The tarot is a set of cards featuring twenty one trump cards, the fool, and an extra face card per suit, in addition to the usual suit (face and pip) cards found in ordinary playing cards. A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper thin card or thin plastic figured with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing Card games Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games^[1]. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards are utilized primarily for divinatory purposes^[1][2] with the trump cards plus the Fool card comprising the twenty two major arcana cards and the pip and four face cards the fifty six minor arcana. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The Major Arcana ( Trumps Major, Major Trumps) of occult or divinatory Tarot consists of twenty two cards The Minor Arcana of the Tarot deck consist of fifty six cards which are closely related to the deck of fifty two Playing cards used in most modern card games

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early Decks 1.2 Later tarot decks 2 Card Usage 2.1 Games 3 Tarot, Tarock or Tarocchi as a card game 3.1 Typical rules of play 4 Divination 4.1 Common card interpretations 4.2 Spreads 4.3 Reversed cards 5 Other uses of Tarot 5.1 Psychological 5.2 Occult uses 6 Deck-specific symbolism 6.1 Rider-Waite deck 6.2 Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth deck 6.3 Mythic Tarot 6.4 Modern oracle cards 7 Modern deck designs 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

History

Playing cards first entered Europe in the late 14th century with the Mamelukes of Egypt, with suits of Scimitars, Polo Sticks, Cups and Coins. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. These designs rapidly evolved into the basic 'Latin' suits of Swords, Staves, Cups and Coins (also known as disks, and pentacles), which are still used in traditional Italian and Spanish decks^[3]. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. A pentacle (or pantacle in Thelema) is an Amulet used in magical Evocation, generally made of Parchment, paper or metal Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. All evidence indicates that the first tarot decks were created between 1410 and 1430 in either Milan, Ferrara, or Bologna, in northern Italy, when additional trump cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the more common four suit decks that already existed. Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest An illustration is a visualization such as a Drawing, Painting, Photograph or other work of Art that stresses subject more than These new decks were originally called carte da trionfi, triumph cards. The first literary evidence of the existence of carte da trionfi is a written statement in the court records in Ferrara, in 1442. The oldest surviving Tarot cards are from fifteen fragmented decks painted in the mid 15th century for the Visconti-Sforza family, the rulers of Milan^[4].

When the tarot was first used for divination is not known, but no documented examples exist prior to the 18th century. Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system However, divination using similar cards is in evidence as early as 1540; a book entitled The Oracles of Francesco Marcolino da Forli shows a simple method of divination using the coin suit of a regular playing card deck. Manuscripts from 1735 (The Square of Sevens) and 1750 (Pratesi Cartomancer) document rudimentary divinatory meanings for the cards of the tarot, as well as a system for laying out the cards. Year 1735 ( MDCCXXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1750 ( MDCCL) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a In 1765, Giacomo Casanova wrote in his diary that his Russian mistress frequently used a deck of playing cards for divination. Year 1765 ( MDCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending

Early Decks

Playing cards first appeared in Christian Europe some time before 1367, the date of the first documented evidence of their existence, a ban on their use, in Bern, Switzerland. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth The city of Berne or Bern (, Berne, Berna, Romansh: Berna, Bernese German: Bärn) is the Bundesstadt ( Federal Before this, cards had been used for several decades in Islamic Al Andalus (see playing card history for discussion of its origins). For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Al-Andalus (الأندلس was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims or A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper thin card or thin plastic figured with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing Card games Early European sources describe a deck with typically fifty two cards, like a modern deck with no jokers^[5]. The seventy eight card tarot resulted from adding the twenty two trump cards to an early fifty six card variant (fourteen cards per suit).

Wide use of playing cards in Europe can, with some certainty, be given from 1377 onwards. A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper thin card or thin plastic figured with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing Card games Tarot cards appear to have been developed some forty years later, and they are mentioned in the surviving text of Martiano da Tortona^[6]. Da Tortona's text is thought to have been written between 1418 and 1425, since in 1418 the painter Michelino da Besozzo returned to Milan, and Martiano da Tortona died in 1425.

Da Tortona describes a deck similar to the cards used for Tarot card games in many specific ways though what he describes is more a precursor to tarot than what we might think of as real tarot cards. For instance, his deck has only sixteen trump cards, with motifs that are not comparable to common tarot cards (they are Greek gods) and the suits are four kinds of birds, not the common Italian suits. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance What makes da Tortona's deck similar to modern tarot game cards is that these sixteen cards are obviously regarded as trump cards in a card game; about twenty five years later, a near contemporary of Da Tortona, Jacopo Antonio Marcello, called them a ludus triumphorum, or 'game winner'. The letter in which Marcello uses this term has been documented and translated on the Internet^[7].

