A Crash Course In Tarot Decks part 3

So what is types of tarot decks really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about types of tarot decks--info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

Knowledge can give you a real advantage. To make sure you're fully informed about types of tarot decks, keep reading.

If you would like to learn to read tarot cards, your first challenge is to choose a deck from the 8,000 or so published brands of fortune telling cards on the market. What works for one person often doesn't for another. Some people are comfortable reading several decks and others just identify with one deck. In my experience you will find that over time, you will grow in and out of several decks. You may also find that the deck that you prefer to use to read yourself is not the deck that you prefer to use read others.

For instance, when I first began reading I started out with a deck that was too heavy for me - The Crowley Deck. The ultimate result of that was that I ended up selling them because I was spooked out the images of the deck. I was simply too young to handle the imagery on this dark deck and was giving myself nightmares. I then switched to the Rider Waite Deck for a few years, which is the ultimate easy, all -purpose deck. I then fell in love with the Renaissance Deck which is much more elaborate in terms of it's imagery and a bit more pointed in its meanings when it came to describing relationships. Then I entered a period when I was yearning for more simplicity, I switched to the Palladini deck, which is very pure and has a "lighter feeling." (Kind of like the Pollyanna of Tarot Decks.) Now that I am older, I am back to the Crowley Deck and the Order of the Golden Stair decks, which are a little heavier in feel.

There are also lots of specialty or eclectic decks on the market that might appeal to you more than the Rider Waite, but learning the Rider Waite is like going to high school. Psychic Realm reader Bacchus for instance, uses the Haindl deck for his readings, which has a Nordic feel and is a permutation of the classic Rider-Waite deck, but as wonderful as it is, I don't think it is a beginner deck.

Here are some good decks I can recommend for beginners that are based on the Rider Waite System of meanings.

The Rider Waite Deck

The Aquatic Tarot - the same as the Rider Waite but realized in watercolors

The Pamela Colman Tarot - the same imagery as the Rider Waite but done in brighter more psychedelic colors

The Golden Tarot - the same as Rider Waite but the imagery is more medieval

The Palladini Tarot - the same as Rider Waite but with very simple, cheerful drawings

The Renaissance Tarot - the same as Rider Waited but enhanced with images from the Renaissance age.

You can find a selection of Tarot Decks in the Psychic Realm store off the main page or browse the web and buy one that catches your eye online. I recommend doing a little online research first and finding places you can view different decks online because most storeowners won't let you open and handle their deck because it means removing the plastic from their packaging. However, the best way to be sure is to go to a store, pick up the deck and see if you like the feel of the cards once you have done some research on the imagery in them. The feel, weight or look of the cards often "speaks" to you. If you a feel a connection with the images on the cards or even how they feel in your hands, then that is probably the deck that you will relate to best. I also recommend a deck that comes with a small book inside the package or box so you will have something to quickly reference if you should get lost while reading.

A tip for beginners! When I first began reading the Tarot, I typed myself up a one sheet that a resembled a chart so that all the meanings of each card right side up and upside down were apparent to me at a glance. Typing out the meanings like this really does help you learn the cards quickly.

Your next step would be to get acquainted with your cards. The best way to learn is to study the image on each card, one at a time, while memorizing the meaning. Be patient. There are usually 78 meanings to learn so this is not always a fast process. Some tarot teachers recommend that you put the deck of cards under your pillow at night so you can get better acquainted with them. The idea is that your subconscious will absorb the information the same way that a sponge soaks up water. You can also meditate or dream upon the individual cards in the same way by placing them under your pillow.

Some people like to charge their cards after they first get them, either by praying or meditating over them, placing a crystal on them or passing them through the smoke of incense or placing them in the light of the full or new moon for a night.

Finicky readers believe the power of the cards is enhanced if they are placed inside a special box or wrapped in a silk pouch. I personally don't think this makes much of a difference because I KNOW I am accurate and my cards have so much gunk and wear and tear on them it is laughable. Still they do say that pomp and circumstance is supposed to add to the power of all ritual and magic, so if storing your cards in a special way or in a special place helps you read them better than by all means do so.

