Learning to Read the Tarot

Learning to Read the Tarot The Complete Tarot Kit
and Choosing Your Cards

by Bill Anderton

The Tarot Story

The invention of the Tarot cards has been attributed to various sources. Some have seen in the word "tarot" a corruption of the name Thoth, the ancient Egyptian god of magic, reinforcing the legend that the cards were created in the initiation temples of the mysterious East. Their invention has also been attributed to the Order of the Knights Templar, an ascetic military Order founded in 1188 to protect pilgrims and guard the routes to the Holy Land

Whatever the rumours about their appearance, the Tarot is closely linked with our modern deck of playing cards. It is generally accepted by scholars that the earliest playing cards originated in China and Korea, dating back at least to the 11th century.

If Tarot cards, as seems most likely, were devised originally somewhere in Northern Italy, it can be surmised that their makers were perhaps inspired by oriental cards brought from the east by merchants returning to the great trading port of Venice. The original 78-card Tarot pack is generally referred to in Italy as the Venetian or Peidmontese Pack, to differentiate it from later offshoots.

How the Tarot is Structured

There are 78 cards in the deck, which is divided into two parts: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The word "arcana" means mysteries or secrets. The Minor Arcana consists of 56 cards divided into four suits, each suit having ten Pip cards and four Court cards.

Apart from the extra Court card in each suit (the Knight), the Minor Arcana resembles a pack of modern playing cares, but the suits have different names: Wands, Rods or Batons (corresponding to Clubs); Cups (corresponding to Hearts); Swords (corresponding to Spades); and Coins, Pentacles or Discs (corresponding to Diamonds). Court cards are usually called King, Queen, Knight and Page.

The 22 cards of the Major Arcana form a sequence of 21 numbered cards, plus one The Mythic Tarot unnumbered card called the Fool, which is sometimes numbered zero. Each of the Major Arcana cards depicts a strange scene which appears to tell a story or convey a message. Each card is appropriately titled - the Sun, the Lovers, the Tower, the Hanged Man, Justice, the Emperor, the Star, the Chariot, to name but a few.

There is a specific order to the Major Arcana cards, but you may notice that some decks deviate from this. The cards of Justice and Strength are most commonly transposed, this occurring, for example, in the popular Rider-Waite Tarot deck.

Tarot Techniques

The basic idea in using the Tarot is that the cards are shuffled and a "spread" created. This means taking cards in sequence from the top of the shuffled pile and placing them in a particular pattern with the cards face up. The position of a card in the spread will signify a particular subject, such as the past or future of ;the person consulting the cards, the questioner or "querent", and a specific card thus positioned will be interpreted according to its particular meaning.

You will see from this that, having posed a question to the Tarot, which the querent requires to be answered, the cards chosen and placed in the spread appear simply by chance, as the pack is first shuffled. It is "fate" or "chance" which determines which card appears in which position.

Each card has a particular interpretation but it is not quite a straightforward as this, as the relationships that appear between different cards in a spread should be taken into account too.

Choosing Your Tarot Cards

Essentially, all the different Tarot decks are structured in the same way so the main cards.jpg (11505 bytes) thing is to choose a deck whose images you like and feel comfortable with. Some decks require a sort of specialist interest, so it is a good idea to steer clear of these, at least at first. As long as you are happy with the type of images that your Tarot deck portrays, then this is the main thing.

There is a superstition that you should not buy your own Tarot cards, but this is, I believe, just a superstition and you will find no problem if you ignore it! It is common to keep your deck in a special pouch or cloth, usually silk or velvet. This is a good idea, because, apart from keeping your deck clean, it creates an aura of the cards being something special, which indeed they are.

The best way to learn the Tarot is to use it. There is a certain amount of information you will need to learn - the basic meanings of the cards, for example, and you will discover that almost all decks have a small accompanying booklet in the box, enough to get you started. However, if you can afford it, it is a good idea to by a Tarot Set - a box that contains both the cards and a proper book, linked with the particular deck you choose and which gives full information about doing a tarot reading.

When you have learned the basics, don't be shy of using your intuition when interpreting the cards as this is what will really bring a reading to life.