The next documents that seem to confirm the existence of objects similar to tarot cards are two playing card decks from Milan (Brera-Brambrilla and Cary-Yale-Tarocchi) — extant, but fragmentary — and three documents, all from the court of Ferrara, Italy. Origins of the Tarot Michael Dummett 's research led him to conclude that - based on the lack of earlier documentary evidence - the Tarot deck was probably invented in northern Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is not possible to put a precise date on the cards, but it is estimated that they were made circa 1440. The three documents date from 1 January 1441 to July 1442, with the term trionfi first documented in February 1442. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC The document from January 1441, which used the term trionfi, is regarded as unreliable; however, the fact that the same painter, Sagramoro, was commissioned by the same patron, Leonello d'Este, as in the February 1442 document, indicates that it is at least plausibly an example of the same type. Leonello d'Este, also spelled Lionello (1407 &ndash 1450 was Marquis of Ferrara and Duke of Modena and Reggio Emilia After 1442 there are some seven years without any examples of similar material. The game seemed to gain in importance in the year 1450, a Jubilee year in Italy, which saw many festivities and the movement of many pilgrims. The concept of the Jubilee is a special year of remission of Sins and universal pardon

It seems apparent that the special motifs on the trump cards, which were added to regular playing cards with a 'four suits of fourteen cards' structure, were ideologically determined. They are thought to show a specific system of transporting messages of different content; known early examples show philosophical, social, poetical, astronomical, and heraldic ideas, for instance, as well as a group of old Roman/Greek/Babylonian heroes, as in the case of the Sola-Busca-Tarocchi (1491)^[8] and the Boiardo Tarocchi poem^[9] (produced at an unknown date between 1461 and 1494). Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Definition In the absence of agreement about its meaning the term "social" is used in many different senses referring among other things to attitudes Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital For example, the earliest-known deck, extant only in its description in Martiano's short book, was produced to show the system of Greek gods, a theme that was very fashionable in Italy at the time. Its production may well have accompanied a triumphal celebration of the commissioner Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milano, meaning that the purpose of the deck was to express and consolidate the political power in Milan (as was common for other artworks of the time). Filippo Maria Visconti, ( September 23, 1392 &ndash August 13, 1447) was ruler of Milan from 1412 to 1447 The four suits showed birds, motifs that appeared regularly in Visconti heraldry, and the specific order of the gods gives reason to assume that the deck was intended to imply that the Visconti identified themselves as descendants from Jupiter and Venus (which were seen not as gods but deified mortal heroes). The VENUS ( V ictoria E xperimental N etwork U nder the S ea project is a cabled sea floor observatory operated by the University

This first known deck seems to have had the standard ten numbered cards, but having kings as the only court card, and only sixteen trump cards. The later standard (four suits of fourteen plus twenty two) took time to settle; trionfi decks with seventy cards only are still spoken of in 1457^[10]. No corroborating evidence for the final standard seventy eight card format exists prior to the Boiardo Tarocchi poem and the Sola Busca Tarocchi.

Individual researchers' opinions are that the trionfi decks of the early time primarily had five suits of fourteen cards [1] only; the trumps and the fool were simply considered as a fifth suit with predefined trump function.

The oldest surviving tarot cards are three early to mid 15th century sets, all made for members of the Visconti family. The first deck is the so called Cary-Yale Tarot (or Visconti-Modrone Tarot), which was created between 1442 and 1447 by an anonymous painter for Filippo Maria Visconti. The cards (only sixty six) are today in the Yale University Library of New Haven. But the most famous of these early tarot decks was painted in the mid 15th century, to celebrate the rule of Milan by Francesco Sforza and his wife Bianca Maria Visconti, daughter of the duke Filippo Maria. Probably, these cards were painted by Bonifacio Bembo, but some cards were realized by miniaturists of another school. Bonifacio Bembo (active between 1447 and 1477 was an Italian painter and miniaturist of the early- Renaissance period Of the original cards, thirty five are in the Pierpont Morgan Library, twenty six are at the Accademia Carrara, thirteen are at the Casa Colleoni and two, 'The Devil' and 'The Tower', are lost, or possibly never made. The Morgan Library & Museum (formerly The Pierpont Morgan Library) is a museum and research library in New York City. The Accademia Carrara (kaˈraɾa is an Art gallery and an Academy of Fine arts in Bergamo, Italy. This "Visconti-Sforza" deck, which has been widely reproduced, combines the suits of swords, batons, coins and cups and the court cards king, queen, knight and page with trump cards that reflect conventional iconography of the time to a significant degree^[11]. The Visconti-Sforza tarot deck is the oldest known Tarot deck.

For a long time tarot cards remained a privilege for the upper classes, and, although some sermons inveighing against the evil inherent in cards can be traced to the 14th century, most civil governments did not routinely condemn tarot cards during tarot's early history. In fact, in some jurisdictions, tarot cards were specifically exempted from laws otherwise prohibiting the playing of cards.

Later tarot decks

As the earliest tarot cards were hand painted, the number of the decks produced is thought to have been rather small, and it was only after the invention of the printing press that mass production of cards became possible. A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth thereby transferring an image Decks survive from this era from various cities in France (the best known being a deck from the southern city of Marseilles). This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ At around the same time, the name tarocchi appeared.

