For a long time, tarot cards have been a source of entertainment worldwide for people from all walks of life. Others view tarot cards not just as a game but as tools to be revered for the powerful impact they have on their lives. In tarot cards, there is something to sate everyone’s interest.
Background
Tarot cards, invented around the 15th century, were used for entertainment as a parlor game. Around the 18th century, interpretations related to occult matters and divination began to attach themselves to tarot cards and their various meanings, giving birth to the tarot card readings we know today. These readings took firm roots around the 1780s due to the workings of Jean-Baptise Alliette and Antoine Court, who wrote works that supported the correlation of divination and the occult to tarot cards.
For you beginning your tarot card journey or seeking to deepen your knowledge of the world of tarot cards, you’ll need a tarot deck before you can start reading the cards. The Rider-Waite tarot, composed in 1909, is the most common tarot deck. Also known as the Rider tarot box, beginners prefer these cards because these particular tarot card meanings are not hard-understood and contain definite pictorials with vibrant and defined color schemes that are easy to interpret. Nonetheless, tarot decks, including the Rider-Waite, include a cheat sheet outlining traditional meanings for the cards. There are many more tarot decks available to interested persons that cater to almost every need you may have, whether recreational or something more to support you on your journey. Ideally, you can choose a deck that piques your attention, both visually and symbolically. Consider a tarot deck to be an extension of your personality in this sense.
Tarot Deck Format
Tarot cards come into two parts called arcana within a deck, the major and the minor. This formation is standard within each tarot deck out there. The major arcana consists of 22 cards of the 78 cards found within a deck. The major arcana forms cards known as the trump cards used to provide insight and guidance during revelations and significant influences and decisions. The minor arcana consists of the other 56 tarot cards found within a deck. Composed of four card sets known as cups, pentacles, wands, and swords, it advises on daily matters and easy choices that require light guidance. When reading tarot cards, the wand sets stand for passion and creativity, intellect symbolized by swords, profession for pentacles, and emotions for cups. Symbols of astrology, fire, water, earth, and water ensure that you will incorporate zodiac perceptions into your tarot card readings.
Use
Although most tarot reading is subjective and based on personal opinion, some universal themes run across most tarot readings. When performing a read for another individual, a query is usually asked to “clear” the deck when shuffling. Following shuffling, it is customary to allow the individual to cut the deck as they ponder on their inquiry, though some readers prefer to split the stack themselves. Following the cut, you’ll pull the necessary number of cards for the spread and arrange them between the both of you. Tarot cards’ most common way of reading and deriving meaning is to choose a spread and order the cards, respectively. However, there is a spread for practically every event, and you can always make your own after some practice. Tarot card meanings and spreads may be interpreted based on the query asked and the card drawn. Another way of reading tarot cards is shuffling and cutting only one card from the deck, known as daily reading. The card drawn speaks to your day. Hence this reading should occur earlier in the day.
During a reading, both the individual value of a card and the query should be understood. However, it would be best if you did not overlook the spreading. Any obvious symbolism or other meaning in the spread will change the definition of a particular card, although this can also rely on the symbolism interpretation of the individual. It’s critical to be receptive to what the cards are saying and shift gears when necessary in correspondence to the card meanings.
Conclusion
Remember that reading tarot cards and understanding their images, interpretations, and spreading function may be challenging. There is an infinite amount of possible combos and spreads, and so starting can be difficult. As long as you continue to practice, your style and perspective will grow. The sky is the limit for what you can accomplish with tarot cards, so go out there and find your way.