Also many readers protect their cards by not letting anyone touch them. There is a belief that others can "infect" the cards with their beliefs, fears or anxieties. The cards do act as a portal through to the other side, so keeping them away from other people may be a good way of preventing people from accidentally "touching" you through the cards and passing along possibly toxic energy.

Once you get your cards own, spend some time just looking at them, playing with them and getting to know them. It is essential that you feel good about your cards because in the future, they will be your best allies when it comes to telling the future.

So now you know a little bit about types of tarot decks. Even if you don't know everything, you've done something worthwhile: you've expanded your knowledge.

Crash Course In Tarot Decks part 2

The following article lists some simple, informative tips that will help you have a better experience with Tarot basic spreads and layouts for divination.

It seems like new information is discovered about something every day. And the topic of tarot spread is no exception. Keep reading to get more fresh news about tarot spread .

Most Tarot decks consist of 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana, and 56 Minor Arcana cards. The Minor Arcana consist of four "suits?, just like a deck of regular playing cards.
The four suits are, Pentacles or Coins, which deal with work/money/success issues, the Wands, or Staffs, which deal with more spiritual issues, the Cups, which deal with emotional issues, and the Swords, which some see as representing negative experiences and loss. If you want more of an explanation of these cards, then check out a Crash Course in Tarot #1.
When starting out, I highly recommend making your life easy, and getting the person to ask you a question out loud. Both parties should focus on the question while you shuffle the cards. As you get more experienced or confident with the cards, you won't care if they ask a question, but repeating the questioner's question out loud yourself does seem to assist the divination process.
Shuffle the cards until the person you are reading for feels it is "right" to stop or until you feel it is right to "stop". After you are done cutting, you need to cut the deck. Most readers divide the deck into three piles. At this point you can either have the person you are reading for pick which pile to pick up as the top of the deck, or you can pick them up in an order that feels right to you. Another option is to fan the cards out face down, and have the person you are reading for pick out the cards they want you to read. Then lay them out in the order they are suppose to appear for the spread.

The One Card Spread
The One Card spread is the most concise of all spreads, intended to provide a quick take on a situation, or to reduce it to a single issue that you can meditate on. . Simply ask a question and then draw a card to divine the answer to your question. It is surprising to what extent these types of one-card readings can be exact, or even solve your problem for you.

The Three-Card Spread
This spread is good for yes or no questions. After you are done cutting the deck lay the cards out from left to right.
1 2 3
The first card to the left represents the past/issues affecting the problem.
The second card in the center represents the present/problem.
The third card to the right represents the future/outcome.
A variation of this is to read the three cards as the Mind, the Body and Spirit. This is more like a "personality read" and can give you a good indication of where "someone is at."

The Celtic Cross Spread
Lay out the cards on the table in the following order
10
4 9
5 1 /2 6 8
3 7
The first card is placed face up it represents the person asking the question and the foundation of the matter.
The second card is placed across sideways the first card and represents obstacles or issues dealt with the person in the present.
The third card, placed beneath the first two represents what is on the subconscious mind of the questioner and everything he or she has been through with regards to the matter.
The fourth card, placed above of the first two represents the potential and the best that can be accomplished given the choices the questioner has made so far in his life regarding that matter.
The fifth card, placed to the left of the center card represents what has transpired in the past.
The sixth card, placed to the right of the first two, represents what will take place in the immediate future.
The next four cards are laid out from bottom to top to the right of these cards.
The seventh card represents the fears of the person. Generally, this card will show you what is inside of them that is blocking him or her from reaching the desired outcome. It can also represent the atmosphere or influences that strongly affect the questioner.
The eighth card represents how others see the person or the situation.
The ninth card represents the hopes and fears that the questioner might have for the future.
The tenth card represents the predicted outcome of the situation or the actual answer to the question.
Some individuals like to keep pulling an addition six to ten cards after this cross is laid down to determine what will happen in the future.

