Tarot

The tarot is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play games, many of which are still played today. In the late 18th century, some tarot decks began to be used for divination leading to custom decks developed for such occult purposes.

In English-speaking countries tarot cards are used primarily for divinatory purposes, usually using specially designed decks. Some using tarot for cartomancy believe that the cards have esoteric links to ancient Egypt, Iran, the Kabbalah, Indian Tantra, or the I Ching, though scholarly research has demonstrated that tarot cards were invented in northern Italy in the 15th century and confirmed that there is no historical evidence of the usage of tarot for divination until the late 18th century.

Elliette, was a French occultist whofirst to popularise tarot divination to a wide audience (1785), and therefore the first professional tarot occultist known to history to make his living by card divination. He published his ideas of the correspondences between the tarot, astrology, and the four classical elements and four humors, and was the first (1791) to issue a revised tarot deck specifically designed for occult purposes.

The Minor Arcana (lesser secrets) consists of 56 cards, divided into four suits of 14 cards each: Ten numbered cards and four court cards. The court cards are the King, Queen, Knight and Page/Jack, in each of the four tarot suits. The traditional Italian tarot suits are coins. In modern occult tarot decks, however, the batons suit is often called wands or rods, while the coins suit is often called pentacles or disks.

The terms "Major Arcana" and "Minor Arcana" were first used by Jean-Baptiste Pitois (also known as Paul Christian). Some decks exist primarily as artwork, and such art decks sometimes contain only the 22 Major Arcana.

Aleister Crowley, who devised the Thoth deck along with Lady Frieda Harris, stated of the tarot: "The origin of this pack of cards is very obscure. Some authorities seek to put it back as far as the ancient Egyptian Mysteries; others try to bring it forward as late as the fifteenth or even the sixteenth century ... [but] The only theory of ultimate interest about the Tarot is that it is an admirable symbolic picture of the Universe, based on the data of the Holy Qabalah."

Tarot
Tarot (noun) from French, from Old Italian tarocch, perhaps from Arabic taraha "he rejected, put aside." _______________________________________________
The tarot is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play games, many of which are still played today. In the late 18th century, some tarot decks began to be used for divination leading to custom decks developed for such occult purposes. In English-speaking countries tarot cards are used primarily for divinatory purposes, usually using specially designed decks. Some using tarot for cartomancy believe that the cards have esoteric links to ancient Egypt, Iran, the Kabbalah, Indian Tantra, or the I Ching, though scholarly research has demonstrated that tarot cards were invented in northern Italy in the 15th century and confirmed that there is no historical evidence of the usage of tarot for divination until the late 18th century. Elliette, was a French occultist whofirst to popularise tarot divination to a wide audience (1785), and therefore the first professional tarot occultist known to history to make his living by card divination. He published his ideas of the correspondences between the tarot, astrology, and the four classical elements and four humors, and was the first (1791) to issue a revised tarot deck specifically designed for occult purposes. The 78-card tarot deck used by esotericists has two distinct parts: The Major Arcana (greater secrets), or trump cards, consists of 22 cards without suits: The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temp- erance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgement, The World, and The Fool. Cards from The Magician to The World are numbered in Roman numerals from I to XXI, while The Fool is the only unnumbered card, sometimes placed at the beginning of the deck as 0, or at the end as XXII. The Minor Arcana (lesser secrets) consists of 56 cards, divided into four suits of 14 cards each: Ten numbered cards and four court cards. The court cards are the King, Queen, Knight and Page/Jack, in each of the four tarot suits. The traditional Italian tarot suits are coins. In modern occult tarot decks, however, the batons suit is often called wands or rods, while the coins suit is often called pentacles or disks. The terms "Major Arcana" and "Minor Arcana" were first used by Jean-Baptiste Pitois (also known as Paul Christian). Some decks exist primarily as artwork, and such art decks sometimes contain only the 22 Major Arcana. The three most common decks used in esoteric tarot are the Rider–Waite tarot (the most popular), the Tarot of Marseilles and the Thoth tarot deck. Aleister Crowley, who devised the Thoth deck along with Lady Frieda Harris, stated of the tarot: "The origin of this pack of cards is very obscure. Some authorities seek to put it back as far as the ancient Egyptian Mysteries; others try to bring it forward as late as the fifteenth or even the sixteenth century ... [but] The only theory of ultimate interest about the Tarot is that it is an admirable symbolic picture of the Universe, based on the data of the Holy Qabalah." How to read the Tarot
First pick a deck. The best all-round dek is the Rider-Waite. If you choose another deck be certain the minor arcane is completely illustrated. While you shuffle, think carefully about the question you are going to ask.. Shuffling and handling the cards is a good way to get in harmony with the cards. This is important because intuition is important to reading tht Tarot . Shuffle at least once, but do it as often as necessary to get the cards to feel right. When you feel ready, put the deck face down. The simplest way to read is to first, ask a yes or no question. Then randomly select three cards. Each card has numerical value. Add up the numbers. If it totals to an uneven number, the answer to your w question is “yes”. It the toal is even, your swer is “No”. Here is another simple three card reading. It is the past, present, future spread. Take the top card from your shuffled deck, and reveal them one by one, left to right. The left is the past, the center is now and the right is the future. There are other spreads more complicated, but ultimately it is your intuition that reads the Tarot. Use your intuiton to let the illustrations talk to you.