It feels like everyone and their dog owns some sort of Oracle or Tarot card deck, doesn't it? These small picture squares have seen resurgence after resurgence and lately their popularity has skyrocketed thanks to Social Media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. You can't go far without seeing self professed Witches, Mystics and Fortune Tellers dishing out collective readings and the wisdom they interpret from this strange and mystical card game. A Tarot Card Reader myself, I find I'm swept up into an ever evolving world with different decks, different definitions and different stories. It can be a lot to take in, so if you've wanted a reading for some time but have been unsure of what to expect, or you're just interested in how this all began, then let me break it down a little:
WHAT ARE TAROT CARDS?
Simply put, they are a set of 78 Cards, with 22 Pictorial Cards and 56 Suit Cards, named the Major and Minor Arcana, respectively. Each card has a meaning or message to be understood and interpreted. The Major Arcana are the 'Triumph' cards with deep meaning and symbology. They represent big life events and lessons that the majority of us will experience within our life time.
The Minor Arcana can be likened to the 4 suits of playing cards and as such, each suit represents something different;
Pentacles/Coins = Material gain (earth)
Swords/Knives = Thoughts & reason (air)
Cups/Bowls = Emotions (water)
Wands/Batons = Passions & creativity (fire)
The cards we mostly recognise are known as the 'Rider-Waite-Smith' Tarot. It is the most popular and widely used tarot card deck in the world. If you think about Tarot Cards, an image from this deck will probably be what you have in mind!
First issued in 1910, each card is rich in symbolism and striking in its design. The cards were a collaboration by the talents of Pamela Colman Smith in accordance with Arthur (A.E.) Waite's instructions.
There are now hundreds, if not thousands of different Tarot decks on the market. You may find that some have completely different images or objects in the suits, extra Major Arcana or even extra suit cards. All can be used in the same way for guidance, insight and divination.
WHERE DOES TAROT COME FROM?
There is debate within the Tarot community on the true origins of these cards. A common belief is that they originated during 15th Century Italy as a parlour game known as 'Triumphs' based off of the Italian Monarchy of the time. A precursor to the common playing cards we see today, the best way to describe them would be as a medieval mix of playing cards and 'Top Trumps'. With four suits, kings, queens, knights and a fool or joker card, it's clear to see how they could have influenced modern day card games. Except just like our current playing cards, they did not include any pectoral or archetypes like the Major Arcana. However there are writings to suggest origins dating as far back as the Ancient Egyptians.
Many intellectuals in the late 18th century believed the religion and writings of ancient Egypt held major insights into human existence and magic.
Jean-Baptise Alliette (a journalist and teacher of the time) claimed that tarot cards originated with the legendary 'Book of Thoth', which supposedly belonged to the Egyptian god of wisdom. The book was believed to have gold plated pages engraved with hieroglyphics and imagery for the first tarot deck. It is said it was stored in the Great Library of Alexandria and later destroyed within the fire and disaster that befell the library. It is believed that 78 gold plated pages survived the fire and made their way through history by being traded, collected and translated over and over. This wisdom of these pages was passed down through generations and cultures for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Always referring back to the Egyptian origins. Drawing on these theories, Alliette published his own deck in 1789 - one of the first designed explicitly as a divination tool and eventually referred to as the 'Egyptian Tarot'.
WHAT IS INVOLVED IN A TAROT READING WITH ME?
Different readers, read differently. That is always a given but many follow the same basic formula when reading for someone. You are welcomed warmly, offered a drink, asked to get comfortable and we chat for a little while about the reading or other things you wish to discuss. (Tarot Readers are pretty normal people, we like a good natter.) You will then be asked to shuffle the deck until you are happy and split it into 3 piles, choosing the one you wish me to use. This forms the basis of your reading. When I give a Full Tarot Reading, I use an adaptation of a 'Celtic Card Spread' which traditionally uses 10 cards from the deck. This spread looks at your current life path.
