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).
In This Article...
What religion originated tarot?
Tarot cards are frequently cited as a component of New Age thought and practice along with astrology, aspects of Buddhism, paganism, and First Nations teachings in the eclectic scholarly approach to the New Age.
Who was the first tarot reader?
Things become a little mystical around Halloween, when horror movies are playing nonstop on TV and your holiday-loving neighbors’ yards are decorated with grotesque decorations. We decided to explore the background of tarot cards in honor of one of the most enchanted seasons of the year.
Tarot cards were initially just another card game, one that was a lot like the bridge that is played today, despite the fact that we now link them with the occult. Like other decks, the earliest known tarot cards appeared in Europe in the fifteenth century, with the wealthiest households in Italy purchasing the most well-liked sets. It was expensive to commission what was practically dozens of tiny paintings because there was no printing press and only hand-painted cards were available.
These early tarot cards, known as tarocchi in Italian, included suits, trump cards, and even pips, just like any other deck.
While others experimented, the mainstream use of tarot cards for divination didn’t begin until Frenchman Jean-Baptise Alliette produced the first comprehensive book on tarot card reading in the late 1700s. Under the alias Etteilla, he published his own deck along with a user’s manual for the cards. He incorporated ideas about astronomy and the four elements to give each card a purpose. He asserted that he had taken extensive inspiration from the Book of Thoth, a work purportedly penned by Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom.
He incorporated ideas about astronomy and the four elements to give each card a purpose.
Etteilla was the first to allocate the cards to a certain sequence and spread, including a front-to-back method that is still in use today. He issued a revised edition of his manual in 1791 when his writings gained popularity, making him the first known professional tarot reader.
The next significant change to tarot cards occurred in 1909. You’ve probably seen the pictures for the Rider-Waite deck, created by publisher William Rider and tarot reader A. E. Waite. The Rider-Waite deck, like Etteilla, came with a written manual explaining how to interpret the cards and what each one meant. When the cards in this deck were arranged together, the intricate scenes presented a narrative. The Rider-Waite Deck was updated and reprinted in the 1970s, along with a new instruction manual by Stephen Kaplan, which led to the most recent tarot card renaissance.
Is tarot reading challenging?
The amount of information you need to study and memorize to read tarot, though, can seem overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be that way, and that’s what we’re here to tell you. You’ll be an expert by the time your friends from college come around for drinks tonight if you just follow our quick-start tarot instruction.
Tarot reading has been practiced since the 14th or 15th century and may have started out as a card game, similar to poker, rather than a spiritual activity. Nevertheless, a spiritual component emerged, and tarot cards started to be employed for divination in the late 18th century. They have also been applied to psychological research. Even Carl Jung thought of the playing cards as a tool to depict the “archetypes of mankind.”
The majority of 78-card tarot decks follow the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition and make use of related archetypes and iconography.
Additionally, there are tarot decks from various traditions, such as Marseilles tarot decks, as well as oracle cards, which can have any quantity of cards with their own particular imagery. But chances are, if you’re new to tarot, your deck is a Rider-Waite-Smith one.
Each of the 78 cards in these tarot decks has a distinct meaning. You don’t have to keep all of that in your head, even though it is a lot to know about them. The following are the key facts to be aware of:
1. The Minor Arcana and the Major Arcana are the two categories of Tarot cards.
Similar to a standard deck of playing cards, the 56 Minor Arcana cards are divided into four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. The total journey of your life is covered by the 22 Major Arcana.
A tarot counselor is what?
It is not helpful to group all professional tarot readers together into one category. Consider what kind of professional you’re searching for if you’re trying to hire a professional tarot reading. Here are some examples of the various sorts I’ve observed based on my experiences and observations:
The Psychic, the Intuitive, the Empathic, or even the Holistic Reader come to mind when you consider the traditional practice of tarot reading (the Holistic may be straddling the line between Traditional and Modernmore on that later).
Tarot Card Reader, psychic. I’m going to use the term loosely because I don’t understand what “psychic” actually means. Some claim to be psychics on their own, and others have been referred to as such by their clients so frequently that they unwillingly accept the label in their title. The psychic tarot reader is a person with the power to perceive our past, present, and future forks independently of the tarot cards. They appear to have the ability to glimpse the future since they can predict people’s future trajectories with a surprising degree of precision. Alternately, they could be someone with a natural talent for conversing with supernatural (or otherworldly) spirits. These readers possess a certain gift biologically from birth, albeit it can be developed and cultivated (or suppressed). Now, if you give them a deck of tarot cards, something magicalor at least psychichappens. My major issue with psychic tarot readers is that they make up just a small percentage of all tarot readers, if any at all, making it difficult for the average individual to tell the difference between a real psychic tarot reader and a con artist.
clairvoyant tarot reader A great gift is also held by the intuitive tarot reader, however it differs slightly from psychic ability. The intuitive tarot reader has an amazing capacity for truth-finding. They can assist you in separating fact from fantasy in the utmost sensible way from a place hardly rational. Similar to swords, intuitive readers assist you understand by clearing the road by cutting through all the unnecessary weeds.
