Tarot cards are an artistic deck of 78 cards, each with its own unique illustration and meaning. When they first originated in Italy during the 15th century, the cards were mostly used for playing games. However, cartomancy, the studying and interpretation of card symbolism, soon became popular and remains the standard of popularity for tarot decks in today’s society.
Many people use tarot decks to gain insight into their lives or to connect with their higher self. These cards are closely associated with spirituality and are often paired up with other fortune telling devices such as astrology, though they are not limited to this.
Although each card has a distinct meaning, they can be categorized into two main groups: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana.
The Major Arcana cards are the first 22 of the deck, and display people during different stages of life. These cards do not contain a suit, and are meant to be taken more seriously than the minor arcana because they represent various universal experiences and dilemmas.
For example, the first Major Arcana card is The Fool, which can either be interpreted as a naive youth, or as a bold person willing to take risks. Either way, the Fool represents someone with little knowledge at the beginning of a journey.
On the contrary, the 22nd Major Arcana card is The World. This card represents enlightenment, self-fulfillment, growth and the end of a journey.
The Minor Arcana cards are broken up into the four suits: Swords, Cups, Wands, and Pentacles. Each suit contains numbered cards starting from the ace, representing one, and ending with ten, followed by face cards: Page, Knight, Queen and King.
Swords represent hardships or conflict, whether that be internal or external, and often foreshadow obstacles and shortcomings.
Cups are associated with holding water, therefore representing emotions and relationships.
Wands represent conscious emotions such as creativity, purpose, ego and self-image. These cards are often tied to who the person using them is as a person.
Pentacles represent money and the material world, which includes health, prosperity and greed.
Generally, the face cards relate to different stages/roles in a life or a journey. The specifics depend on the suit – for example, the King is known as perseverance. For the King of Cups, this manifests as emotional balance. On the other hand, the King of Pentacles is meant to be down to earth and reliable.
There are many different ways to organize a tarot reading. The simplest way is the three card spread. This is done by shuffling the deck facedown, having the person who is receiving the reading choose three cards, and then flipping them over in any order. To keep it easy, the order or direction of the cards do not matter.
More advanced readers will sometimes arrange the cards in a cross, flip them over in a certain order, and take into account whether the cards are upside down or upright, which can help determine if the card has a positive or negative meaning.
Most tarot decks come with a handbook that explains all of the cards in detail. Because of this, learning how to use tarot cards is relatively easy with practice. Along with this, some stores such as New Age People and Pyramid of Enlightenment provide professional card readings. Either way, these cards can be used as a fun way to learn more about one’s self and their past, present, or future.