In 1781 Antoine Court de Gébelin wrote a speculative history and a detailed system for using tarot for divination. Year 1781 ( MDCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Antoine Court who named himself Antoine Court de Gébelin (ca Since the publication of this history, various explanations have been given for the origins of tarot. However, there are no extant cards older than the hand-painted ones which were used by Italian nobles, though some esoteric schools place tarot's origin in ancient Egypt or India. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now This article is about the history of South Asia prior to the Partition of British India in 1947 ^[12] The reason the origin of the tarot cards was supposed to be Egypt probably started with the mistaken belief that gypsies, among the first to use the cards for divinatory purposes, were descendants of ancient Egypt (hence the name "Gypsy"). This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics.

The first wide publicity of divination by tarot came from a French occultist named Alliette, under the pseudonym "Etteilla" (his name reversed), who worked as a seer and card diviner shortly before the French Revolution. Etteilla designed the first esoteric Tarot deck, adding astrological attributions and "Egyptian" motifs to various cards, altering many of them from the Marseilles designs, and adding divinatory meanings in text on the cards. Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems Later, Mademoiselle Marie-Anne Le Normand popularized divination in general during the reign of Napoleon I, through the influence she wielded over Joséphine de Beauharnais, Napoleon's first wife. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Joséphine de Beauharnais (born Marie Josèphe Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie June 23 1763 &ndash May 29 1814) was the first However, she did not typically use Tarot.

Tarot cards eventually came to be associated with mysticism and magic. Mysticism (from the Greek grc μυστικός mystikos, an initiate of a Mystery religion) is the pursuit of communion with identity Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and ^[13] Tarot was not widely adopted by mystics, occultists and secret societies until the 18th and 19th centuries. The tradition began in 1781, when Antoine Court de Gébelin, a Swiss clergyman and Freemason, published Le Monde Primitif, a speculative study which included religious symbolism and its survivals in the modern world. Antoine Court who named himself Antoine Court de Gébelin (ca Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given Religion. "Symbolic" redirects here For other uses see Symbolism (disambiguation and Symbolic (disambiguation. De Gébelin first asserted that symbolism of the Tarot de Marseille represented the mysteries of Isis and Thoth. Origins of the Tarot Michael Dummett 's research led him to conclude that - based on the lack of earlier documentary evidence - the Tarot deck was probably invented in northern Mystery Religions, Sacred Mysteries or simply Mysteries, were "religious cults of the Graeco-Roman Isis is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and is celebrated in their mythology as the ideal mother and wife patron of nature and magic friend of slaves sinners For other meanings of "Thoth" or of "Djehuti" and similar see Thoth (disambiguation. Gébelin further claimed that the name "tarot" came from the Egyptian words tar, meaning "royal", and ro, meaning "road", and that the Tarot therefore represented a "royal road" to wisdom. Egyptian is an Afro-Asiatic language most closely related to the Berber, Semitic, Somali and Beja languages Gébelin wrote before Champollion had deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs, and later Egyptologists found nothing in the Egyptian language to support de Gébelin's fanciful etymologies. Jean-François Champollion ( 23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832) was a French classical scholar, philologist Egyptian hieroglyphs (ˈhaɪərəʊɡlɪf from Greek grc-Grek ἱερογλύφος " sacred carving " also hieroglyphic = grc-Grek Egyptology (from Egypt and Greek grc -λογία -logia. علم المصريات مصر شناسی is a major field of Archaeology Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time Despite this the identification of the Tarot cards with the Egyptian "Book of Thoth" was already firmly established in occult practice.

The idea of the cards as a mystical key was further developed by Eliphas Lévi and passed to the English-speaking world by The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Eliphas Lévi, born Alphonse Louis Constant, ( February 8, 1810 - May 31, 1875) was a French Occult author The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or more commonly the Golden Dawn) was a magical order of the late 19th and early 20th centuries practicing a form of Lévi, not Etteilla, is considered by some to be the true founder of most contemporary schools of Tarot; his 1854 Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (English title: Transcendental Magic) introduced an interpretation of the cards which related them to Hermetic Qabalah. Hermetic Qabalah (from the Hebrew קַבָּלָה "reception" is a Western esoteric and mystical tradition While Lévi accepted Court de Gébelin's claims about an Egyptian origin of the deck symbols, he rejected Etteilla's innovations and his altered deck, and devised instead a system which related the Tarot, especially the Tarot de Marseille, to the Kabbalah and the four elements of alchemy. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature. Alchemy a part of the Occult Tradition is both a philosophy and a practice with an ultimately unknown aim involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of

Tarot divination became increasingly popular from 1910, with the publication of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot (designed and executed by two members of the Golden Dawn), which replaced the traditionally simple pip cards with images of symbolic scenes. The Rider-Waite tarot deck is the most popular Tarot deck in use today in the English-speaking world (the Tarot de Marseille being the most popular deck in the Latin This deck also further obscured the Christian allegories of early decks by changing some attributions (for instance changing "The Pope" to "The Hierophant" and "The Popess" to "The High Priestess"). For the album by Will Haven, see The Hierophant (album. The Hierophant (V, in some decks named The Pope, is the La Popessa, also written as La Papessa, is a term used in Tarot to refer to The Papess or The High Priestess Playing The High Priestess (II is the second trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks The Rider-Waite-Smith deck still remains extremely popular in the English-speaking world.

