The Beyond: Tarot Cards

   I'm sure you've seen countless advertisements for 900 numbers or psychic readings involving Tarot Cards. Those commercials are always silly. You got the lady sitting in front of a small round table with an equally small red tablecloth with fringes on it. She's got her Tarot cards laid out on the tablecloth, or if the advertisement is really cheesy, she's looking at a big-assed crystal ball. Don't let these stupid ads help you form your opinions of this stuff.

What are Tarot Cards?
   I'm not going to give you a big history lesson, because it's boring, and probably not what you're here for. Instead, here's a quick rundown.

   Tarot Cards were a form of playing card that was 'invented' in the early 1400's in Europe. This was nothing more than a game. It wasn't until the late 1700's that somebody decided to start using them for actual divination.

   There was a book written about the history of Tarot. In the book, it was written that the cards originated in Ancient Egypt centuries before they appeared in Europe in the 1400's. It was most likely a load of crap. In truth there has been no evidence of cards used before the hand painted ones of the 1400's.

   The whole book was nothing more than speculation, and it featured a detailed set of rules, and guidelines for using these cards as a divination tool. The first people who started using the cards for divination were called "Gypsies" because of their alleged Egyptian origins.

   Before the French Revolution a self proclaimed 'seer' who called himself 'Etteilla' (his real name spelled backwards) took it upon himself to learn the divination system written in the book, and use the cards to tell others their fortunes. He added astrological, and Egyptian symbolism to the cards to farther enhance the metaphysical 'feel' about them. Slowly over time, the game that was once played with Tarot cards was forgotten. The ONLY thing that remained about the Tarot in the minds of people was its manufactured occult association.

Personal Note: I'm not one of those closed minded jerks about this. If you've read over this site, you KNOW I'm typically a believer in unexplainable stuff like this. I've read cards for YEARS. Many people have praised me for my accuracy when giving them readings. Regardless, the history you just read is true. I DID do my research. But... Just because they were originally a game, and had no real spiritual connection in the beginning... That doesn't mean they don't work. Does it?

   Similar to regular playing cards, The Tarot typically has four suits. Unlike playing cards, they have quite a bit more cards than the standard 52. There are actually 78 cards, total in your standard Tarot deck. The standard deck is separated into 2 parts, the 'Minor Arcana', and the 'Major Arcana'.

The Minor Arcana
   There are a TON of different types, brands, and styles of Tarot Decks with their own features, and 'suits'. The most common 'suits' in a deck of Tarot Cards are Cups, Wands, Pentacles, and Swords. The four suits are just a part of what is called the 'Minor Arcana' of the Tarot deck.

   The Minor Arcana is considered to be the 'lesser' cards in the deck, and they closely resemble a standard deck of playing cards. Their meanings usually revolve around tangible things in life. Things of this world. Each suit contains the standard 10 regular numbered cards, and 4 face cards, which are called the 'Court'. You may notice that in a regular deck of playing cards, there are only 3 face cards per suit, while Tarot has 4 which gives the Minor Arcana 56 cards in total, 4 more than a standard playing card deck.

   Each card has its own meanings to a reading. This will be discussed in farther detail later.

The Major Arcana
    The 'Major Arcana' consists of 22 cards starting with the number Zero, and counting up to 21. When one, or more Major Arcana cards appear in a reading, they are typically regarded as the most important aspects of the reading. While the Minor Arcana have more physical meanings, the Major Arcana get to the heart of the matter. They're MUCH deeper, for lack of a better word. The meaning of the Minor Arcana cards around them in the layout are often greatly effected by the Major Arcana cards. Not everyone reads the cards the same way, so me saying that these are the MOST important cards in the reading is nothing more than opinion. But... It's an opinion shared my many card readers.

Tarot Cards & Their Meanings: (Coming Soon)
Using the common Rider Waite Tarot deck, we break down the cards and each of their meanings for all of you.

Layouts & Readings: (Coming Soon)
There are a lot of different ways to do a Tarot layout. On this page we explain how to read the cards using some of the more popular Tarot layouts.

Using A regular Deck Of Cards As A Tarot Deck: (Coming Soon)
You don't even really need a Tarot deck to read the cards! You can just use a plain old deck of playing cards if ya want to! On this page, we explain how.

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Make sure you take some time to view the rest of our Tarot pages if you wish to learn more. The links are right above in the menu to the right.