The Relationship Spread
The Relationship spread provides insight into the interaction between two people or entities. It is the spread of choice for questions about partnerships, be they in romance or business.
1 2
3 7 4
5 6
The first card (top left) represents how you see yourself and your role in the situation.
The second card (top right) represents how you see your partner.
The third card (center left) represents how you feel about your partner.
The fourth card (center right) represents what or who stands between you and your partner or the obstacles in your way.
Position five represents how your partner sees you.
Position six (in the lower right) represents what your partner feels about you.
Position seven in the center represents the present status or challenge faced by the two of you in the relationship.
It is important to remember, that no matter what maps or directions you are given, Tarot reading is an intuitive art and after you do it enough you will begin to develop an intuitive sense of what the cards mean when they are placed in relationship to each other.

That's how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

What Numerology & Tarot Reveal About 2007: The Number Nine Hermit Year

This article explains a few things about Numerology and Tarot Reveal About 2007, and if you're interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don't know.

See how much you can learn about Numerology and Tarot Reveal About 2007 when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don't miss out on the rest of this great information.

In numerology, 2007 represents a NINE year. Nine years are ones that bring introspection and pause into our lives. It’s as if we are taking the wisdom of the two year and the seven year and magnifying it. This makes sense because nine is the end of the cycle. There are technically no numbers after the number nine. When the nine ends, you are back at one again.

In the tarot, this nine becomes the Hermit which is the old, wise man who often lives alone in the mountains or the woods. He’s the one we go to when we need to learn something, when we need advice and can only grow from the benefit of someone with greater experience.

When I was younger, I didn’t like nine years. They aren’t fun years like threes or fives. There is less of a focus on friends, family, and socializing. It’s a time of really going inside of yourself and looking at what is there—whether you want to or not. Most people would rather not look at the ways they’ve stopped growing, they just want to move through and move on.

However, the blessing of the nine year and The Hermit tarot card is that we have the opportunity to choose something new. If you’ve found yourself doing the same thing over and over again as if you are a hamster on a treadmill, now is the time when you can get off. The Hermit will show you how. You just have to be willing.

Globally, 2007 is the time for political and religious leaders to take a look at what they’ve created in the last nine years and decide if they want to repeat the experiment. What worked? What didn’t work? Are their parishioners and constituents happy? If not, why? Many leaders will come to the conclusion that old institutions and policies have to be broken down or re-worked in order to better serve the public.

There will be a general urge to clean up and face whatever monsters we’ve made (whether personal or societal). If your home, body, relationships, or your emotions have gotten dirty, mucky, and unlivable, this is the year to change that! It’s not going to get better if you don’t do something about it.

If you don’t know what to do, ask someone. Preferably someone older and more experienced than you. Emotionally, this could mean talking to a therapist, counselor, or minister. Physically, this could mean investigating health and exercise regimens or consulting with a doctor, nutritionist, personal trainer, or homeopath. For home projects, investigate contractors, interior designers, or cleaning services to get your house in working order. And, in business, get a lawyer, accountant, or manager who can help you to cut out expenses, policies, departments, or products that aren’t working. Whatever you are facing this year, if you don’t have enough information, do your research! Some solutions can come to you even without hiring a specialist through books, instructional programs, or websites. If there is no expert in your area, find one by proxy.

If things have been working for you thus far, focus on tying up loose ends. Finish what you’ve started. Get ready to clean the slate for new projects and endeavors. See if there is anything you’d like to improve for the next time. Try not to loose focus or faith if you’re in the midst of an on-going situation. Many things will end or change by the end of this year. Complete what is in front of you and take time out to decide what new things you want to work on next year.

For those who are in school or considering going back to school, now is the time to devote yourself to your studies. In the tarot, The Hermit is an expert at his craft. He has read all of the books, taken the courses, applied the skills into every day life. Follow his example. Just be wary of getting so caught up in finishing or taking tests that you for get to really appreciate what you are learning. Nine years in numerology are not times for rushing through. They are times when you want to test things out, research and experiment, and observe the results.

Some people make the assumption that nine years are about stopping, but if you look back in the first paragraph, I said that nine years involve a pause. Pausing is not stopping. If you’ve been sitting on your butt thinking about what you didn’t get, how you didn’t get it, and why your life is a mess, you need to be focused on re-working your situation rather than dwelling on the past.

