Karmic Tail in the Destiny Matrix
Three energies at the base of your chart: what keeps pulling you back, and what resource is hiding behind it. Enter your date of birth — the calculator finds your tail in a second, and below we explain how to read it and what every arcana means there.
The second energy is the same as the bottom point of your chart — your karmic task. Read the three in order: first → second → third. The cards for each arcana are below; yours are highlighted.
What the karmic tail is, in plain words
The karmic tail is a set of three energies in the lower left part of the Destiny Matrix. The Matrix itself is a chart of 22 energies — called arcana, after the Major Arcana of Tarot — placed on the points of an eight-pointed star and calculated from your date of birth. The tail is its foundation. Destiny Matrix schools treat these three energies as running "in the minus" from birth: while they stay there, it is hard to build a solid sense of self, and that shows up in relationships with a partner and in well-being — money and family.
The courses explain the tail through past lives — tasks the soul "did not finish". You do not have to believe in past lives to work with the tail. In practice it is three habitual reactions that stop you from relying on yourself, and they are visible in everyday life: how you argue, how you treat money and your parents, how you cope with change.
How to calculate the karmic tail by date of birth
We follow the same formula as our calculator (Natalia Ladini's method). Every number is reduced to an arcana: if it is above 22, add its digits until it is 22 or less.
- a = the day of birth (reduced to an arcana);
- b = the month;
- c = the sum of the digits of the year (reduced);
- d = a + b + c — the bottom point of the chart, your karmic task;
- first energy of the tail = a + d (the point between the day and the karmic task);
- second = d;
- third = first + second.
Example: March 14, 1991. a = 14, b = 3, c = 1+9+9+1 = 20, d = 14+3+20 = 37 → 3+7 = 10. First energy of the tail: 14 + 10 = 24 → 6; second: 10; third: 6 + 10 = 16. The tail is 6–10–16: The Lovers, Wheel of Fortune, The Tower. The calculator above gives the same result; the full chart with every other position is on the Destiny Matrix calculator.
The tail is about inner stability; money is read elsewhere
A common mix-up: 15 or 19 in the tail gets read as "there will be no money". That is a mistake. Practitioners keep two things apart. The tail is responsible for personality and for how you behave in close relationships — how stable you feel, how you handle resources and your body. Money is read from a different part of the chart: the financial channel (three points — what blocks money, how it comes, how it ends) and the money line (the number to the right of the center — how money reaches you). The tail affects money only indirectly, through relationships and self-esteem.
That is also why the tail shows up loudest in a relationship, when two people get close: on your own it shapes how you feel about yourself, but in a close relationship it comes out in full — in the plus or in the minus. How it works for two people is on the compatibility by date of birth page.
How to read the three: what — why — outcome
The principle from the courses: take every energy of the tail as a problem, turn it into a task, and once the task is solved, the resource of that same arcana opens — its plus side. We read the three by position:
- First energy — what gets in the way. The visible habit: how the tail shows up in your behavior, arguments and choices.
- Second energy — why, the root. It is the same number as the bottom point of the chart, your karmic task; this is the cause behind the first.
- Third energy — the outcome and the resource. Where the first two lead if nothing changes, and what opens up once they are worked through.
Take 6–10–16 from the example above. What gets in the way — doubts about feelings and the fear that "it could all end at any moment" (6 in the minus); why — the habit of waiting for things to happen by themselves and missing the moment (10 in the minus); the outcome — sharp breaks and "tear it all down and start over" (16). In the plus the same three become the ability to choose with the heart, catch the moment and rebuild life without fear.
One energy at a time. Pick the one that shows up most often this month, name one action for the week, and check the result — that is how any point of the chart is worked through, and the tail is no exception.
What usually goes wrong
- Labels. Online, tails get names like "the oppressed soul", "the prisoner", "the dark magician". Practitioners who have worked with tails for years admit the names do more harm than good — a suggestible person starts living up to the label. We do not use them.
- Reading it as a life sentence. "An energy in the minus at birth" is a starting point. Any energy in any place of the chart is worked through the same way: moved from minus to plus.
- Hunting for "who I was in a past life". Practitioners say it plainly: there is no use in a label like "tyrant" or "oppressed soul" — the only thing that matters is what to do with this energy now.
- Confusing it with the money channel and trying to "fix money" through the tail. The tail is about stability and relationships; money is read separately.
- Looking at the tail apart from the chart. If an energy of the tail repeats in the center or in the calling card (the day-of-birth number — how people see you), it matters more for you, and that is the one to work through first.
