th of 12th), family, mother in law (10th of 7th), spouse’s place of business (10th of 7th)
5. Lover, child
6. Patient, co-worker
7. Partner, legal adviser, father’s home, the public. Paternal grandfather (4th of 4th), maternal grandmother (10th of 10th), niece or nephew (5th of 3rd)
8. Deceased, sexual partner, detective
9. Someone who is far away, teacher, guru
10. Employer, Parent, Government official
11. Friends, acquaintances, clubs, meeting places, foster child
12. Foreign person, someone institutionalised in prison, hospital, a lost person.

Horary astrologers have used these associations for hundreds of years. Using tarot with astrology creates real power, because we can include Elemental Dignities, the astrological attributions of the cards, the divinatory meanings, and the implied relationship that already exists between the Court Cards – and we can say if the person is male or female, younger or older.