The Tarot Cards: An Introduction
Posted by Real Tarot Card on December 22nd, 2020
The Tarot, what is it?
The tarot is a 78-card deck of illustrations that can be viewed in different ways. The deck, called the main and minor arcana, is split into two parts. The primary arcana has 21 trump cards, and the minor arcana is divided into four suits (walls, pentacles, cups, and swords), each of 1-10, an ace, and four court cards (the Page, Knight, Queen and King).
The Tarot's Roots
The earliest known tarot cards come from Italy in the 15th century. The tarot seems to have begun life as a game of cards, and was originally exclusive to the wealthier upper classes, but the cards became more readily available following the advent of the printing press. Some writers believed that the imagery of the tarot cards implies a more ancient origin (despite the obvious lack of evidence) and related the tarot to civilizations and practices such as the ancient Egyptians and the mysterious Hebrew Kabbalah.
Later Evolutions
It was not until the 18th century that the cards were connected to the supernatural and mysterious practices they are frequently associated with today. This started in 1781, when in his work 'Le Monde Primatif' the Freemason Antoine Court de Gebelin made the case that the Hermit tarot card meaning held hidden meanings (which he shared with the ancient Egyptians) that could be used for
Divinatory intentions.
Since then, other spiritual and mystical traditions have suggested that the tarot has ancient origins, such as the order of the Golden Dawn, and that it has secret knowledge to give to those seeking enlightenment.
The mass popularity of the tarot grew with the 1910 printing of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot. Arthur Edwards Waite was a director of the Golden Dawn participant and the illustrations of occult symbols were used on the numerical cards, as well as the trump cards, in this new deck drawn by the artist Pamela Colman Smith. This deck has been very influential (and continues to be popular today), and hundreds if not thousands of different new decks have been launched ever since, with many fans making their own.
Doing a literacy service
In order to do a divinatory tarot reading, there is no fixed process. However there are many common layouts or 'spreads,' with the Celtic cross being probably the most well-known. Usually, this is the first technique taught to beginners, but it is by no means the simplest. Experienced tarot readers, using their own means of interpretation, will also invent their own spreads.
When the person receiving the reading picks the cards, the reader spreads them out and analyzes them in a spread, taking into account the positions related to each other the symbolism of the individual cards, and their location (upright or reversed).
The Cards' Meaning
Tarot card interpretation is not widely agreed upon. Both of them have imagery of various degrees of sophistication, and the large array of decks available makes the scenario much tougher. Nevertheless, there are a vast number of writings available on the tarot's symbology, and the 22 main arcane cards are believed to reflect the Fool's path from ignorance to enlightenment on the simplest stage.
Moreover the minor arcana cards have a symbolism of their own. The numbers are most specifically connected with numerology, and the four elements are related to the suits. Certain spiritual and supernatural structures such as the I Ching, astrology, and Kabbalah have also been connected with the tarot.