What each arcana means in the karmic tail
Below is one card for every energy that can land in the tail: how it looks in the minus, what task sits behind it, and what opens in the plus. The source is the sections on negative karma and typical tails in the handbooks of the Destiny Matrix schools, cross-checked against each other. Arcana 1 and 2 never appear in the tail: the first energy is a sum of two numbers, the second of three, and after reducing the digits you never get below 3. Read one or two cards at a time.
3 The Empress — control instead of care
In the minus it looks like this: you carry your family on your back and at the same time control everyone — what they eat, who they see, how they live. You judge people by status and income without meaning to. You work a lot, and the money somehow does not add up. Often there is a strained relationship with your mother, a sister or other women of the family: grudges pile up for years and surface at every family dinner.
The task: mend the relationship with your mother and the women around you, let the people close to you make their own mistakes, get what you want through acceptance rather than pressure. What opens: the three in the plus — generosity and comfort that nobody has to account for.
4 The Emperor — rigidity and "the power of money"
In the minus: harshness toward those who are weaker — staff, children; your rules are imposed and other people's choices do not count; money and status become the measure of everything; stinginess, with money and with feelings. Life often holds up a mirror: now you are the one being pushed around — by a boss, a father, a partner — and relations with the men of the family are tense.
The task: mend the relationship with your father and the male line, learn "real authority" — taking responsibility for people and giving them decent conditions, keeping emotions in check, thinking bigger than personal gain. What opens: solid ground and the ability to build — a home, a business, a family.
5 The Hierophant — "I know the right way"
In the minus: resistance to anything new and life by old rules; a habit of lecturing and correcting — at home, at work, in the parents' group chat; an inability to admit being wrong. Teachers of the method also read a five in the tail as bending the rules: workarounds, obligations left unmet, "the rules don't apply to me". In life you run into teachers and bosses who explain things badly and hold you back.
The task: act by the rules and within the law, learn from the best, explain clearly to those who listen, and be able to say "I was wrong". What opens: the role of a mentor people trust.
6 The Lovers — fear of opening up
In the minus: it is hard to open up to a partner and share what you feel; you doubt your own feelings and theirs; a sense that "it could all end at any moment" — hence suspicion and jealousy with no reason. Or the reverse: every relationship is idealized, and when the ideal does not happen — disappointment and a clean break. In daily life it looks like checking a partner's phone, or silence instead of saying what hurt.
The task: learn to choose with the heart and trust the choice, say feelings out loud, not shut down after the first disappointment. What opens: the ability to love and to build a union where both of you feel at ease.
7 The Chariot — a fight over nothing
In the minus: constant struggle — with people, circumstances, yourself; many plans and little movement — all talk and no action; fuss and scattering, or the opposite, pressure on others and a world split into "us" and enemies. Often the person does not know what they want to do and tilts at windmills: three courses started, none finished.
The task: drop the needless resistance, pick one direction and move along it step by step; swap arguments for exercise; help people instead of proving something to them. What opens: movement and wins.
8 Justice — the debt that was not repaid
In the minus: endless disputes and grudges, a feeling that "life is unfair", judging others; coldness and distance — people give you a lot, and giving back does not work out. In money — obligations left unmet and debts you "decided not to pay". Practitioners put it bluntly: you took and did not give back — attention, love, money.
The task: close the debts and the promises, set up the exchange of giving and taking, stop working out who is right; accept what happens as the result of your own decisions. What opens: honest deals, even relationships and the calm of someone nobody owes anything to.
9 The Hermit — "I don't get it, decide for me"
In the minus: withdrawal and distrust of the world, caution to the point of fear, loneliness as a habit; unwillingness to share what you know; people sorted into clever and stupid. In practitioners' readings a nine in the tail often sounds like "I don't understand any of it, decide for me" — a childlike stance that fences the person off from decisions: at home and at work responsibility drifts to whoever is nearby.
The task: focus — grasp the essence of the situation and offer your own decision; trust people and share experience without talking down; confidence without arrogance. What opens: the wisdom people come to for advice.
10 Wheel of Fortune — "I'm living someone else's life"
In the minus: laziness and putting things off, an inability to do things on time, then regret about what was missed; the place, the job, the city are all wrong, but when a chance appears you quietly spoil it; no gratitude for what you have. A typical picture: you take on too many duties and do not deliver, work without days off, then crash for a week.
