Music has always had a way of reaching places that words alone cannot touch. When you pair it with tarot, something interesting happens. The archetypal imagery of the cards starts to find echoes in melodies, rhythms, and lyrics. Creating a tarot inspired playlist isn’t about predicting what song will play next in your life. Instead, it’s a creative exercise in reflection, a way to explore the emotional landscapes that different cards represent.
I’ve spent more time than I probably should admit thinking about which songs capture the essence of specific tarot cards. There’s something oddly satisfying about hearing a particular guitar riff and thinking, “That’s absolutely The Tower energy.” This guide will walk you through the process of building your own playlist, whether you’re looking for music to accompany your daily draws or simply want to explore tarot through a different lens.
Why Music and Tarot Work Together
Both music and tarot speak in symbols. A tarot card doesn’t tell you exactly what will happen tomorrow. It offers an image, a feeling, a prompt for your own thoughts. Music does something similar. A song can capture an emotion or a moment in time, giving you space to reflect on your own experiences.
When you match a song to a card, you’re essentially creating a personal reference library of feelings and themes. The Empress might remind you of songs about abundance, creativity, or nurturing relationships. The Five of Cups could connect with music about loss and looking backward. These connections are deeply personal, though. What feels like perfect High Priestess energy to me might strike you as more fitting for The Star. That’s part of what makes this exercise valuable.
I think this practice also helps deepen your understanding of the cards themselves. When you have to consider what kind of music embodies the essence of Justice, you end up contemplating balance, fairness, and consequences in a more visceral way than you might during a traditional card study.
Getting Started with Your Playlist
Before you begin adding songs, take a moment to consider what you want from this playlist. Are you building something to shuffle through during meditation or journaling sessions? Maybe you want a playlist that moves through the Fool’s Journey in sequence, creating a sonic narrative arc. Or perhaps you’re more interested in capturing the energy of a single suit or a few cards that particularly resonate with you right now.
The scope matters because it affects your approach. A playlist meant to accompany your tarot practice might include more ambient or instrumental pieces. One designed for general listening could lean into songs with lyrics that capture card meanings in more obvious ways.
Start by pulling a card and sitting with it for a while. What does this card make you feel? If it had a soundtrack, what would that sound like? The Chariot, for instance, carries themes of willpower, determination, and forward momentum. You might gravitate toward songs with driving beats, triumphant horns, or lyrics about overcoming obstacles. “Eye of the Tiger” is perhaps a bit on the nose, but it absolutely embodies that Chariot energy of pushing through and claiming victory.
Matching Cards to Musical Qualities
Different cards suggest different sonic qualities. The Major Arcana, with its big archetypal themes, often calls for songs with equally grand emotional stakes. The Fool might connect with music that feels adventurous, carefree, or experimental. Think road trip anthems or songs about new beginnings that have that slightly reckless optimism.
The Lovers isn’t just about romance, though love songs certainly fit. It’s also about choices, duality, and harmony. You might include duets here, or songs that explore the tension between two paths or two parts of yourself.
The Tower practically demands music with intensity and disruption. Songs with sudden shifts, heavy distortion, or themes of destruction and revelation work well. I’ve always thought The Tower would appreciate a good breakdown section in a song, that moment where everything falls apart before rebuilding.
For the Moon, you want mystery and illusion. Dreamy soundscapes, songs with layered meanings, or music that creates an atmosphere of uncertainty fit this card. The Moon asks you to look at what’s hidden beneath the surface, so songs with cryptic lyrics or haunting melodies capture that quality.
The Minor Arcana offers more specific emotional textures. Wands often call for energetic, passionate music. Cups suggest emotional depth and might pair well with ballads or songs about feelings and relationships. Swords, with their association with thoughts and conflict, could match with lyrically complex songs or music with sharp, cutting qualities. Pentacles ground us in the physical world, so songs about work, material concerns, or the pleasures of the senses fit here.
Building a Sample Playlist
To give you a starting point, here’s how I might approach creating a short playlist moving through several Major Arcana cards. This isn’t meant to be definitive, just one person’s interpretation.
For The Magician, I’d choose something like “Baba O’Riley” by The Who. That opening synthesizer conveys mastery and manifestation, and the song builds with a sense of having all the tools you need at your disposal. The Magician is about taking the elements available to you and creating something real.
The High Priestess calls for something more internal and mysterious. “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode captures that quality of inner knowing and the power of what remains unspoken. The High Priestess invites you to trust your intuition, and this song asks similar questions about the value of quiet and inner wisdom.
Moving to The Emperor, you want structure and authority. “Respect” by Aretha Franklin brings that commanding presence and establishes clear boundaries, which is very much The Emperor’s domain. There’s power here, but it’s earned and maintained through strength of character.
