| One of the more common means of telling fortunes | | | | numeric value of the card and which suit it is. Meanings |
| and offering insights into the days gone by and future | | | | of each card may be found online, in books, or simply |
| is the tarot. Tarot cards original originated in Italy in the | | | | by interpreting the images on the card. |
| first half of the fifteenth century as a card game, used | | | | When card readings are conducted face-to-face, the |
| purely for recreation. This early game was something | | | | card reader will at intervals ask the querent to shuffle |
| like the modish game of Bridge. The use of tarot cards | | | | the cards as they concentrate on the question. The |
| for divination is pioneer recorded in the early 1700s and | | | | querent will sometimes be asked to split the deck into |
| by the end of the 18th century; changes were made | | | | three piles, and then to put the deck back together |
| to tarot cards to make them more salutary for | | | | again. The card reader then lays out the cards in a |
| divination and esoteric meanings. Originally, tarot cards | | | | specific pattern, and each card has a diverse meaning, |
| had no connection to the occult, and this link is a more | | | | depending upon the layout used. For example, the card |
| modern one than the cards themselves. The specifics | | | | reader may layout three cards, one to signify the |
| of the avant-garde cards, dreamt up for esoteric | | | | yesteryear, one for the present and one for the future: |
| purposes, have their basis in the 19th century. | | | | every one of three cards together give a stocked |
| A deck of tarot cards, as they are used present, | | | | interpretation of a given situation. |
| contains 78 cards, every one of of which contain | | | | Card readings over the telephone are conducted |
| divergent, meaningful symbols which may be | | | | much the same custom that card readings face to |
| interpreted in a number of ways. The deck contains a | | | | face are conducted. A querent (caller) will call into a |
| total of four suits, and the names of the suits may alter | | | | reader, and the reader will ask the caller to |
| depending upon the tarot deck one is using. Time after | | | | concentrate on a question that he or she wants |
| time times, the suits are referred to as wands, cups, | | | | answered or clarified. The card reader then shuffles |
| swords, and coins, which make up what is known as | | | | the cards and lays them out in a particular pattern. |
| the Minor Arcana. Meanwhile, the Major Arcana is | | | | Common patterns include a single card reading, a three |
| made up of of twenty two cards, all of which are | | | | card reading, and a Celtic Cross reading, which is a |
| used to signify major events or humans in a reading. | | | | reading of 10 different cards. The card reader will |
| Meaning is assigned to each card in a tarot deck; | | | | examine the symbolism in each card, in addition to the |
| however, the specifics of interpretation are impacted | | | | card position to conclude what the cards convey. |
| by the layout of the cards, whether they are upright or | | | | Tarot cards demonstrate a long past events, both as |
| reversed, and the interpreter's own reading. Numerous | | | | a simple card game and as a tool for divination. The |
| of the cards in the major arcana, the trump cards, are | | | | novel usage of these cards is purely esoteric. If you |
| fairly logical. The Lovers represent hold dear, in some | | | | are interested, you should keep in mind that tarot cards |
| bulk, while Strength is symbolic of courage and drive. | | | | are only as helpful as the reader is perceptive, and |
| Each of the cards in the minor arcana also carries | | | | that while you might leave with some clarifications of |
| meaning when used for divination, based on both the | | | | your own thoughts, more than that is unlikely. |