Since then a huge number of different decks have been created, some traditional, some vastly different. The use of Tarot for divination, or as a store of symbolism, has inspired the creation of Oracle card decks. Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining "Symbolic" redirects here For other uses see Symbolism (disambiguation and Symbolic (disambiguation. Oracle card decks claim to provide insight and positive outlooks to people These are card decks for inspiration or divination containing images of angels, faeries, goddesses, Power Animals, etc. An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition A fairy (also fay, fey, fae, faerie; collectively wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair A goddess is a Female Deity. Many Cultures have goddesses Often deities are part of a polytheistic system that includes several deities Power animal, is a broadly Animistic and Shamanic concept that has entered the English language from Anthropology, Ethnography and Although obviously influenced by Tarot, they do not follow the traditional structure of Tarot; they lack any suits of numbered cards, and the set of cards differs from the traditional major arcana. The Major Arcana ( Trumps Major, Major Trumps) of occult or divinatory Tarot consists of twenty two cards

Card Usage

Games

Tarot, Tarock or Tarocchi as a card game

One usage of tarot cards is for playing games, with the first basic rules appearing in the manuscript of Martiano da Tortona before 1425^[14]. The game is nowadays known in many variations, first basic rules appear in the manuscript of Martiano da Tortona (before 1425; translated text), the next are known from the year 1637. In Italy the game has become less popular, one version named Tarocco Bolognese: Ottocento has still survived and there are still others played in Piedmont, but the number of games outside of Italy is much higher, there connected to the words Tarot and Tarock. Piedmont ( Piemonte; Piedmontese and Occitan: Piemont; French: Piémont) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. The French game of Tarot, also jeu de Tarot, is a trick-taking Card game enjoyed throughout France and also known in French-speaking

It is played with a tarot deck of playing cards. The tarot (also known as tarocchi, tarock or similar names is typically a set of seventy-eight cards comprised of twenty-one trump cards, one A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper thin card or thin plastic figured with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing Card games The so-called "esoteric" decks used for divination are usually ill-suited for playing, for example the corner symbols are missing; thus there are regular playing decks in the countries where tarocchi is popular.

The 78-card deck contains:

• four suits: depending on the region, either the Anglo-French hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs or the original Latin suits of swords, batons, cups, and coins; numbered one through ten, plus four court cards - a jack, a knight, a queen, and a king;
• the twenty-one tarots, known in divination as the Major Arcana, which function in the game as a permanent suit of trumps;
• the Fool, also known as the Excuse, an un-numbered card that in some variations excuses the player from following suit or playing a trump, and in others acts as the strongest trump. The Major Arcana ( Trumps Major, Major Trumps) of occult or divinatory Tarot consists of twenty two cards

Typical rules of play

Play is typically counter-clockwise; the player to the right of the dealer plays to the first trick. If possible players must follow suit. If following suit is not possible a trump card must be played. The winner of each trick leads the next.

After the hand has been played, a score is taken based on the point values of the cards in the tricks each player has managed to capture. (counting cards)

For the purpose of the rules, the numbering of the trumps are the only thing that matters. The symbolic tarot images customary in divinatory tarot have no effect in the game itself: though, rather ironically, the tarot deck was originally designed to play this game (see playing card history), the design traditions subsequently evolved independently and the tarots often bear only numbers and whimsical scenes arbitrarily chosen by the engraver. A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper thin card or thin plastic figured with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing Card games However there are still traditional sequences of images in which the common lineage is visible: for example, a moon is visible at the bottom left corner of the XXI in the picture at the top of the page. This stems from confusion of German Mond with Italian mondo and French monde, meaning "world" - the usual symbol associated with the 21 on Italian suited tarots and in divinatory tarot.

In tarot decks made for playing the game (as opposed to those made for divination or other esoteric uses), the four Latin suits are replaced in many regions with the French suits of hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining Some variations of the game are played with a 54-card deck (5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of hearts and diamonds and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of spades and clubs are discarded).

Variations of the game are still played in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, and especially in the countries on the area of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, for which even the name Tarockanien has been coined: the Austrian variation of the game is thus still widely popular among all classes and generations in Slovenia, Croatia and in the Czech Republic, while in Hungary different rules are applied. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic

Divination

Tarot reading revolves around the belief that the cards can be used to gain insight into the current and possible future situations of the subject (or querent). Querent as "one who queries" is obviously derived from the conjugation of "query" and the suffix "-ant" denoting a person Some believe they are guided by a spiritual force, such as Gaia, while others believe the cards help them tap into a collective unconscious or their own creative, brainstorming subconscious. Gaia (ˈgeɪə or /ˈgaɪə/ (" land " or " Earth " from the Ancient Greek Γαîα also Gæa or Gea Brainstorming is a group creativity technique designed to generate a large number of Ideas for the solution to a Problem. The term subconscious is defined as existing or operating in the Mind beneath or beyond Conscious Awareness.

