The Chaldean Order in Tarot and Astrology

Chaldean Order

The Chaldean Order is the ancient and traditional way of ordering the seven planets according to their relative speeds as seen from Earth. The order is:

  • Saturn
  • Jupiter
  • Mars
  • Sun
  • Venus
  • Mercury
  • Moon

This is order is so ubiquitous in traditional astrology that authors have no need to remind their readers, in the same way that we do not need to be told that Tuesdaty follows Monday. In other words, when the seven planets are mentioned, the Chaldean Order is implicit unless specified.

Planetary Hours

The planetary hours uses the same order of the planets

Days of the Week

The cycle of seven planets repeating in a 24 hour cycle automatically generates the planetary rulers of the days of the week.

Numbers and Magic Squares

The system of Magic squares uses the Chaldean Order

Chaldean Order in the Sephirah Yetsirah

The seven double letters correspond to the same order:

  • Saturn – Beth
  • Jupiter – Gimel
  • Mars – Daleth
  • Sun – Kaph
  • Venus – Peh
  • Mercury – Resh
  • Moon – Tau

This order is preserved in the planet ruling each decanate.

Chaldean Order in the Tarot

The Tarot appeared in Europe at a time when studying anything relating to Hebrew could result in a death sentence, so sources had to be disguised. Secret Societies used tarot to their own ends and changed the priority from the 22 letters to the numbers 1 to 10 on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. The natural order of the planets in the 22 letters were lost/altered to suit the needs of each Secret Society. For example, the Golden Dawn transposed Strength with justice in order to make things fit better on the Tree of Life.

The Chaldean order appears in the Sephiroth and the Minor Arcana starting with

  • 3 Saturn
  • 4 Jupiter
  • 5 Mars
  • 6 Sun
  • 7 Venus
  • 8 Mercury
  • 9 Moon

Restoring the Chaldean Order in the Tarot

On this site, the Chaldean Order of for the double letters of the Hebrew alphabet is restored to make a more coherent and harmonic tarot.