Lemniscate (infinity sign) in tarot
The lemniscate is the figure of eight laid on its side, the shape that mathematicians adopted in the seventeenth century as the sign for infinity. In the Waite-Smith deck it floats like a halo over the heads of the Magician and of the woman in Strength, and a looped ribbon in the same shape binds the two coins of the Two of Pentacles. Readers take it as a sign of endless life and of energy that circulates rather than runs out: power that is renewed by being used well. Notice which cards carry it. Both majors that wear it are about mastery, one active and one gentle.
Cards that show lemniscate (infinity sign)
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The Magician
The Magician: The figure of eight
A horizontal figure eight floats over his head like a halo. It is the sign of infinity and of energy that does not run out; Waite calls it 'the sign of life, like an endless cord'. The same sign appears over the woman on Strength.
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Strength
Strength: The figure of eight
The sign of infinity hovers over her head, as it does over the Magician's. There it stands for energy put to use; here it suggests a patience that does not run out.
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The World
The World: The red ribbons
At top and bottom the wreath is bound by red ribbons that cross in a figure-of-eight shape. Many readers connect this loop with the lemniscate of the Magician and Strength: the endless cycle that ends here and begins again.
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Two of Pentacles
Two of Pentacles: The figure-eight cord
A green band loops around both coins in a sideways figure of eight. Waite called it 'that endless cord which is like the number 8 reversed', and it is usually read as the lemniscate: continuous exchange, two things kept in endless motion.