The origin of the tarot card deck is still unknown and debated to this day. Some have presumed it originated in Egypt; believing tarot cards certainly are a derivative of the Book of Enoch or Thoth (Tarot). Still others believe Gypsies were responsible for the widespread use of the tarot, and in all likelihood, the key reason why tarot readers tend to be portrayed as Gypsies on television or in movies to this day.
What we do know is tarot decks first appeared in early fifteenth century Europe, and something that still exists, comes from Italy. Through the Italian Renaissance period, the tarot deck was used for the card game Tarocchi (similar to the game of Bridge), and its own use for divination or fortune telling purposes didn't occur until three centuries later.
This can be a history of tarot cards in synopsis form, but the truth lies in the mystery of the tarot.
In the late 1700's, Antoine Court de Gebelin believed the tarot deck contained secret meanings veiled within its symbolism and drew a parallel between the Hebrew alphabet, which contains twenty-two letters, to the twenty-two cards comprising the Major Arcanum. During this same era, a guy named Etteilla (his actual name Alliette spelled backward) begun to divine information from the cards, which eventually resulted in his publishing a book on these interpretations.
In the nineteenth century, Alphonse Louis Constant (aka Eliphas Levi), was convinced the true origin of the tarot was far earlier than the fifteenth century. Levi took what de G�belin had surmised; adding his belief that the ancient teachings within the Hebrew mysticism or esoteric teachings of the Kaballah / Qaballah / Kabala; specifically the ten globes of the Sephiroth and twenty-two Hebrew letters, when combined, form the thirty-two Paths of Wisdom because the Tree of Life. In turn, this correlated to the symbolism contained within the twenty-two major Arcana and the ten minor Arcana.
So what can tarot cards do?
Hidden in the symbolism of the seventy-eight cards that comprise a tarot card deck are secrets of the Universe, the evolution of humankind, the mythological and psychological archetypes of each human being, spiritual enlightenment, and so a lot more. More? Isn't that enough?
Perhaps no one within their right mind wants to know this much information; in the end, our lives are complicated enough. However, being an added bonus, tarot cards tell us our future, and who doesn't want to know that? Thus, the irony is two-fold. Associated with our wanting to know the near future, the tarot deliciously entices us to feed, and we are satiated, albeit temporarily, even while veiling our greater have to "know thyself," which is the perfect and eternal nourishment for the mind, body, and soul-spirit.
For many, the tarot is those mysterious cards that people use to tell one's past, present, and future. For most others, they're those wondrous cards that guide one to a greater knowledge of the self. Actually, the tarot is both these. One does not exist minus the other, as a greater knowledge of one's self is achieved through the experiences of your respective past, present, and what one creates as their future.
Asking questions of the tarot cards
Questions come in myriad forms. Although a question is usually simple and straightforward, sometimes, like an onion, there are layers. A good example of this is "Will I find real love?" "AM I GOING TO understand this job or that?" "AM I GOING TO make a bundle?" However, if we look at the underlying layer of the same questions, we see "Why haven't I came across real love?" "What sort of work would I enjoy do?" or "Will creating a bundle really make me happy?"
Many who seek a tarot card reading achieve this so that you can receive answers to the first set of questions. That is all well and good; however, these email address details are often a band-aid for a gaping wound. Often, we go in one relationship to another or job-to-job- experiencing the same result each time: We have been still not happy and the wound continues to grow in size and intensity of pain or discomfort. At some stage the band-aid will not work anymore, sufficient reason for any luck, we notice a pattern in our lives; one that repeats itself by experiencing the same pain, hurt, disappointment, or anger. The reason for this unhappiness and repetitive life pattern is that we are not addressing the root of the issue; the underlying layer, as demonstrated in the next set of questions.
Pain and suffering includes a method of getting our attention. Once we opt to accept responsibility for our decisions and conscious choices in life and turn our focus to "how can I improve or change myself" and less on, "it just happened to me again" or "they did this or that if you ask me," we can begin to live a happier life.
When we ask a question of the tarot, we might receive an answer that we most need to hear, rather than necessarily the one you want to hear. The specific reason for tarot cards is to get us to the main of our being and bring the enlightenment of greater self-awareness. Once self-discovery is achieved, achieving the goals as organized in the first set of questions can be more apparent, and we hope, less painful while in process and with a far more joyous outcome.
The wonder of the Tarot is that it can and does answer both forms of questions. Being open to receive its wisdom is the key.
It is entirely possible that one can re-direct their behavior, thereby avoiding a distressing event. However, additionally, there are occasions where we ostensibly have no control or an event is "fated" to occur.
Less experienced tarot card readers
A majority of tarot card readers make the error of wanting to read/interpret tarot cards as if these were reciting words from the dictionary page. Quite simply, these readers offer an arbitrary set of meanings associated to a card (s), which in context isn't accurate, detailed, or specific to one's issues and/or current-future life events.
For example, if one's concern is, "My boyfriend/girlfriend and I are experiencing an extremely rough time right now, and I think he/she is seeing someone else. Are my feelings correct?" In this case, why don't we say the tarot card "Death" comes up in this reading. The "Death" tarot card has several meanings, two of which are "change" and "ending." Then, this reader/interpreter's one-line answer is, "your relationship is either changing or ending".
List of tarot cards , nor these meanings give a precise description or answer to this concern, as they both mean very different things. Is the relationship undergoing a change, or is it ending? Which one is it, or is it neither?
In truth, each tarot card has multiple meanings related to it, which, is applicable to varied events, situations, people, feelings, thoughts, one's spirituality-spiritual path, the evolution of your respective soul, occupations, locations, parts of the body, etc-therefore, a myriad ways in which to interpret it.
Timing with tarot cards
We have been a society run by time, and it makes sense that everybody who receives a tarot reading really wants to know "when."
Time is a relative term, and similarly, it is so in the tarot. Stating emphatically something may happen in June or July does a couple of things: It generates hope and expectation, or conversely, fears and dread. The tarot doesn't care about time; it cares about the value of time. Therefore, enough time it refers to can be June or July this season, June or July two years from now, or the event may happen tomorrow. It might also never happen; we simply have no idea. There are too many factors involved in the grand scheme of our life's enfoldment, along with those with which we enter into contact. Try to remain open and use timing as a guidepost, not a rule.