Zodiac elements tarot quiz: Fire, Earth, Air, Water
Fire, Earth, Air and Water: test which signs belong to each element, which trumps they get, and why the Fool, Hanged Man and Judgement have an element.
- 5 questions
- ≈ 2 min
- +5 bronze keys for a flawless run
How do the elements of the signs connect to tarot?
This quiz tests how the four elements tie the zodiac to tarot in the Golden Dawn system. The twelve signs fall into four groups of three. Fire is Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. Earth is Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. Air is Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. Water is Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. Walk the wheel from Aries and the elements repeat in the same order every time: Fire, Earth, Air, Water.
Each element has a suit. Fire gets Wands, Earth gets Pentacles, Air gets Swords and Water gets Cups. That is why a sign's decans always sit in the suit of its element: Aries has the Two, Three and Four of Wands, and Cancer the Two, Three and Four of Cups. You can group the trumps of the signs by element too, and then you see one element sound differently at the start, middle and end of a season.
Which trumps belong to the elements themselves?
Besides twelve sign cards and seven planet cards, the Golden Dawn has three element cards. The Fool goes to Air, the Hanged Man to Water and Judgement to Fire, which also stands for Spirit. There is no separate Earth card in this trio: the order matched the three cards to the three mother letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and Earth found its place another way.
An element describes temperament; it does not decide for you. Fire signs catch light quickly, earth signs hold on to solid ground, air signs think and talk, water signs feel. In a reading this is only background: the Four of Swords for a fire sign is not a ban, just a pause before a well-aimed move.
How the quiz works
Each round draws five of twelve questions. You pick cards, order the elements around the wheel and sort truth from myth. Tayna keys go to a flawless round, with unlimited replays. The cards of the individual signs have twelve quizzes of their own in this theme.
Keep in mind that an element is only one colour in the portrait. Fiery Sagittarius is nothing like fiery Leo, and watery Cancer and Pisces feel in different ways. So each question looks at the whole link: the sign, its trump and the suit of its decans.
All questions and answers
Open after you play: the full question set with right answers and explanations.
1. Which three signs belong to the element of Fire?
Right answer: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
The fire trio is Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. Their decans go to Wands, the suit of desire and moving forward.
2. Which of these trumps is the card of a water sign?
Right answer: The Chariot
The Chariot is the card of Cancer, a water sign. Strength is Leo, the Emperor Aries and Justice Libra.
3. In the Golden Dawn system the Fool is the card of the element of Air.
Right answer: True
The Fool is one of the three element trumps: he gets Air, light and free, like his step off the cliff.
4. Which element is missing from the Golden Dawn's three element trumps?
Right answer: Earth
The Fool is Air, the Hanged Man Water and Judgement Fire. Earth has no separate card in this trio.
5. Which trump did the Golden Dawn give to the element of Water itself?
Right answer: The Hanged Man
Water itself gets the Hanged Man: a pause, letting go, a view from the other side, as if through water.
6. A fire sign draws the Four of Swords. What is a calm way to read it?
Right answer: Rest before a push
Fire hates waiting, but the Four of Swords' pause is not weakness; it gathers strength for a well-aimed move.
7. How many zodiac signs belong to each element?
Right answer: Three
Twelve signs split into four elements of three. Each trio covers the start, middle and end of a season.
8. Which of these trumps is the card of an air sign?
Right answer: Justice
Justice is the card of Libra, an air sign. The Hierophant goes to Taurus and Death to Scorpio.
9. In what order do the elements run around the zodiac from Aries?
Right answer: Fire, Earth, Air, Water
Aries is Fire, Taurus Earth, Gemini Air, Cancer Water, and the pattern then repeats twice more.
10. Which trump did the Golden Dawn give to the element of Fire itself?
Right answer: Judgement
Fire, and Spirit too, gets Judgement. The Sun is a light, the Tower is Mars and Strength is the sign of Leo.
11. Signs of the same element are always a perfect match.
Right answer: Myth
An element describes temperament, not a couple's fate. The cards show how a bond moves, not guarantees.
12. The decans of Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are cards of which suit?
Right answer: Cups
These are water signs, and Water gets Cups. A sign's decans always sit in the suit of its element.