The task: do things on time, take on what you can carry and close it, be grateful for what is already there; work and rest on a schedule. What opens: luck and the feeling of flow — chances come to the person who catches them in time.
11 Strength — push or burn out
In the minus there are two poles. One is forcing your way: rudeness, orders, pressure, flashes of anger. The other is total powerlessness: apathy, no motivation, fuss with no result. The course notes also read an eleven in the tail as irritability and talents left unused; as practitioners note, these people are driven mad by anyone slow or passive — in line, behind the wheel, in the family.
The task: softness and polite speech instead of commands, a rhythm of work and rest rather than wear and tear, exercise as an outlet for the force, the ability to see strength in others and bring it out. What opens: "soft power" — to tame without breaking.
12 The Hanged Man — the sacrifice that waits for a reward
In the minus: self-sacrifice with a hidden calculation "it will come back to me"; an inability to say no, passivity, emotions left unspoken and aggression turned on yourself; a long inability to separate from mother and family; a wish to be noticed and pitied. In daily life: you cover someone else's shift, someone else's debts, someone else's problems — and resent that nobody appreciated it.
The task: serve others without keeping score — and still hold your boundaries, help where you chose to; separate from your parents while respecting their role; put your emotions in order. What opens: a different angle on things, and help to people that does not destroy you.
13 Death — fear of change and chaos
In the minus: abruptness and black-and-white thinking, unreliability, things started and not finished; fear of change and of the future, anxiety about loved ones, being stuck in the past; a cluttered home and a cluttered head. In the handbooks a tail with 13 is about trials and changes: life keeps throwing up new professions and cities, and the harder you cling to the old, the more painful the move.
The task: do not stand still and adapt quickly, swap old for new without panic, set clear goals and finish things; declutter the space. What opens: transformation as a skill — you know how to end and begin without wreckage.
14 Temperance — without a sense of measure
In the minus: insecurity about yourself and your creative work, fear of criticism, holding feelings in; being stuck in the past, an inability to forgive; and above all dependence — on your mother and her opinion, on a partner, on habits. You want more feeling and acceptance than life gives, and that sense does not pass for years. A separate piece of advice from practitioners: do not judge people with addictions — the harder you criticize, the more of them you find around you.
The task: a sense of measure in everything, creative work as a daily practice, forgiveness, even relationships without merging. What opens: calm and the ability to restore — yourself and relationships.
15 The Devil — control and addictions
In the minus: a wish for power everywhere — at work, in the family, among friends; jealousy and possessiveness, control over the daily life of those nearby; manipulation and a habit of teaching a painful lesson; fixation on money and easy earnings, gambling, shady deals. In daily life: your partner accounts for every purchase, while you look for a scheme that pays a lot and fast.
The task: work out what is right and what is wrong and live by the rules; money through real work, no shortcuts; drop the control over the people close to you and give them a choice. What opens: the fifteen in the plus — money, body, charisma — and honest management of resources.
16 The Tower — tear down and rebuild
In the minus: destruction out of nowhere — sudden exits, scandals, quitting "in one day"; uncontrolled emotions, pessimism, irresponsibility, needless risk. People who press hard often turn up nearby — a harsh boss, a heavy environment. A sixteen in the tail is also read as the urge to lead by suppression and disrespect for family and staff.
The task: stop running your relationships by force and become a builder; treat yourself and people with care; act on a step-by-step plan and take on obligations you can carry; broaden your view of the world. What opens: the courage to tear down only what is over, and to build what is real.
17 The Star — stardom in the minus
In the minus: conceit and fault-finding, shining at other people's expense, suppressing other people's creativity. Or the reverse story: you wanted recognition, did not get it — and closed up, became touchy. Things do not get finished, and projects matter only to their author. Recognition pulls at you, and other people's success stings — in daily life that is a snide comment under someone's post, and hurt when the praise went to somebody else.
The task: open up your creative side and take it to a result; help someone else succeed — produce, support, motivate; learn from the best without envy. What opens: inspiration and recognition that comes through the work.
18 The Moon — fears and suspicion
In the minus: fears of all kinds, looking for a catch in people and situations, distrust of the opposite sex, a skepticism that makes it hard to let anything new in; a sense that "finding the right person is impossible"; withdrawing inward and building castles in the air. In daily life: you double-check every word your partner says and put decisions off until the fear passes — and it does not pass.
The task: put fears into words and test them against facts, do not build castles in the air, fill life with creative work — the imagination needs an outlet; work toward financial stability, drop attachments and aloofness. What opens: intuition and depth that work for you.
