Tarot is being used by some people as a mental health ally. Tarot readings can help you find meaning in your circumstances, uncover solutions, and start a conversation with a therapist.
Tarot cards include a spiritual element, which may appeal to people who don’t identify with established religion. To that end, tarot might conflict with your beliefs or be difficult for you to accept.
It can be tempting to see what you want to see because the cards have a variety of interpretations. Getting a second opinion, according to experts, helps lessen confirmation bias.
The final word? Tarot cards may be a useful tool if they give you a sense of calm and well-being. It’s acceptable to go on to something else if they don’t.
In This Article...
What kind of religion are tarot cards?
Tarot cards also include four suits, but they are different depending on the region: French suits are found in Northern Europe, Latin suits are found in Southern Europe, and German suits are found in Central Europe. Each suit contains 14 cards: four face cards (King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave/Page) and ten pip cards, numbered from one (or Ace) to ten. In addition, the tarot features a unique 21-card trump suit and a solitary card known as the Fool; this 22-card group of cards is referred to as the Major Arcana in the world of divination. The Fool may serve as the top trump or alternatively may be played to avoid doing so, depending on the game. In parts of Europe, these tarot cards are still used to play traditional card games without any occult connotations.
Tarot cards are mostly employed for amusement and divination in English-speaking nations where these activities are less popular, typically with the aid of specially created packs. Although academic research has shown that tarot cards were partially invented in northern Italy in the 15th century (16 of the modern 22 Major Arcana cards) and combined with a deck of four suits, “the Mamluk deck,” some people who use tarot for cartomancy believe the cards have esoteric links to ancient Egypt, Iran, the Kabbalah, Indian Tantra, or the I Ching. The Mamluk deck of cards was created in or before the 14th century and arrived in Western Europe after paper was produced in Asia (see Playing Card – Egypt and following sections). By the end of the thirteenth century, Europeans were making the Mamluk deck with customized “court cards” and suit symbols.
Although some people think that tarot cards were not used for divination until the late 18th century, there is evidence of an early tarot deck that was “used in divination to determine the querent’s prospects in love” (Fernando de la Torre’s “Juego de Naypes” deck of Spain, 1450), each card having an image and verse.
What tarot card represents luck?
The Rider-Waite tarot card depicted is the Wheel of Fortune card.
Along with the Hermetic magical-religious system, which was also being created at the time, A.E. Waite had a significant role in the development of the Tarot. This deck, which is still widely used today, also served as the inspiration for a number of other contemporary tarot decks.
In Waite’s 1910 book Pictorial Key to the Tarot, he lists various tarot associations for the Wheel of Fortune card, including:
10. WHEEL OF FORTUNEFate, prosperity, elevation, good fortune, and felicity. Reversed: Growth, surplus, and abundance.
The Wheel Of Fortune card, like the other Major Arcana cards, has a very diverse representation in various Tarot decks.
Since the tarot’s debut in the 15th century, the card has been fashioned after the medieval idea of Rota Fortunae, the goddess Fortuna’s wheel. Images typically depict a six- or eight-spoked wheel that is frequently visited or crowned by a person (sometimes human, sometimes a half-human like the Sphinx). Many decks include people sitting or riding on the wheel while others are seen falling from it. In certain decks, like as the AG Mller, the wheel is also attended by a person wearing a blindfold.
What are tarot cards used for?
Tarot card reading is a type of cartomancy in which practitioners are said to be able to predict the past, present, or future by using tarot cards. They create a question first, then deal out cards to answer it. There are 78 cards in a conventional tarot deck, which can be divided into the Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. You can also utilize French-suited playing cards, as well as any other card system that links distinct aspects to specific suits (e.g., air, earth, fire, water).
Questions you don’t really want answered
Even though it might seem apparent, it’s advisable to refrain from asking the tarot cards questions that you aren’t prepared to hear the answers to. That’s because answers to these questions can reveal information you’re just not quite ready to hear.
“Tarot can definitely come off as offensive if you’re not willing to hear the truth or consider an opposing opinion. Tarot reading Nicole Fortunaso
According to tarot reader and life coach Nicole Fortunaso, “tarot may truly come out as offensive if you are not willing to hear the truth of the problem or look at an alternate viewpoint.” She advises analyzing why you’re reacting the way you are in order to reflect on how to effectively address the underlying problem if you ask the question and aren’t satisfied with the response.
What occurs when tarot cards are read?
According to her, “Tarot cards do not predict the future; rather, tarot is a tool for spiritual guidance and allows the reader to connect to his or her inner wisdom.” “Tarot readings assist a person in learning the information required to make sense of a specific circumstance. As readings provide a person with insight into past, present, and future occurrences based on their current path at the time of the reading, decks are best utilized as a tool of inner wisdom and guidance. The cards don’t always predict what will happen; rather, they help a person analyze a situation and choose the best course of action based on what is already known and what the cards indicate.”
Is astrology a branch of tarot cards?
Tarot has evolved over time into an intuitive art that may assist you in planning for both the best and worst scenarios. Tarot cards are filled with symbolism, but you might not be aware of how closely it is related to astrology. In need of a Tarot deck? A card from the Major Arcana, for instance, corresponds to each sign of the zodiac.
How should I maintain my Tarot deck?
