Tarot Spirituality & Much More :): Few Facts About Tarot Card Reading

Tarot is a set of 78 cards, divided in two sets: the major arcana and the minor arcana. The major arcana contains 22 cards and primarily depicts major archetypes like death, temperance and the fool. The minor arcana is based on the traditional playing card deck of 52 cards. In it are the four suits; pentacles (or disks), cups (equal to hearts), swords (spades) and wands. Each suit has ten numbered cards, ace to ten, plus the four court cards. These are page, knight, king and queen. Some but not all tarot decks have picture images on each of the numbered cards.

2. Where does Tarot come from?

The very first cards we know of date from the late Middle Ages and appeared in Italy. They first developed into a set of cards depicting virtues, like Strength and Temperance. They then developed into more elaborate sets of different number of cards and different order of the cards. They were primarily used by the aristocracy as the method of production for cards at that time was not exactly cheap. When the Tarot entered France it took the shape of a uniform deck, that is, it had 78 cards and the order of the cards in the major arcana remained the same. Today we are still using the same order.
Some people have claimed that the Tarot cards came from exotic origins like ancient Egypt, but there is absolutely no proof for this, and it is highly unlikely.

3. What do the cards mean?

The Tarot cards are archetypes, that is they represent a psychological quality that we all share. They are, in a certain sense, a spiritual heritage of mankind. The archetypes always remain the same, but how they manifest and form depends on your culture, your environment, and even of your own psychological make-up. Take the Death card, for example. Death is an archetype we all share. It is a key ingredient of life. But death means has a different meaning to spiritual Indian yogi than to a Western materialist. For some people death is transformation to a higher state of being, while for others it is the unwanted extinction of life.
So, the cards may have an underlying, symbolic meaning, but you have to learn how to allow yourself to discover what they mean for you. At the same time, a card can bring up slightly different interpretations in different readings. A reading is a highly personalized representation of a certain situation for a certain person at a certain time. Intuition and inspiration will give you the appropriate explanation for the cards at that time, for that person in those circumstances.

4. Does Tarot predict the future?

The future is not written in stone. Certain things will likely happen because their energies are running in a particular direction. But as human beings we have free will and can change those energies in one way or another, in small ways or in big ways. There are also unforeseen things that can interfere. Therefore what we call the future is what most likely will happen given the present set of circumstances, but we need to keep in mind that anything can change this view of the future.
Tarot card are in the first place a means of revealing patterns of energy in the past or the present. It allows us to clarify situations. We all all the answers within us, but not always conscious. Tarot cards, like any other means of divination, can be used to tap into the unconscious, where all the answers lie, and bring it out into the conscious. Then you can make decisions on your own what to do next. Yes, you can look into the possible future with the Tarot cards, but remember it is up to us to decide what to do or not to do. Predicting doomsday has nothing to do with divination, but with an unethical card reader. Actually there is a rule for tarot readers, the 4 D's. Never predict death, disease, disaster, or divorce.