One of the problems with nine (Hermit) years is the tendency to dwell on the past. You only need to focus on the past in so far as you need to decide how to re-organize, improve, re-work, or change a situation. Once you’ve figured that out—move! Don’t dwell, don’t dawdle, and don’t get caught up in guilt, despair, or resentment.

The serenity prayer comes in handy during a nine year. Accept what you cannot change or fix. Focus on what you can do, on what is reasonable and doable for you. Forget anything else. If the past sucked—and it probably did in some ways—just accept that the past sucked and that no amount of worry or brooding is going to change that. What can change is your attitude. You can motivate yourself to do something new, to forgive, or to change your perspective. Any of those can help move you into a better situation.

To sum up, nine years in numerology and Hermit years in the tarot are about change, re-evaluation, research, re-organization, cleaning up, completing old projects, ending what is not working, and preparing for the new.

This 2007 is a time to make important shifts in your life and in your thinking. Put your energy toward improvements and be willing to accept that there is only so much you can do at any given time. Also, make sure to get some rest and time for yourself. Remember, The Hermit lives alone for a reason and he always knows when to close his door. This is a time where much of what you are accomplishing happens inside of yourself rather than out in the world. 2008 will be a time when you will see how the changes you’ve made this year affect your outer world.

Venus A. Rachal is a freelance writer, astrologer, and tarot reader. She specializes in past life readings and relationship readings. Visit http://www.venusopenshearts.com for more information or go to her spiritual blog at http://www.venusloves.blogspot.com. She has written spiritual articles for Ofspirit.com, Associated Content, and First30Days.com.

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It never hurts to be well-informed with the latest on Numerology and Tarot Reveal About 2007. Compare what you've learned here to future articles so that you can stay alert to changes in the area of Numerology and Tarot Reveal About 2007.

A Crash Course In Tarot For Newbies #1 - All About the Cards

In today's world, it seems that almost any topic is open for debate. While I was gathering facts for this article, I was quite surprised to find some of the issues I thought were settled are actually still being openly discussed.


The information about Tarot reading course presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about Tarot reading course or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

The Tarot is not just a divinatory tool, but it can also be utilized in the appropriately trained hands as a tool for providing counsel and advice with which we can navigate life. It is an antique form of divination that predates popular psychology, but has been shown to have archetypal energies that work well from a Jungian perspective. Tarot becomes a book of wisdom offering you a living parable or myth that reflects your life journey in the hands of the right Diviner. It describes a journey that mirrors your path in life. Usually the story is a direct description of what is going to happen in a particular window of time although talented readers can tell you much more than that from looking at the symbols in the cards! One of the main purposes of the use of the cards is to construct a future narrative so that you can make decisions to change your fate.

The reader shuffles cards and lays them out in a specific pattern usually called a "spread." This can be compared to a snapshot or map of your life. Each card position in the layout of the spread represents a characteristic of the situation in question --what forces are beyond your control, what your particular strengths are in the current or future situation, and what the likely outcome is if you continue as you have been doing. As the cards fall into their positions, meaning is created by the unique placement of the symbolic meanings of each card. Together they weave a synchronistic tapestry that may seem random at first, but in reality is a very careful map which you may follow or not as you wish to bring about or avert the outcome of your reading. Synchronicity is a principle that is not only referred to constantly in psychology, but also in quantum physics. The entire system of Tarot cards can be described as a pictorial or numerological expression of the human condition.

The Tarot cards can be compared to a wise friend who we can turn to when we wish to make a wise decision regarding a relationship or a career. The wisdom found inside the Tarot, is actually the same wisdom that is found inside each and every one of us. The whole purpose of a reading is to tell you what you don't know so that you can use your free will to take appropriate actions that are good for your soul. Now, this does not necessarily mean telling you what you want to hear – but instead what you NEED to hear.

It's hard to believe, but Tarot cards were not originally designed to tell the future! They were first used in the 16th century Paris to play a card game similar to Bridge. As there were no soap operas in those days, the cards were also put to another entertaining use. The face cards, such as the Queen of Cups, King of Swords and so forth were modeled on the personas of popular celebrities of the day. These cards were shuffled and then arranged into scandalous story lines. This parlor game was a source of great amusement for both royalty and peasants alike.

