The History of Tarot Cards

No one knows with 100% accuracy where tarot cards originated. They appeared in roughly the same time frame in Italy with the gypsies, with merchants coming out of China and in Egyptian texts and since this was all roughly the same time frame that recorded history was becoming common place, we simply can not know with any firm proof where they came from.

Most of those that study tarot cards agree however, that at least some point in time, it was necessary for tarot cards to be hidden from view on fear of punishment by the Church and during this time, it was common place to use part of the deck as playing cards, keeping the major arcana hid to be brought out only when it was safe to do so.

Most also agree this is where the two major divisions of a tarot card deck comes from. The minor arcana could be used as playing cards, hiding the major arcana on your person to be used later. It is the number of cards where much of the division comes from.

Most of today’s decks contain 56 minor arcana cards and 22 major arcana, and come is a wide range of image types giving the reader a choice of decks to work with. In times past, the number of cards varied greatly with some decks having more and others less than what we call today’s standard deck.

The Images on Tarot Cards

It is important to note, especially for the person going for their first tarot card reading that the images on each deck differ greatly and that rarely are the images to be taken in the literal sense.

For instance, most people receiving their first tarot card reading will cringe when they see the death card. Yet rarely does the death card signify your death or the death of a loved one. More often than not it signifies more of a change than a literal death. Such as the death of a bad habit which is obviously a very positive concept. It is only by the reader seeing the entire picture the reading has to give can the true meaning of the cards be known.

During the Reading

Every card reader has their own system of preparing for the reading and for the reading itself. Some readers prefer the querent (you) never touch their cards, while other readers will all but insist you personally shuffle them. Whether the reader prefers to shuffle the cards or has you to do it, once the cards have been shuffled, the reading can begin in earnest.

There are many different spreads your reader may use. It is possible to get a basic answer to a question by reading only one card. Other spreads use only 2 or 3 cards and others still may use many cards. The greater the number of cards used in the spread the more time consuming the reading will be in most cases and many readers will charge more for say a Celtic Cross reading than a simple 3 card reading.

Again there is no right or wrong number of cards or specific spread design to use. If this is your first tarot card reading, I suggest you allow the reader to determine what can best answer your questions. You can always ask to look deeper at a situation at a later date if need be.

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