Tarot: a set of special playing cards used for fortune telling – Oxford English Dictionery
Tarot is very intriguing. The general public see it as a means of fortune telling and mostly it is just that. But do you trust a pack of cards to tell you how to live your life and sort out your problems?
There are many different readers of the cards and they have many different methods of reading them. I have yet to find two the same. Each reader will spend years perfecting their craft, although a simple spread can soon be mastered.
Each reader has their own preference for particular packs and styles. There are hundreds of different packs, from the very old fashioned to the very modern day versions. If you decide to become a tarot reader you will soon find your own favourite. Most are very colourful and intricate. Though some are easier to read than others.
There are different spreads too, to help the reader find the right information for you, according to what kind of advice you may need. These range from a simple 3 card spread to very complicated ones which use most of the usual 78 cards.
There are two parts to each pack. The Major Arcana, of which there are 22, and the Minor Arcana which has 56. Both have their uses and are often read together, but each Arcana can be used alone. There are 4 suits to the minor arcana, 10 plus the court cards of each suit. The court cards are usually the King, Queen, Knight and Page.
Although some packs use slightly differing names for their court cards, they are really the same and have the same meanings and values. Some cards in certain suits have French or other foreign names.
I find often in a reading the sitter will be able to put all the information given, in context with their present circumstances. I also find that the information can be preemptedby the sitter, or indeed predetermined. You need to be aware of this whether a sitter or a reader.
Tarot can give you a nudge in the right direction or make you think over your problems more. It may give you a whole new perspective. It can offer advice and suggestion but it CANNOT TELL YOU WHAT TO DO! Or live your life for you. And, would you really want that?
Choose your reader with care and ask friends for recommendations of readers. As always, my advice is never pay out more than you can easily afford and go with an open mind. Never try to live your life on the basis of a tarot reading.