In addition, 16th century poets used the cards to compose poems called tarocchi apporporati. The poems would be constructed about the characters in the trump cards in the deck, such as the Queens, Kings, Knights and Pages to tell a tragic or romantic story.

Tarot cards were not associated with divination until the 1800s, when a secret order of magicians in Venice, Italy found significance in their numbers and symbols. Before that these decorative cards were not used for fortune telling. As these magicians were the Illuminati of their day, their reading methods were kept very secret. The first known records of the divinatory meanings assigned to Tarot cards did not appear until the 1700s in Bologna.

Ordinary playing cards have been connected with divination as early as 1487. The gypsies were adept at reading plain playing cards for centuries before the Venetian magicians got their hands on a French Tarot Deck. It is safe to assume that the Tarot card meanings and spreads that are used today are based on a hybrid of techniques derived from the Tzigani system of reading playing cards, French parlor games and Venetian interpretations of occult symbols!

To understand the Tarot you need to familiarize yourself with the meanings of the four suits and the meanings of their symbols. The cups, coins, disks and wands of the Tarot deck derive their meaning from cartomancy. Cartomancy is the art of reading playing cards.

There are 78 cards in a traditional Tarot Deck. These 78 cards are divided into the Major and Minor Arcanas. The Minor Arcana relates to the ordinary playing deck. Most of the cards in the Minor Arcana represent events or qualities.

The additional 22 Major Arcana cards included in the traditional Tarot deck represent the stages of a person's individual passage through life, from non-existence, birth, love, marriage, death spiritual ascension and back to non-existence again. The Fool Card, numbered 0, is indicative of this eternal cycle.

The 22 Major Arcana cards are an addition to what otherwise could be described as an ordinary playing deck that consists of four suits.

The meanings of the 22 Major Arcana cards are based on an old French parlor game that was used to predict the lives of the celebrities of the day. Since then, they have mutated to symbolize major life events and personal attributes.

When you are first learning to read the Tarot cards, sometimes it is valuable to have a list of the card's abbreviated meanings to refer to while you are throwing the cards. Though not all diviner's use the same correspondent meanings.

Here is a list of the classic meanings of each of the 22 cards of the Major Arcana.

0 The Fool - choices offered, folly, going in circles

1 The Magician - creative energy, psychic power

2 The High Priestess - mystery, hidden influences, female supremacy

3 The Empress - abundance, fertility, motherhood

4 The Emperor - leadership, control, fatherhood

5 The Hierophant - convention, society, restrictions

6 The Lovers - love, relationships, intimacy

7 The Chariot - mind over matter, conflicts, war

8 Strength - courage, power, stamina

9 The Hermit - wisdom, spirituality, connection with Higher Self

10 Wheel of Fortune - unpredictability, changes of luck for good or bad,

11 Justice - legal issues, balance, karmic return

12 Hanged Man - withdrawal, study, rest, waiting

13 Death - change, physical death, an ending

14 Temperance - moderation, adaptation, patience

15 The Devil - temptation, the material world, evil

16 The Tower - conflict, problems, devastation

17 The Star - hope, inspiration, happiness

18 The Moon - unseen troubles, black magic, female sexuality

19 The Sun - marriage, success, male sexuality

20 Judgment - awakening, renewal, the result of good or bad actions

21 The World - success, opportunity, a clean slate

If you subtract the extra 22 cards that comprise the Major Arcana from a Tarot deck, the Minor Arcana is what is left over. The Minor Arcana of every Tarot deck contains 56 cards divided into four suits with each suit maintaining its own sphere of influence. The four suits are the Cups, Pentacles (also referred to Disks or Coins in some decks), Wands (sometimes referred to as Batons) and the Swords. In a deck of conventional playing cards the Cups related to the suit of Hearts, the Diamonds to Pentacles, the Wands to Clubs and the Swords to Spades.

Each of these four suits reigns over their own special spheres of influence.

