A guide to tarot card readings

Tarot cards are used as a form of divination - to look at the past, the present and to see what might happen in the future. The origin of Tarot cards has many stories attached to it and people have considered them both good and bad. Let's have a closer look at Tarot cards.

The Major Arcana

You can find Tarot card readers on the High Street or online. You can buy the cards yourself from bookshops and health food stores as well as on many websites. You can also purchase books and guides that will help you with the reading of Tarot cards. History There are different versions of how Tarot started but some believe it was just a card game played in Italy. Around the eighteenth century though, the cards began to be used for divination (or future-telling). Tarot readers today say that the cards are there to help you to see what could be in your future and to help you find your path. A pack of Tarot cards contains 78 cards, 22 of which are the Major Arcana and the rest are Minor Arcana. Major Arcana cards bear a higher significance than Minor Arcana ones and are seen to have more impact on a querent’s life. Although the actual name of the cards can differ with the Major Arcana, they are basically the Fool, the Magician, the High Priestess, the Empress, the Emperor, the Hierophant, the Lovers, the Chariot, Strength, the Hermit, the Wheel, Justice, the Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, the Devil, the Tower, the Star, the Moon, the Sun, Judgement and the World. The appearance of one of these cards in a reading will impact on the reading of the Minor Arcana.

The Minor Arcana

The minor cards have a similarity to playing cards and the suits of diamonds, hearts, spades and clubs. In a Tarot deck, the suits are wands, cups, swords and pentacles. Each suit has 10 numbered cards and 4 court cards. The cards are laid out in different spreads for a reading. A popular one is the Celtic Cross spread. Styles and designs Cards come in all different styles and designs and if you have a reading, you might see anything from dolphins to dragons being used. Criticism One of the criticisms of a Tarot meaning is that it has a Death card and this has caused people to be scared of Tarot readings. However, Death does not mean your death or someone close to you; it means change and perhaps the death of old ways as you welcome the new.