What Is Tarot?
Perhaps you’re ready to dive into the fascinating world of Tarot, but what exactly is it? The most straightforward answer I can provide is a set of 78 cards, which opens a window to the soul when used with patience and respect. But let’s take a step back into the past to see how Tarot came to be.
Tarot had its beginning over 500 years and evolved from playing cards dating as far back as 618 A.D. During the mid-15th century. Tarot was a playing card game enjoyed by aristocrats throughout Central and Southern Europe. A Tarot deck consisted of 52 standard playing cards deck with the addition of 26 other trump cards, often decorated with elaborate depictions of places or events. Over time, however, aristocrats noticed the cards conveying profound insights outside the realm of just a card match. Indeed, by the mid-18th century, Tarot had grown beyond a simple card game and had become a trusted tool for divination around the world.
Today, thousands of different Tarot Card decks exist, guiding countless people through the challenges of life. But how do the cards work, and what exactly do I mean when I use the term divination?
While many people think of fortune-telling when they think of Tarot, I find the cards prefer to be consulted over questions relating to the soul. What is most important to me? What are the issues I’ve been avoiding in my life? What is the universe trying to communicate to me right now? As querents, we ask these types of questions directly to the cards and see how our deck responds. Drawing an upright Ace of Wands, for example, may help me realize that it’s time for a new spiritual chapter in my life. While pulling The Lovers in reverse may remind me there is some unfinished grieving, I need to revisit over a failed relationship.
Thus, divination, in this sense, means nothing more than using our inherent intuition to find the answers to life’s questions hidden inside us. This method of consulting the cards, which follows the Golden Dawn school of interpretation, is the method that I follow myself when working with my clients and which tends to be the most accurate and helpful for querents living in today’s society. Using Tarot in this manner allows us to uncover secrets that may lie buried underneath layers upon layers of confusion, avoidance, and even pain.
The Tarot does not open its knowledge to just anyone, however. I have found that a card reader must have a level of knowledge and expertise to avoid getting lost in the many details and nuances of a deck. A thorough understanding of all 78 cards, both drawn upright and reversed, should rest in the card reader’s head at all times. They must have years of experience developing their inherent intuition and be capable of reading the subtleties in a querent’s energy field when interpreting the cards that are drawn.
This writing only begins to answer the question, what is Tarot, however. I encourage you to browse through my site, send me questions you may have, schedule a private reading, and look out for many more insights soon illuminating the wonderful world of Tarot.