Tarot reader with empathy. The Empathic Tarot Reader is someone who can feel exactly what you feel, who can sense energies in an environment, and who can extract accurate emotional data from those energies. If the Intuitive is someone who can swerve for the truth in any situation, the Empathic Tarot Reader is someone who feels exactly what you feel. Since our emotions are our truths, the actions taken by the Empathic and the Intuitive aren’t all that dissimilar. Through various routes, they reach the same place. Readers with empathy are like the Cups (or Chalices). Spiritual counselors that are empathic are amazing. (That should be distinguished from counselors who are licensed, though.) Empathics experience what you experience and, as a result, are able to comprehend you in a manner that no one else seems to be able to. That shared understanding can be cathartic and validating, and it may be just what you needed to help you progress.
comprehensive tarot reader The Holistic Tarot Reader uses tarot together with other techniques to offer, well, a holistic experience. In addition to bringing in numerology, astrology, and runes, they may also use the I Ching or oracle cards following the tarot reading. They have a feel of the energies that different types of incense can excite, the energies that various crystals and gemstones can magnify, and they generally draw on a vast body of studied knowledge to combine with the reading. In terms of how they read cards, they take into account the esoteric knowledge that such imagery alludes to as well as the context of the tarot signs and symbols before using metaphors and archetypes to assist you comprehend the situation’s overall context. Though not all holistic tarot readers are intuitive or empathic, they can nonetheless be holistic in their approach.
Not many tarot readers who work professionally fall neatly into just one of those categories. Each one will be a mix of the aforementioned traits, however they might lean more toward intuition or empathy. Readers of the psychic tend to be both. However, not all readers who are intuitive and empathic are psychic. I hope that was clear. Additionally, very few tarot readers are one-trick ponies, therefore the most of them will be somewhat holistic.
Despite the fact that we live in modern times, the majority of tarot readers still adhere to the conventional methods described above. However, over the past ten or so years, a few new varieties have emerged.
comprehensive tarot reader See the Traditional section above. Although holistic tarot readers have undoubtedly existed since the beginning of tarot reading, a more defined method that keeps holism in mind has only lately been developed. For this reason, I include them in both the Traditional and Modern categories. The contemporary holistic reader may use reiki, feng shui, or even just chat to you about chakras while giving you a tarot reading. Transpersonal psychology may have a big impact on your meetings with them.
The Tarot Guidance. This expert is a certified therapist, social worker, or counselor. According to the law, this person is qualified to be compensated for counseling services because they have completed the required institutionalized education. The Tarot Counselor also incorporates tarot into their counseling work and is a good tarot reader. I’m not sure if it’s simply the crowd I hang out with, but from where I stand, the quantity of this kind of tarot reader is constantly increasing. Tarot reading’s psychoanalytical component is now more widely acknowledged and appears less and less occult. Consider a tarot-using counselor or therapist if you’re seeking for one.
the Life Coach of the Tarot. I believe that life coaches do not need to be licensed or certified, but if I am mistaken, please correct me. There are no prerequisites for schooling, licensure, or certification to launch a business as a life coach (kind of like tarot readers). In a word, life coaches assist you in determining your goals and then in creating a plan of action to reach those goals. They are then expected to support you and inspire you along the road. Again, current experts are aware of the extraordinary strength and value of tarot, and many Life Coaches use it to assist their clients.
The reader of the Tarot. The Tarot Interpreter sees the Tarot as a text, a book, or simply a tool that brings knowledge from the unconscious realm to the conscious plane so that it might be useful. Whether using a book or gadget, tarot reading is most accurate when performed by a person with extensive card reading training and understanding. Like one of those TI-85 calculators, anyone with no education or experience can pick one up and use it, but good luck accomplishing anything interesting with one without it! The Tarot Interpreter performs translational duties. In a sense, you approach the cards directly; the Tarot Interpreter then converts the tarot’s language (its signs and symbols) into something you might better understand.
Professional readers of tarot will develop their own style, which is often a fusion of some of the aforementioned categories. I consider myself to be a hybrid tarot reader and interpreter. While it would be ideal to have tarot experts providing crucial details about their reading approaches so you can determine what kind of reader they are, it’s possible that this won’t happen. Review the information above to determine the kind of tarot reader you’re searching for, and then locate one with a reading style that fits that description.
Why is tarot useful?
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.
Is astrology a branch of tarot cards?
These days, almost everyone you know possesses a tarot deck and regularly receives readings. Tarot is no longer simply for the esoteric. 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. For instance: In the Major Arcana, a card corresponds to each sign of the zodiac.
What does “tarot” mean?
The Italian term tarocchi, whose origin is unknown but which was once used to denote stupidity in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, is the source of both the English word tarot and the German word tarock. In the fourteenth century, only Trionfi was used to refer to the decks. Around 1502, the new name Tarocho first appeared in Brescia. A brand-new card game called Trionfa that was played with a normal deck of cards during the 16th century was swiftly gaining popularity. At the same time, the previous game’s name was changed to Tarocchi. A blood orange cultivar is referred to as Tarocco, which is the singular form in contemporary Italian. Locally, the words “Tarocco” and “Taroccare” are used to denote forgery or falsification. This definition derives straight from the Italian card game taroccchi, in which a tarocco card is one that can be used in place of another card.
What society are tarot cards a part of?
The first tarot decks were created in Italy in the 1430s by adding a fifth suit of 21 specially designed cards called trionfi (“triumphs”) and an odd card called il matto to an already existing four-suited pack (“the fool).
What tarot card has the most influence?
The Fool is typically seen as a card from the Major Arcana when performing a tarot reading. Contrary to popular belief, the Fool does not fall under either category in tarot card games. Instead, the Fool serves a function that is distinct from both the simple suit cards and the trump cards. As a result, the Fool has no number assigned to it in the majority of tarot decks that were initially created for playing games. Although Waite assigns the Fool the number 0, in his book, the Fool is discussed between Judgment (number 20) and The World (number 21). The Tarocco Piemontese is the only traditional game deck that numbers the Fool 0. Since the 1930s, the corner index for the Fool in Tarot Nouveau decks has frequently been a black inverted mullet. The Fool is one of the most expensive cards in practically all tarot games.