Common card interpretations

Each card has a variety of symbolic meanings that have evolved over the years. Custom or themed tarot decks exist which have even more specific symbolism, although these are more prevalent in the English-speaking world. The minor arcana cards have astrological attributions that can be used as general indicators of timing in the year, based on the Octavian calendar, and the court cards may signify different people in a tarot reading, with each suit's "nature" providing hints about that person's physical and emotional characteristics. Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems Augustus ( Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS September 23 63 BC – August 19 AD 14) born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was

Tarot has a complex and rich symbolism with a long history. In the past, many occult- or divination-oriented authors claimed that the symbolism's origins are lost in time and/or postulated or claimed as fact non-historical theories. Some authors such as Rachel Pollack have written that tarot origin myths have their own significance and value and that the reader can find a study of such myths enriching while at the same time being aware that they aren't factually true.

Interpretations have evolved together with the cards over the centuries: later decks have "clarified" the pictures in accordance with meanings assigned to the cards by their creators. In turn, the meanings come to be modified by the new pictures. Images and interpretations have been continually reshaped, in part, to help the Tarot live up to its mythic role as a powerful occult instrument and to respond to modern needs.

See, for example, the Rider-Waite-Smith Strength card. We can know more about the symbolic intentions of the designer here, since he conveniently wrote many books on the subject on occultism and symbolism and a handbook specifically for this deck titled The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910). As with its ancestor in the Tarot de Marseilles, the Strength trump shows a woman holding the jaws of a lion, but the Rider-Waite-Smith picture is far more elaborate. The woman's hat of the Marseilles card has been interpreted as a lemniscate: the sideways-figure-eight representing infinity, or, according to Waite, the Spirit of Life. In Algebraic geometry, the word lemniscate refers to any of several figure-eight or ∞ shaped curves of which the best known is the Lemniscate of Bernoulli Other symbols are included: a chain of roses symbolizing desire or passion, against a white robe symbolizing purity. The mountains in the background demonstrate another kind of strength.

Another example of the preservation of designs from one deck to another can be seen via the incorporation of the ribbon design found on the Deux de Deniéres in a Swiss-style deck originally published by Müller & Cie. of Schaffhouse into the of The Book of Thoth Tarot's Two of Disks. For other meanings of "Thoth" or of "Djehuti" and similar see Thoth (disambiguation.

There are numerous published books that discuss the usage of the tarot for divination. In many systems, the four suits are associated with the four elements: Swords with air, Wands with fire, Cups with water and Pentacles with earth. Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature. The numerology of the cards is also considered significant. Numerology is any of many Systems Traditions or Beliefs in a mystical or Esoteric relationship between Numbers and physical The tarot is considered to correspond to various systems such as astrology, Pythagorean numerology, the Kabalah (where each of the major arcana represent a path on the tree of life), the I Ching, Christianity [2], Aura-Soma and others. Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. The I Ching ( Wade-Giles) or “Yì Jīng” ( Pinyin) also called “Classic of Changes” or “Book of Changes” is one of the oldest of the

Spreads

To perform a Tarot reading, the Tarot deck is typically shuffled by either the subject or a third-party reader, and is laid out in one of a variety of patterns, often called "spreads". They are then interpreted by the reader or a third-party performing the reading for the subject. These might include the subject's thoughts and desires (known or unknown) or past, present, and future events. Generally, each position in the spread is assigned a number, and the cards are turned over in that sequence, with each card being contemplated/interpreted before moving to the next. Each position is also associated with an interpretation, which indicates what aspect of the question the card in that position is referring to.

Sometimes, rather than being dealt randomly, the initial card in a spread is intentionally chosen to represent the querent or the question being asked. This card is called the significator.

Some common spreads include:

• Celtic Cross: This is probably the most common spread. A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a Cross with a ring surrounding the intersection Eleven cards are used, with six arranged in a cross and four placed vertically beside the cross. Another card is placed horizontally across the central cards of the cross. The first central card of the cross is frequently the significator and the second represents the conditions surrounding the question; the crossing card often represents an obstacle they must face, an aspect of the question they have not yet considered, etc.
• Horse-shoe: Another very common question asking spread. A horseshoe is a U-shaped item made of metal or of modern synthetic materials nailed or glued to the Hooves of Horses and some other Draught Seven cards are arranged in a semi-circle or 'V' shape. The cards, from left to right, represent the past, present, influences, obstacles, expectations (or hopes/fears), best course of action and likely outcomes. Some variations of this spread swap the expectations and inspiration cards around.
• 3-card spread: Three cards are used, with the first representing the past, the second the present, the third the future.
• Astrological spread: Twelve cards are spread in a circle, to represent the twelve signs of the zodiac. A thirteenth card is placed in the middle; often the significator.
• 1-card spread: It should be noted that a single card can constitute a spread.
• Tetractys: Ten cards arranged in a four-rowed pyramid. The Tetractys is a triangular figure consisting of ten points arranged in four rows one two three and four points in each row Each row represents earth, air, fire or water and each card within the row has a very specific meaning. The single card in the top row is the significator.

