How the calculation works
Take someone born on 24 August 1995:
- Add the year, month and day as whole numbers: 1995 + 8 + 24 = 2027.
- Add the digits of the result: 2 + 0 + 2 + 7 = 11.
- If the total is above 22, keep adding its digits until it is 22 or less. A total of 1997, for example, gives 1 + 9 + 9 + 7 = 26, then 2 + 6 = 8. The Major Arcana card with your final number is your personality card. In our example, 11 is Justice.
- Reduce the personality card's number to a single digit to find your soul card: 1 + 1 = 2, The High Priestess. If the personality card is already a single digit, both cards are the same.
If the result is exactly 22, ORAE follows Mary K. Greer's widely used approach and reads it as The Fool (0), with The Emperor (2 + 2 = 4) as the soul card. Some other systems simply reduce 22 to 4 and use The Emperor alone. Both approaches are in use.
What the two cards mean
Your personality card describes the character, gifts and familiar challenges you show the world. Your soul card is a deeper thread: a lesson you keep coming back to over a lifetime.
A gentle reminder
This is one popular method among several, and teachers and books differ in the details. Use your result for self-reflection, not as a verdict on your fate. To get to know all 22 trump cards, explore the Major Arcana.