19 The Sun — pride and overheating
In the minus: looking down on people, and touchiness — old grudges replayed for years; fuss and mess — in the head and on the desk; an inability to relax — late nights, caffeine, workaholism; pressure and control over others. In daily life: you are the one answering work messages at midnight and getting angry that colleagues "can't keep up".
The task: order and sleep as discipline; generosity and work that is useful to others — practitioners advise people with 19 in the tail to give; stop replaying old grudges; joy without overheating. What opens: warmth and success you want to share.
20 Judgement — coldness toward the family line
In the minus: no trusting bond with your parents — grudges, things left unsaid, contact "like distant relatives" or none at all; shame about your family and how your relatives live; coldness and strictness with children and partner, control over loved ones down to the phone and the messages; often a childhood that ended early, when you had to be "the grown-up".
The task: accept your mother and father as they are, forgive yourself and them, stop judging how your relatives live and stop controlling the people close to you; keep your word. What opens: the family line as support, and a clear sense of calling.
21 The World — big dreams, small steps
In the minus: you "want but do not strive" for big goals — dreaminess, illusions, laziness; a wish to earn easily, fears about safety and where to live; belligerence toward everyone — opposition for its own sake; rejecting your homeland, your family line, your family. Practitioners warn: a person with 21 in the tail can be drawn to profitable but destructive fields — in daily life that is "the scheme" you are ashamed of later.
The task: choose building and usefulness, do big things in small steps, do not fight the world and do not renounce your roots. What opens: scale — projects and connections that reach beyond one city.
22 The Fool — a lack of freedom and irresponsibility
In the minus: a lack of freedom on different levels — self-imposed limits, dependence, narrow thinking; unwillingness to take responsibility or, the opposite, a free-for-all of "I do what I want"; fear of the new and of new cycles; control over loved ones — their words, their movements, their choices. In daily life: you spend years not changing a job that weighs on you, and at the same time forbid your partner a trip with friends.
The task: stay true to yourself and be bold in your dreams, start new things, answer for your own steps and do no harm to people; give freedom to those close to you and to yourself. What opens: lightness and freedom that does not cost anyone else theirs.
The karmic tail of a couple
A couple has a shared tail of its own: the matching points of the two charts are added up, and a new set of three appears. Practitioners call it the problem that exists in this couple specifically — with a different partner the tail would be different. It gives roughly a quarter of the compatibility score, after the center of the pair and the money line. It is calculated and read on the compatibility by date of birth page; it is worth looking at each person's own tail before looking at the shared one.
In the bot you get the full reading: center, calling card, money, love, chakras, plus three concrete steps for your karmic tail. On the site: the free full chart and a short reading.
Open @Casiocas_bot → ✦ Calculate the full chart for free
Karmic tail — frequently asked questions
What is the karmic tail in simple words?
Three energies at the base of the Destiny Matrix that are "in the minus" from birth: three habits that stop you relying on yourself in relationships and everyday life. The courses link them to past lives, but you can work with them without that belief: watch how each energy shows up now, and move it into the plus.
How do I calculate my karmic tail by date of birth?
Reduce the day, the month and the digit sum of the year to arcana (add the digits of any number above 22). Add the three numbers — that is the bottom point d. First energy of the tail = day + d, second = d, third = first + second, each reduced to an arcana. For March 14, 1991 that gives 6–10–16. The calculator on this page does it for you.
Can a karmic tail contain 1 or 2?
No. The first energy of the tail is the sum of two numbers, the second of three, and after reducing to arcana you never get below 3. If an online calculator shows 1 or 2 in the tail, it is using a different formula.
How is the karmic tail different from the money channel?
The tail is about the structure of the personality and "survival": how steady you feel and how you behave in close relationships. The money channel is about the ability to turn effort into money: the block, the path and the result. They are different parts of the chart, and 15 or 19 in the tail do not mean "there will be no money".
Is the karmic tail set in stone? Can it be "worked off"?
No, nothing is set in stone. And nothing has to be "worked off" — an energy in the minus is moved into the plus through actions: you look at how it shows up in your relationships, home and work, and take one action for the week — one energy, one action. That is how any point of the chart is worked through; the tail is no exception.
My partner and I have the same numbers in the tail — what does that mean?
That you share a theme, and in a relationship it will come out louder: the tail shows up most strongly when people get close. It is a hint about what the two of you will be working on together. The couple's shared tail is calculated separately, on the compatibility page.