There are numerous other spreads - essentially, the reader may use any card arrangement in which they find by experience to be useful.

Reversed cards

Some methods of interpreting the tarot consider cards to have different meanings depending on whether they appear upright or reversed^[15]. A reversed card is often interpreted to mean the opposite of its upright meaning. For instance, the Sun card upright may be associated with satisfaction, gratitude, health, happiness, strength, inspiration, and liberation; while in reverse, it may be interpreted to mean a lack of confidence and mild unhappiness. However, not all methods of card reading prescribe an opposite meaning to reversed cards. Some card readers will interpret a reversed card as either a more intense variation of the upright card, an undeveloped trait or an issue that requires greater attention.

Other uses of Tarot

Psychological

Carl Jung was the first psychologist to attach importance to tarot symbolism. He may have regarded the tarot cards as representing archetypes: fundamental types of person or situation embedded in the subconscious of all human beings. The Emperor, for instance, represents the ultimate patriarch or father figure. ^[16]

The theory of archetypes gives rise to several psychological uses. Since the cards represent these different archetypes within each individual, ideas of the subject's self-perception can be gained by asking them to select a card that they 'identify with'. An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer Equally, the subject can try and clarify the situation by imagining it in terms of the archetypal ideas associated with each card. For instance, someone rushing in heedlessly like the Knight of Swords, or blindly keeping the world at bay like the Rider-Waite-Smith Two of Swords. Two of Swords is a Minor Arcana Tarot cardTarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games.

More recently Dr Timothy Leary has suggested that the Tarot Trump cards are a pictorial representation of human development from a baby to a fully grown adult, The Fool symbolising the new born infant, The Magician symbolising the stage at which an infant starts to play with artifacts, etc. In addition to this, the Tarot Trumps to be a blue print for of the human race in the future.

Occult uses

Some schools of occult thought or symbolic study, such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, consider the tarot to function as a textbook and mnemonic device for their teachings. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or more commonly the Golden Dawn) was a magical order of the late 19th and early 20th centuries practicing a form of This may be one cause of the word arcana being used to describe the two sections of the tarot deck: arcana is the plural form of the Latin word arcanum, meaning "closed" or "secret. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. "

Deck-specific symbolism

Rider-Waite deck

Each card in the Rider-Waite deck is intricately detailed with symbols related to the card. The Rider-Waite tarot deck is the most popular Tarot deck in use today in the English-speaking world (the Tarot de Marseille being the most popular deck in the Latin Color is also used symbolically.

Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth deck

Each card in the Thoth deck is intricately detailed with Astrological, Zodiacal, Elemental and Qabalistic symbols related to each card. The Thoth Tarot /təʊt 'tærəʊ/ is a Divinatory tarot deck painted by Lady Frieda Harris according to instructions from Aleister Crowley. Colors are used symbolically, especially the cards related to the five elements of Spirit, Fire, Water, Air and Earth.

Mythic Tarot

The Mythic Tarot deck links Tarot symbolism with the classical Greek Myths^[17].

Modern oracle cards

Recently, the use of Tarot for divination, or as a store of symbolism, has inspired the creation of modern oracle card decks. Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining "Symbolic" redirects here For other uses see Symbolism (disambiguation and Symbolic (disambiguation. Oracle card decks claim to provide insight and positive outlooks to people These are card decks for inspiration or divination containing images of angels, faeries, goddesses, Power Animals, etc. An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition A fairy (also fay, fey, fae, faerie; collectively wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair A goddess is a Female Deity. Many Cultures have goddesses Often deities are part of a polytheistic system that includes several deities Power animal, is a broadly Animistic and Shamanic concept that has entered the English language from Anthropology, Ethnography and Although obviously influenced by divinatory Tarot, they do not follow the traditional structure of Tarot; they often lack any suits of numbered cards, and the set of cards differs from the traditional major arcana. The Major Arcana ( Trumps Major, Major Trumps) of occult or divinatory Tarot consists of twenty two cards

Modern deck designs

A variety of styles of tarot decks and designs exist and a number of typical regional patterns have emerged. Historically, one of the most important designs is the one usually known as the Tarot de Marseilles. Origins of the Tarot Michael Dummett 's research led him to conclude that - based on the lack of earlier documentary evidence - the Tarot deck was probably invented in northern This standard pattern was the one studied by Court de Gébelin, and cards based on this style illustrate his Le Monde primitif. The Tarot de Marseilles was also popularized in the 20th century by Paul Marteau. Some current editions of cards based on the Marseilles design go back to a deck of a particular Marseilles design that was printed by Nicolas Conver in 1760. Other regional styles include the "Swiss" Tarot; this one substitutes Juno and Jupiter for the Papess, or High Priestess and the Pope, or Hierophant. Troccas is a member of the Tarot family of card games.It is played in the Romansh speaking part of the canton Grisons of Switzerland. Juno was the protector and special counselor of the Roman state In Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods and the god of Sky and Thunder. The High Priestess (II is the second trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks The role of the hierophant in religion is to bring the congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy In Florence an expanded deck called Minchiate was used; this deck of ninety six cards includes astrological symbols including the four elements, as well as traditional Tarot motifs. Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Minchiate is a late-medieval Card game, probably originating in 15th century Florence, Italy; it is no longer widely played Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems

Some decks exist primarily as artwork; and such art decks sometimes contain only the twenty two trump cards.