The Cups suit deals with emotional matters, love, sex marriage, fertility and creativity. The Pentacles suit pertains to matters such as wealth finance commerce prosperity, career and economic security. The Swords suit refers to legal matters, the wheels of progress, heartbreak, betrayal, opposition, breakthroughs and the need to impose order on chaos. Wands represent the mind, inspiration, guidance, the world of ideas, deep thought, intellect, purpose and potential. Here is a handy list of the condensed and abbreviated meanings of the 56 cards in the Minor Arcana.

Wands

Ace beginning of fortune, passion, inspiration

2 business success, partnership

3 help offered, charity

4 rest after labor, a compromise

5 struggle, competition

6 startling news, invention, applied science

7 courage in the face of difficulty, futility

8 swift action, a message, good news

9 overcoming obstacles, povert

10 unwise use of power, too much force

Page a messenger

Knight starting or finishing of an issue, a proposal

Queen mother, artist, creative woman

King man of authority, an entrepreneur

Cups

Ace new love, union of souls, birth

2 new friends, new love, soul mate

3 abundance, health, prosperity

4 discontent, dissatisfaction

5 regret, disappointment

6 happiness from the past

7 unrealistic dreams, delusions

8 things thrown aside, waste, addiction

9 material abundance, financial progress

10 family life, excess, indulgence

Page the arrival of good news

Knight proposals, invitations

Queen romantic woman, vain woman

King romantic man, sensitive man

Swords

Ace victory, swift justice

2 indecision, uneasy compromise

3 separation, love triangle

4 changes, improvement

5 success without happiness

6 difficulties resolve themselves, medical attentiont

7 a failed plan, unmet goals, disappointment

8 restriction, rigid thinking, evil

9 sorrow, agony of mind

10 ruin, despair, betrayal

Page upsetting message, a meddler

Knight end of a problem, a swift resolution

Queen strong willed woman

King man of military authority

Coins

Ace beginning of wealth, a great idea

2 two situations at once, commerce

3 skills in the arts, steady work

4 material possessions, gifts

5 loneliness, abandonment

6 charity, desperation

7 a pause amid growth

8 employment

9 enjoyment of wealth

10 family money, promotion

Page good financial news

Knight patience with business and financial matters

Queen a rich woman, an independent woman, a matriarch

King man of business, a wealthy man

The face cards of the Minor Arcana used to represent the Who's Who of Tarot. Originally these personalities were based on the antics of celebrities in 16th century France. The face cards are the 'people" cards in the deck that often symbolize the arrival or influence of a male or female in your life. They are represented by the four face cards in each suit - Cups, Wands, Coins and Swords. These are the persons represented by the Kings, Queens, Knights (sometimes Princes) and Page (or Princesses) in the Minor Arcana of the deck. The four offices of King, Queen, Knight and Page vary in name somewhat from deck to deck – but all are correct for the deck and correspondences you are working with in that deck.

For those of you who have always wondered just exactly “whom” these people are coming up in your reading, here is a short guide as to what they are supposed to look like and be like:

Queen of Cups A fair-haired young woman. Often good looking, vain, thoughtless. Princess of Cups Beautiful, naive sexy usually fair-haired woman. Immature.

Queen of Disks A slightly older woman. Well to do. Practical. Nobody's fool. Princess of Disks A nurturing, often codependent woman. Wounded Healer.

Queen of Wands Darker haired, artistic, entrepreneur, independent, feminist, intelligent. Princess of Wands Brown or blonde do-gooder. Practical. Takes matters into own hands.

Queen of Swords Dark haired, widow, sad woman. Abandoned woman. Wily Princess of Swords Dark haired, scheming woman. Depressed. Promiscuous. Needy

King of Cups Fair-haired alpha male. Warm, generous, loving, Controlling. Knight of Cups Knight in shining armor card. A suitor. Warm generous loving.

King of Disks Paternal Fatherly type. Medium to Dark Haired. Businessman Knight of Disks An active, athletic stubborn type. Controlling. Can be Violent.

