Tarot - What is it?

Tarot - What is it?

'Tarot' is one of the most popular forms of divination in the western world. It has experienced a significant growth in popularity, with many different packs of cards portraying different images now being available.....

The packs of cards all have things in common, not least of all that they are beautiful to hold and to examine in detail..... Perhaps it is this innate 'magic' which assists them in being such a chillingly accurate oracle when interpreted correctly by an experienced 'reader'.

This article attempts to introduce the subject of Tarot to provide an insight into how easy and effective it can be to use, and highlights common misinterpretations which often cause anxiety to new users.

Tarot - History and Background

Tarot is a 'tool' for divination which is believed to have originated in late 14th century or early 15th century Italy, derived from a card game called 'Tarocchi', although there are believed to be connections to ancient Egyptian sources. The 'Major Arcana' is purported to be related to an ancient Egyptian book containing secret and magical wisdom, known as the 'Book of Thoth'. Thoth was the Egyptian god of writing, medicine, magic, and secret wisdom, so also may provide the root of the name 'Tarot'.

A 'Tarot' pack is a pack of (usually) 78 cards, consisting of 22 cards of the 'Major Arcana' and 56 cards of the 'Minor Arcana'.

A connection may also exist between the Tarot and the Kabbalah. The Kabbalah (also spelled 'Qabalah') is an ancient Judaic esoteric system which describes the relationship between God and Man in the 'Tree of Life', where the ten points on the Tree are connected by 22 pathways. Is the number '22' appearing in the 'Major Arcana' and in the 'Tree of Life' a coincidence? Try Tarot for yourself, and see if you can answer this question...!

The 'Major Arcana' represents the archetypes of people, spiritual states, virtues and circumstances which are key to interpretation.

The 'Minor Arcana' consists of four suits, each of 14 cards, and is believed to be the origin of the modern pack of playing cards, less one card in each suit, of course!

The 'Minor Arcana' represents the people, conditions and situations in your every day life.

Tarot - Choosing a Tarot Pack

The choice of pack is a matter of personal preference. Choose one whose symbolism 'speaks' to you. Some packs are very beautiful, but some people find their symbolism is unhelpful when it comes to reading and interpreting from them.

The most common packs are the Rider-Waite, Tarot de Marseilles, and Swiss 1JJ packs, although some 'modern' packs are beginning to be very popular. Try to choose a pack that has pictorial Minor Arcana cards: it will make interpretation easier!

The Rider-Waite pack is probably the 'standard' pack in the UK, and most reference books on Tarot relate to it, so here is some information about the Rider-Waite pack:

This pack was designed by A.E. Waite and was first published in 1910 by Rider & Co, hence the name 'Rider-Waite'. A.E. Waite was a leading member in the British occultist society: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the pack benefits from some of the Order's secret teachings. The artist was Pamela Colman-Smith, who operated under A.E. Waite's direction. The Rider-Waite pack was also the first pack to have pictorial cards for the Minor Arcana.