The seventy eight card tarot deck used by esotericists has two distinct parts:

• The Major Arcana (greater secrets), or trump cards, consists of twenty two cards without suits; The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgement, and The World. The Major Arcana ( Trumps Major, Major Trumps) of occult or divinatory Tarot consists of twenty two cards The Fool or The Jester is one of the 78 cards in a Tarot deck The Magician The Magus or The Juggler (I is the first trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks The High Priestess (II is the second trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks The Empress (III is the third trump or Major Arcana card in traditional Tarot decks For the album by Will Haven, see The Hierophant (album. The Hierophant (V, in some decks named The Pope, is the The Lovers (VI is the sixth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks The Chariot (VII is the seventh trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks Strength is a Major Arcana Tarot card and is numbered either XI or VIII, depending on the Deck. The Hermit (IX is the ninth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks Wheel of Fortune (X is the tenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks Justice is a Major Arcana Tarot card numbered either XI or VIII, depending on the deck The Hanged Man (XII is the twelfth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks Death (XIII is the thirteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks Temperance (XIV is the fourteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks The Devil (XV is the fifteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks The Tower (XVI (most common modern name is the sixteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks The Star (XVII is the seventeenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks The Moon (XVIII is the eighteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks Description A E Waite was a key figure in the development of modern Tarot interpretations Judgement (XX, or in some decks spelled Judgment, is a Tarot card part of the Major Arcana suit usually comprising of 22 cards The World (XXI is a trump or Major Arcana card in the tarot deck

• The Minor Arcana (lesser secrets) consists of fifty six cards, divided into four suits of fourteen cards each; ten numbered cards and four court cards. The Minor Arcana of the Tarot deck consist of fifty six cards which are closely related to the deck of fifty two Playing cards used in most modern card games The court cards are the king, queen, Knight and page, in each of the four tarot suits. The traditional Italian tarot suits are swords, batons, coins and cups; in modern tarot decks, however, the batons suit is often called wands, rods or staves, while the coins suit is often called pentacles or disks. The Suit of Swords is a suit found in Playing cards using the Italian and Spanish suits main - title Coin keywords numismatics coin review The modern suit of Hearts is derived from the suit of cups in latin suited playing cards such as Tarot. In Tarot, the suit of wands or batons can be used like one of the suits of Playing cards (in traditional games or as a Divination tool In Tarot, the suit of wands or batons can be used like one of the suits of Playing cards (in traditional games or as a Divination tool In Tarot, the suit of wands or batons can be used like one of the suits of Playing cards (in traditional games or as a Divination tool

The terms major arcana and minor arcana are not used in relation to Tarot card games.

Tarot is often used in conjunction with the study of the Hermetic Qabala^[18]. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. In these decks all the cards are illustrated in accordance with Qabalistic principles, most being under the influence of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck and bearing illustrated scenes on all the suit cards. The images on the 'Rider-Waite' deck were drawn by artist Pamela Colman-Smith, to the instructions of Christian mystic and occultist Arthur Edward Waite, and were originally published by the Rider Company in 1910. Pamela Colman Smith ( February 16, 1878 — September 18, 1951) was an artist illustrator and writer Arthur Edward Waite ( October 2, 1857 - May 19, 1942) was a scholarly Mystic who wrote extensively on Occult and This deck is considered a simple, user friendly one but nevertheless its imagery, especially in the Major Arcana, is complex and replete with esoteric symbolism. The subjects of the Major Arcana are based on those of the earliest decks, but have been significantly modified to reflect Waite and Smith's view of Tarot. An important difference from Marseilles style decks is that Smith drew scenes with esoteric meanings on the suit cards. Origins of the Tarot Michael Dummett 's research led him to conclude that - based on the lack of earlier documentary evidence - the Tarot deck was probably invented in northern However the Rider-Waite wasn't the first deck to include completely illustrated suit cards. The first to do so was the 15th century Sola-Busca deck.

