Tarot Reading

About

The fascination of Tarot continues to grip the imagination as they have done for hundreds of years. Their pictures continue to exert a mysterious insight even for individuals that consider themselves sceptical. Their symbolism reflecting the many facets and stages of our lives, and are considered as tools of psychics and esoteric initiates to bring hope, meaning and direction to the receiver - the cards invoking some kind of story or secret that defies logic but to which we can strongly associate with.

The Tarot has been claimed to enshrine the secrets of the universe and to hold the key to the true nature of we human beings.

The pack are divided into two main sections, the two Arcana or Secrets.

The Major Arcana of 22 cards have been associated by some with the twenty two letters of the Hebrew alphabet and developed into a system of interpretation representing the major life events or happenings – the raw nature of us and our psyche - that the spread (card layout) represents.

The Minor Arcana of 56 cards make up the four suits depicting the experiences of the four main dimensions of life – the Wands (Fire and Transformation to base components, and therefore Creative Imagination, Magical Power), Pentacles (Earth and our experience of earthly reality, and therefore Material Worth, Wealth and the adjustment of these through life), Cups (Water and Fluidity, and therefore our Feelings, Emotions, Love) and Swords (Air  and the Mind, and therefore forming of Ideas and keenness of Rational Thought that may lead to Clarity or Conflict). They therefore represent the finer facets and phases surrounding life’s experiences that are portrayed by the Major Arcana that we must all encounter through the course of our lives.

The Origins

The origins of Tarot cards and tarot reading remain vague despite the considerable research and number of books written on the subject in an attempt to remove the misty shroud around tarot.

The oldest reference to a form of Tarot in Europe was a set bought for King Charles VI of France in 1392, but the actual origins quoted are wide and varied , such as the religious rituals and symbols of Egypt or linked to the Kabbalistic tradition. The Greeks also adapted a memory system of pictorial meditation to approach the realm of the divine as well as the symbolism encompassed in Christianity. Such mystical symbolism included the ten Sefirot of the Kabbalah, the twenty two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and being considered as attributes of deity.