Card 1: Describes your current situation and the energies you're currently in-line with. Card 2: Looks at obstacles and advice to moving forward Card 3: Details your higher self and their guidance, including your spirit guides or ancestors. Card 4: Describes your earthly guidance and the influence of the physical world around you.
Card 5: 6-18 months in the past or a major catalyst to your current situation.
Card 6: Shows you 6-18 months ahead on your current life path.
Card 7: Is used to answer a specific question you may have about the reading. Card 8: Your hopes and fears about the question you've asked.
Card 9: How you truly feel about the question.
Card 10: The outcome.
It is my job as the Tarot Reader to interpret the cards and the order they appear in, stringing together the story they are telling. During a reading I may find the initial card isn't giving me enough detail, so will pull more from the pile you chose to better understand the message and story the cards are telling. You will most likely find the Tarot will tell you things you already know. It often confirms your feelings and thoughts on situations, holding up a mirror to you and reflecting back the knowledge you already have deep within. As a coach and counselling professional, I also offer coaching throughout the tarot reading. Too often I have experienced personally, along with others, the overwhelming amount of information that can come from a reading, but with no clear idea of what to do with that information afterward. This is is where I hope to offer you the experience of being heard and guided by someone who wants you to come away feeling prepared and confident in what has been explained. At the end of the Tarot Reading we discuss everything that has been revealed in the cards, we make sure you're okay with the information and not too overwhelmed. I answer any questions you may have and then you can go on your merry way!
COMMON MYTHS & MISCONCEPTIONS
Let's see if I can put your curious minds at ease! Starting off strong:
BUT... THE DEATH CARD!?
Does the 'Death' Card really mean, well, death?. Not really. Sometimes. But, not really. We humans have a strange obsession over this subject... Death usually refers to the 'death of something' whether that be a career, relationship, path, friendship etc. I describe this card like writing a new chapter in the book of your life. This card, taking into account the cards around it in a reading, will usually herald in a time of rebirth, a time of transformation and a time for change. It symbolises something ending in order for something new to begin.
Oh, and while we're on the subject of death...
CAN A TAROT READER PREDICT WHEN YOU WILL DIE?
I have a strong opinion on this one. If a Tarot Reader tells you that you are going to die, DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM. Stop the reading immediately and I would go as far as to ask for some of your money back. Genuine readers will not tell you that you are going to die, because morally and ethically it is not information they should share. Regardless of if they truly believe they see it, or get a sense of it coming, a good reader will not express this. Their job is to guide you, not frighten you. That's enough on that one. I can feel my blood boiling already.
DO I HAVE TO FOLLOW THE GUIDANCE OFFERED?
Tarot depicts your current life path.
Which basically means that the story being revealed through the cards, especially the 6-18 months in the future, is what is the most likely outcome if you follow the guidance from the reading.
You ultimately have free will and it is your choice to follow the guidance offered. Readings offer you foresight and if you like what you hear and see then you can continue following that path. If you don't like it, you now leave armed with information ready to choose how you deal with the challenges ahead. I have clients come to me six months later, following the path the Tarot had laid in front of them ready to see the next steps. I have others who met their first hurdle and chose a completely different path. It is your life, you ultimately decide it's direction.
ARE ALL TAROT READERS PSYCHIC OR WITCHES?
Whilst being clairvoyant and 'tuned in' can definitely help when giving a reading, no you do not need to be psychic to read Tarot. Although I will level with you here, the majority of people I have met who are Tarot Readers tend to follow some sort of spiritual belief or identify themselves as practicing Witches. Some readers use a combination of the cards, spiritual guides, energy work and psychic gifts to give a reading whilst others know the cards, their meanings and work with just the 78 pictures and numbers they have at their disposal. Certain people consider a Tarot Reading and Mediumship Reading one and the same, others believe them to be very different. Neither is the better reader. All are valid. (Some Psychotherapists even use Tarot Cards as a means to help their clients understand their own stories.)
Really good info