King of Wands Dangerous, womanizing man. Egotistical. Dramatic. Sexy Knight of Wands Medium to dark haired younger man. A Player. Vain. Selfish

King of Swords Cruel, powerful, bitter man. Sometimes emotionless. Swift. Knight of Swords Sullen, dark haired, sexy but depressed younger man. Poetic

A Crash Course In Tarot For Newbies #2 will be about basic spreads and layouts for divination.

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Samantha Steven's articles have been published in many high-standing newspapers and she has published several books. If you wish to buy Samantha's books about metaphysics click here http://www.insomniacpress.com/author.php?id=110 You can meet Samantha Stevens at http://www.psychicrealm.com where she works as a professional psychic. You can also read more of her articles at http://www.newagenotebook.com
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Now you can understand why there's a growing interest in Tarot reading course. When people start looking for more information about Tarot reading course, you'll be in a position to meet their needs.

Tarot, An Overview

If you are new to Tarot the usual deck recommended by master Tarot practitioner deck is the Raider-Waite. This is a popular deck in which no Tarot reader would not heard about.With the unprecedented interest in Tarot there are more than 300 decks available in the market. The choice of the deck depend on the individual inclination. Some are attracted to the beautiful artwork designs and some selection may goes by intuition to suit ones needs.Their motifs ranges from the Gothic Goddess to Angels and modern day best seller novels like the Lord of The Ring.

Origin Of Tarot

Tarot is seen primarily by many as a means of divination or fortune telling. The Tarot deck was created and originated from northern Italy during the 15th century for playing card games. The idea of a trump suit which survives in such popular card games as Spades and Hearts originated with the game of Tarot. Tarot is a family of trick taking card games played with an enlarged deck of 78 cards which include an extra court card for each of the four regular suits, a permanent trump suit of 21 cards, and a kind of wild card called the Fool. This was how it was originated.

Eventhough Egyptian was once thought as source of Tarot, once a common belief, has long been dismissed by later scholars. There is also no record of Tarot cards being used for the occult or divination prior to the 18th century. The Tarot card readings popular at Renaissance Fairs are a creative license taken with historical fact and should not be viewed as authentic. Contrary to popular belief, conventional playing cards were not derived from Tarot decks and the Fool is unrelated to the Joker of conventional playing cards. The Joker was created in the USA during the 19th century originally for the card game Euchre.


Traditioanlly there are two main types of Tarot deck.

Italian suited Tarot

The traditional Italian suited deck of coins, cups, swords, and batons is currently favored by those using Tarot for divination, although in some countries such as Italy and Switzerland such decks are still used for game playing. Those practicing Tarot divination often call the coins “pentacles” and the batons “wands.” With few exceptions, the trump scenes of Italian suited Tarots differ little from deck to deck and are often seen by Tarot readers as containing symbolic meaning. The depictions of a Popess (II) and Pope (V) on Italian suited Tarots have been controversial in some areas. In Switzerland, these images were replaced by depictions of Juno (II) and Jupiter (V). In Bologna Italy, the papal figures along with the Empress (III) and the Emperor (IV) were replaced by four Moorish figures which are unnumbered and act as trumps of equal rank in the Bolognese variety of Tarocchi. The Italian or Spanish suit system is not confined to Tarot cards. This suit system is a common regional pattern of conventional playing cards in Southern Europe and in Latin America.

French suited Tarot

More modern deck using the French or international suits of diamonds, hearts, spades, and clubs is now used in such countries as France and Austria for game playing. In France and in southern Germany , the Roman numerals have been abandoned in favor of Arabic numbers, while in some countries such as Austria, the Roman numerals are still used. The trump images of French suited Tarots often depict arbitrary scenes of people at work and at play, animals both actual and mythological, and landscapes of regional locales. In countries like Austria and southern Germany, the deck is shortened to 54 cards by the removal of the lowest ranking pip cards. Different from the Italian suited decks, there is a great variety of imagery on the trump cards of French suited Tarots. On French suited Tarot decks, the Fool is often depicted as a musician, a harlequin, or some other kind of entertainer. French suited Tarots are seldom used for divination.

The above is a brief introduction to tarot and the cult of tarot card readings. It is easy and interesting to know but be a veterant cards reader would take a life time of persistent study and practice.