The Hierophant might pair with something traditional yet meaningful. “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers has that sense of community, tradition, and the wisdom passed down through established connections. It’s about finding guidance within a framework that supports you.
For The Hermit, I’d go with “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel. This card is all about withdrawal, introspection, and the insights that come from solitude. The song’s contemplative quality mirrors the Hermit’s journey inward.
Wheel of Fortune needs something that captures cycles and change. “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by The Byrds, with its explicit references to seasons and times, embodies the idea that circumstances are always shifting and that ups and downs are natural parts of existence.
Strength calls for something that shows power through gentleness. “Stronger Than Me” by Amy Winehouse might work, though I’m also drawn to songs that show resilience without aggression. Strength asks you to consider where you find courage and how you approach challenges with patience rather than force.
The Hanged Man requires something that suggests suspension and a shift in perspective. “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell explores seeing situations from different angles, which captures the essence of this card’s invitation to let go and see things differently.
Death, despite its dramatic reputation, is about transformation. “Changes” by David Bowie acknowledges the necessity of endings as doorways to new beginnings. This card prompts reflection on what needs to release from your life to make room for growth.
Temperance asks for balance and blending. “Come Together” by The Beatles has that quality of different elements finding harmony. The card suggests moderation and the art of combining opposites into something sustainable.
Creating Your Own Connections
The sample above reflects my own associations, but yours will likely be different. That’s exactly as it should be. The value in creating a tarot inspired playlist lies in the process of making these connections yourself.
When you’re building your playlist, trust your instincts. If a song feels right for a particular card, even if you can’t immediately articulate why, include it. Sometimes the connection becomes clearer the more you sit with it. Other times, the association might be entirely personal, tied to a memory or experience that links that music to that archetypal energy in your mind.
You might also find that your playlist evolves. A song that felt perfect for The Star six months ago might not resonate the same way now. Your understanding of the cards deepens and shifts with experience, and your musical connections can shift too. I’ve rebuilt sections of my own tarot playlist multiple times as my relationship with certain cards has changed.
Using Your Playlist in Practice
Once you’ve built your playlist, how do you actually use it? There are several approaches, and you’ll probably find what works best for your own practice.
One option is to pull a card in the morning and then play its corresponding song or songs as you go about getting ready for the day. This creates a sonic reminder of the card’s energy and the questions it raised during your reading.
You could also use the playlist as background during journaling sessions about tarot. Sometimes having music that matches the card you’re contemplating helps unlock thoughts or feelings that were harder to access in silence.
For a more immersive experience, consider listening to your full playlist in order, letting it take you through the journey of whatever cards you’ve included. This works particularly well if you’ve structured it to follow the Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana.
Some people prefer to shuffle the playlist and let whatever song comes up prompt them to think about that card. This introduces an element of randomness similar to drawing cards themselves, turning your music player into another tool for reflection.
Beyond the Obvious Choices
As you get more comfortable with this practice, you might find yourself making less obvious connections. Not every Chariot song needs to be about literal victory. You might find Chariot energy in a song about someone learning to control their temper or channel their ambitions productively.
The Three of Swords, typically associated with heartbreak, might connect with songs about betrayal, yes, but also songs about the clarity that sometimes comes with painful realizations. The card asks you to reflect on how truth can hurt and heal simultaneously.
Court cards offer rich territory for musical exploration. The Queen of Wands might match with songs performed by powerful female vocalists who exude confidence and creativity. The Knight of Cups could connect with romantic ballads, but also with songs about pursuing dreams with emotional intensity.
I’ve found that instrumental music can be particularly effective for cards that represent states of being rather than specific situations. The Ace of Cups might pair beautifully with a piece of music that swells with emotion without needing words to define it.
Final Thoughts on Your Sonic Journey
Creating a tarot inspired playlist is one of those practices that feels simple at first but reveals layers the more you engage with it. You’re not trying to predict which songs will matter to you. You’re using music as another language to explore the archetypal terrain that tarot maps out.
The playlist you create becomes a reflection of your own journey with the cards. It captures not just what the cards mean in some abstract sense, but what they mean to you, filtered through your musical taste and personal experiences. That makes it valuable in a way that someone else’s playlist, however well curated, cannot quite match.
So pull a card, put on some headphones, and start listening. What songs make you think of The Sun’s joy and vitality? What music captures the Nine of Swords’ anxious insomnia? The answers are already there, waiting in your music library. You just need to make the connections conscious and intentional. Perhaps you’ll discover that you’ve been building this playlist unconsciously for years, and now you’re simply giving it structure and purpose.