Older decks such as the Visconti-Sforza and Marseilles are less detailed than more modern decks. A Marseilles type deck is usually distinguished by having repetitive motifs on the pip cards as opposed to the full scenes found on "Rider-Waite" style decks. These more simply illustrated "Marseilles" style decks are also used esoterically, for divination, and for game play, though the French card game of tarot is now generally played using a relatively modern 19th century design of German origin. Origins of the Tarot Michael Dummett 's research led him to conclude that - based on the lack of earlier documentary evidence - the Tarot deck was probably invented in northern The French game of Tarot, also jeu de Tarot, is a trick-taking Card game enjoyed throughout France and also known in French-speaking The tarot (also known as tarocchi, tarock or similar names is typically a set of seventy-eight cards comprised of twenty-one trump cards, one Such playing Tarot decks generally have twenty one trump cards with genre scenes from 19th century life, a Fool, and have court and pip cards that closely resemble today's French playing cards. )

The Marseilles style Tarot decks generally feature numbered minor arcana cards that look very much like the pip cards of modern playing card decks. The Marseilles' numbered minor arcana cards do not have scenes depicted on them; rather, they sport a geometric arrangement of the number of suit symbols (e. g. , swords, rods/wands, cups, coins/pentacles) corresponding to the number of the card (accompanied by botanical and other non-scenic flourishes), while the court cards are often illustrated with flat, two-dimensional drawings.

A widely used modernist esoteric Tarot deck is Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot (pronounced /təʊt/ or /θɒθ/). The Thoth Tarot /təʊt 'tærəʊ/ is a Divinatory tarot deck painted by Lady Frieda Harris according to instructions from Aleister Crowley. Crowley, at the height of a lifetime's work dedicated to occultism, engaged the artist Lady Frieda Harris to paint the cards for the deck according to his specifications. Frieda Harris (born in London 1877 died 11 May 1962 in Srinagar, India was an associate of the occultist Aleister Crowley and designed His system of Tarot correspondences, published in The Book of Thoth & Liber 777, are an evolution and expansion upon that which he learnt in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or more commonly the Golden Dawn) was a magical order of the late 19th and early 20th centuries practicing a form of

In contrast to the Thoth deck's colourfulness, the illustrations on Paul Foster Case's B.O.T.A. Tarot deck are black line drawings on white cards; this is an unlaminated deck intended to be coloured by its owner. Paul Foster Case ( October 3, 1884 &ndash March 2, 1954) was an American occultist of the early 20th century and author of numerous The BOTA Tarot was created by Paul Foster Case, founder of BO Other esoteric decks include the Golden Dawn Tarot, which claims to be based on a deck by SL MacGregor Mathers. Samuel Liddell (or Liddel) "MacGregor" Mathers, born as Samuel Liddell (January 8 or 11 1854 &ndash November 5 or 20 1918 was one of the

The variety of decks presently available is almost endless, and grows yearly. For instance, cat-lovers may have the Tarot of the Cat People, a deck replete with cats in every picture. The Tarot of the Witches and the Aquarian Tarot retain the conventional cards with varying designs. The Aquarian Tarot Deck was first published by Morgan Press in 1970 The Tree of Life Tarot's cards are stark symbolic catalogs, the Cosmic Tarot, and The Alchemical Tarot that combines traditional alchemical symbols with tarot images.

These modern decks change the cards to varying degrees. For example, the Motherpeace Tarot is notable for its circular cards and feminist angle: the male characters have been replaced by females. The Tarot of Baseball has suits of bats, mitts, balls and bases; "coaches" and "MVPs" instead of Queens and Kings; and major arcana cards like "The Catcher", "The Rule Book" and "Batting a Thousand". In the Silicon Valley Tarot, major arcana cards include The Hacker, Flame War, The Layoff and The Garage; the suits are Networks, Cubicles, Disks and Hosts; the court cards CIO, Salesman, Marketeer and New Hire. The Silicon Valley Tarot is a modern spoof Tarot deck published by Steve Jackson Games with the tagline "Cheaper than a consultant Marketeer is most often a contemporary and informal euphemism for Marketing professional. Another tarot in recent years has been the Robin Wood Tarot. This deck retains the Rider-Waite theme while adding some very soft and colorful Pagan symbolism. As with other decks, the cards are available with a companion book written by Ms. Wood which details all of the symbolism and colors utilized in the Major and Minor Arcana. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suit_of_cups Suit of cups - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Unconventionality is taken to an extreme by Morgan's Tarot, produced in 1970 by Morgan Robbins and illustrated by Darshan Chorpash Zenith. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Morgan's Tarot has no suits, no card ranking and no explicit order of the cards. It has eighty eight cards rather than the more conventional seventy eight, and its simple line drawings show a strong influence from the psychedelic era. Modern psychedelia For "psychedelics" see Psychedelic drug. Nevertheless, Robbins claims spiritual inspiration for the cards and cites the influence of Tibetan Buddhism in particular. Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including

See also

• Suit of Wands
• Suit of Cups
• Suit of Swords
• Suit of Coins

References

External links

• Tarot FAQ
• Tarot Research Origin in 15th century
• Tarotpedia
• Tarot Hermit
• Lost History-Tarot Cards
• Origins and Context of the Tarot
• Tarot – Deck Basics
• Medieval Origin of the Tarot
• International Playing Card Society; pattern sheets of tarot and other cards.

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