The Karmic Tail in the Destiny Matrix: What It Is and How to Read It

The karmic tail is one of the most talked-about parts of the Destiny Matrix. It is a set of three numbers at the bottom of the chart, and it describes a pattern that you may feel you have carried with you for a long time: something unfinished that keeps coming back in different forms. The name sounds heavy, but the idea is practical. The tail points to where your practice is.

What the karmic tail is

In the language of the method, the karmic tail is the part of the chart that relates to what you bring in from before, whether you take that literally as past lives or simply as an inherited pattern. It is read as a lesson, not as a punishment. Each of the three numbers describes one layer of the pattern, and together they show what keeps repeating and what helps you move through it.

How the three numbers are calculated

Different teachers calculate the tail slightly differently. In the calculator on this site, the tail has three numbers, built from your karmic task and your core. The first is the karmic task from the bottom of the chart. The second is found by adding the karmic task to your core and then adding that result to the karmic task again. The third is the sum of the karmic task and the core. Any number above 22 is reduced by adding its digits.

For the date July 14, 1991, the karmic task is 5 and the core is 10. The sum of the two is 15, and 15 plus 5 is 20. The tail is 5, 20, 15. You can calculate yours with the karmic tail calculator, which shows the three numbers with the energy names, or with the full Destiny Matrix calculator.

How to read the three numbers

Read the numbers as a short story. Take the example above: 5 is the Hierophant (teaching, values and the question of authority), 20 is Judgement (awakening, calling and self-judgment) and 15 is the Devil (desire, attachment and what binds us). A reading of that tail might say: there is a pattern around values and belonging that leads to a moment of reckoning and to the question of what you are attached to. The way through is to find your own values, to forgive the past and to choose freely.

That is only an example of how to join the numbers. In your own chart, read each energy page for the role of a karmic tail, and then ask yourself where the pattern shows up: in relationships, work, money or health habits.

The 22 energies in a karmic tail

Each number in a tail carries the shadow side of its energy, the way it tends to be lived when you are not paying attention. Here is the pattern that each of the 22 energies points to, together with the practice that goes with it. Each energy has its own page with more detail.

• 1, The Magician: An old pattern of cleverness without grounding. Practice means finishing, keeping your word and asking for help.
• 2, The High Priestess: An old pattern of hiding what you know. Practice means speaking up and taking part.
• 3, The Empress: An old pattern of caring too much or too little for yourself. Practice means balance.
• 4, The Emperor: An old pattern of rigidity or of fighting authority. Practice means flexibility and trust.
• 5, The Hierophant: An old pattern around authority, belief or belonging. Practice means choosing your own values.
• 6, The Lovers: An old pattern of losing yourself in others or of avoiding choice. Practice means deciding.
• 7, The Chariot: An old pattern of forcing results or of running away. Practice means direction and rest.
• 8, Justice: An old pattern around guilt, debt or judgment. Practice means forgiving and settling accounts.
• 9, The Hermit: An old pattern of withdrawal. Practice means coming back to people on purpose.
• 10, The Wheel of Fortune: An old pattern of repeating a turn of the wheel. Practice means noticing the pattern and choosing differently.
• 11, Strength: An old pattern of suppressing feeling or of using force. Practice means gentleness.
• 12, The Hanged Man: An old pattern of sacrifice or of being stuck. Practice means choosing what to let go of.
• 13, Death: An old pattern around loss, fear of change or abrupt endings. Practice means releasing consciously.
• 14, Temperance: An old pattern of avoiding extremes, or of swinging between them. Practice means a steady middle.
• 15, The Devil: An old pattern of dependence, obsession or control. Practice means freedom and honesty.
• 16, The Tower: An old pattern of sudden collapse or of ignoring warning signs. Practice means honesty and early action.
• 17, The Star: An old pattern of unrealistic hope or of disappointment. Practice means grounding your vision.
• 18, The Moon: An old pattern of fear, illusion or absorbing others' emotions. Practice means clarity and boundaries.
• 19, The Sun: An old pattern of seeking approval or hiding pain behind cheerfulness. Practice means honesty.
• 20, Judgement: An old pattern of guilt, self-judgment or ignoring a call. Practice means forgiveness and action.
• 21, The World: An old pattern of unfinished business or of perfectionism. Practice means completion.
• 22, The Fool: An old pattern of carelessness or of avoiding commitment. Practice means grounded courage.

Common themes in a karmic tail

• Control and letting go, often with the Emperor, the Devil or the Tower
• Giving too much or too little, often with the Empress or the Hanged Man
• Fear and illusion, often with the Moon
• Guilt and self-judgment, often with Justice or Judgement
• Avoiding commitment or finishing, often with the Fool or the World

A second example

For March 22, 1985, the year adds to 23, which reduces to 5, and the karmic task is 3. The core is 6, so the karmic task plus the core gives 9, and 9 plus 3 gives 12. The tail is 3, 12, 9: the Empress, the Hanged Man and the Hermit.

A reading might say that there is an old habit of giving too much or too little of yourself (the Empress), which leads to sacrifice or to feeling stuck (the Hanged Man) and then to withdrawal (the Hermit). The practice is to give from a full cup, to choose what to let go of on purpose and to come back to people after time alone. The same method works for any tail: name the pattern in each number, then look for the thread that links them.

How to work with your karmic tail

A tail is not something to remove. It is something to practice. Choose one of the three numbers, read what it asks and decide on one small behavior that goes in the opposite direction from the old pattern. Do it for a month and notice what changes. Because the lesson repeats, there are many chances.

• Write down where the pattern appeared in the past year
• Name the feeling that comes just before you repeat it
• Choose one different action and practice it
• Talk it over with someone you trust

If you want the tail written out in depth, with practical guidance for every number, a Soulé Code reading covers it as one of its parts.