While rearranging the cards in the tarot deck is a good approach to purify and clear their energy, there are some circumstances in which you might wish to perform a more specialized ritual. If you’re just getting started with tarot, cleaning your deck can be an excellent place to start.
You might want to clean your tarot deck for a variety of reasons, including:
- beginning with a fresh deck
- readings for other people
- You think you need to recharge.
- Your card readings seem a touch “odd” or “disconnected”
- Your deck hasn’t been used recently.
- Your deck has been handled by others
- You think you’ve been utilizing your deck a lot. A LOT, especially for books with strong emotional content
Why should you cleanse or clear your tarot deck?
Tarot deck cleansing helps keep the energy flowing between you and your deck. Consider it as a little spiritual hygiene to maintain a strong and clear connection. It’s not necessary, but if you have any of the aforementioned symptoms, try a few of the energetic cleansing techniques listed below and note which ones seem to work the best for you.
How often should you cleanse your tarot deck?
This is another way of stating USE YOUR INTUITION: there are no hard and fast laws. Don’t stress if you don’t believe it is necessary for your deck. Alternately, if you like to cleanse them once per week or once per month, that’s great. If it feels appropriate to you, you can even place your favorite crystal on the balcony each night.
If you frequently place crystals on your deck and store it on an altar while not in use, you might not feel the need to cleanse it frequently because this quick ritual will likely be sufficient to keep your deck feeling nice.
There are numerous ways to cleanse your cards, just as there are numerous reasons why you might desire to do so.
Different ways to cleanse your tarot deck
Use holy smoke. Light a dried rosemary, lavender, cedar, sage, or palo santo cleansing wand until it begins to smoke. Hold the smoke a safe distance below the deck while holding the burning herbs in one hand and the deck in the other so that the smoke drifts upward onto the cards. Turn the deck so that the smoke covers it from all angles. Next, safely put your deck to the ground and put out the fire.
On the deck, set a selenite stone (or a black tourmaline or a transparent quartz). It works well to leave it like way for an hour, but I prefer to leave it overnight.
Set them on display during a new moon. The New Moon is energy of a blank slate; you can purify the deck by setting it on a window sill on a new moon night. At this moment, you can also make a brand-new intention for your deck.
Place the cards in a salty dish. A strong and stabilizing cleaner is salt. My preferred choice for a thorough cleansing is this. Allow it to sit anywhere from one to eight hours in a dry area.
Unorderly shuffle. Spread the cards out on the ground, then shuffle them around like a child playing in dirt. This method’s freedom and randomization serve as an excellent reset.
the shuffle and sort. Set up the deck in rows of seven cards across, commencing with the Major Arcana numbers 0 to 22. (see photo above). Next, arrange the cards, Ace through King, one for each suit, as follows: Swords, Pentacles, Cups, and Wands. View the deck in this configuration, then mix everything up (like the chaotic!) and shuffle it thoroughly.
What is a new-age individual?
The term “New Age” refers to a variety of spiritual or religious activities and ideas that quickly gained popularity in Western culture in the early 1970s. The New Age is defined differently by many academic sources, partly due to its extremely heterogeneous makeup. Despite being analytically frequently categorized as religion, those who practice it typically prefer the terms spiritual or Mind, Body, Spirit and hardly ever refer to themselves as New Age. Many academics who study the topic refer to it as the New Age movement, but others disagree and argue that it is better understood as a milieu or zeitgeist.
The esoteric traditions that came from the occultist movement that formed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were particularly influential on the New Age as a kind of Western esotericism. The writings of Emanuel Swedenborg and Franz Mesmer, as well as the concepts of Spiritualism, New Thought, and Theosophy, are examples of notable esoteric influences. The early stages of the New Age were strongly influenced by a number of mid-twentieth century influences, including the UFO religions of the 1950s, the counterculture of the 1960s, and the Human Potential Movement. The phenomenon’s precise beginnings are still up for debate, but it is generally accepted that it emerged as a significant movement in the 1970s, when it was mostly concentrated in the United Kingdom. It flourished and expanded significantly in the 1980s and 1990s, especially in the United States. The label “New Age” was being progressively rejected within this context towards the beginning of the twenty-first century, and some academics asserted that the New Age movement had come to an end.
Despite its extreme eclecticism, the New Age has a number of shared beliefs that have been recognized. Theology-wise, the New Age often embraces a conviction in a holistic kind of divinity that permeates the entire universe, including people. Thus, the spiritual authority of the self is strongly emphasized. Along with this, there is a widespread conviction that there are several non-human, semi-divine creatures, such as angels and masters, with whom humans can connect, notably through the process of channeling. According to the common New Age perspective, which divides human history into a number of distinct ages, humanity once lived in an age of great technological advancement and spiritual wisdom, but has since entered a period of spiritual degeneracy that will be corrected by the establishment of a future Age of Aquarius, from which the milieu takes its name. Additionally, there is a significant emphasis on healing, particularly when employing complementary and alternative medicine, as well as the idea that spirituality and science can coexist harmoniously.
The New Age has generally been centered in Western nations, and most of its participants have come from middle- and upper-class backgrounds. Between those who acquired a few New Age beliefs and practices and others who totally embraced it and dedicated their life to it, New Agers’ level of involvement in the milieu varied significantly. Both established Christian organizations and contemporary Pagan and indigenous cultures have criticized the New Age. The New Age started to be studied by academic religious studies researchers in the 1990s.