Tarot Cards:
What are Tarot Cards?
There are many types of fortune-telling cards on the market these days, but not all of them are Tarot cards.
The Tarot is a specialized set of cards that has a very long history. Some have even claimed that they derive from the ancient Egyptian civilization; however I think that they’re from a European origin, and they date from various mystical traditions sometime around the period the Crusades.
A Tarot deck is similar to an ordinary pack of playing cards. Both have four suits numbered from ace to ten. In a Tarot deck these are known as the Minor Arcana, and instead of Clubs, Hearts, Spades and Diamonds, the Tarot suits are Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles.
Unlike an ordinary pack of cards, each suit has four court cards rather than three: King, Queen, Knight and Page, making fifty-six cards in the Minor Arcana.
In addition to the Minor Cards, the Tarot deck has twenty-two ‘extra’, cards known as the Major Arcana. These don’t belong to any suit, but they do have their own numbers (with the exception of the Fool), a symbolic image and a title.
If, when doing a reading, more Minor cards occur than Major, then your destiny is mostly in your own hands. If however, it is the other way around, fate governs your future.
Here, I will explain the individual meanings of some cards, Each interpretation is divided into upright and reversed meanings showing the positive and the negative effects of the cards.
There are many types of fortune-telling cards on the market these days, but not all of them are Tarot cards.
The Tarot is a specialized set of cards that has a very long history. Some have even claimed that they derive from the ancient Egyptian civilization; however I think that they’re from a European origin, and they date from various mystical traditions sometime around the period the Crusades.
A Tarot deck is similar to an ordinary pack of playing cards. Both have four suits numbered from ace to ten. In a Tarot deck these are known as the Minor Arcana, and instead of Clubs, Hearts, Spades and Diamonds, the Tarot suits are Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles.
Unlike an ordinary pack of cards, each suit has four court cards rather than three: King, Queen, Knight and Page, making fifty-six cards in the Minor Arcana.
In addition to the Minor Cards, the Tarot deck has twenty-two ‘extra’, cards known as the Major Arcana. These don’t belong to any suit, but they do have their own numbers (with the exception of the Fool), a symbolic image and a title.
If, when doing a reading, more Minor cards occur than Major, then your destiny is mostly in your own hands. If however, it is the other way around, fate governs your future.
Here, I will explain the individual meanings of some cards, Each interpretation is divided into upright and reversed meanings showing the positive and the negative effects of the cards.
The Major Arcana:
The major arcana is set out with twenty-two cards in the Tarot deck. These consist of:
The Minor Arcana:
The minor arcana is set out with four suits with 14 cards each. These are as shown below: