Tarot
In the last two decades, the use of Tarot cards has become increasingly popular. The history of Tarot has many interesting facts and myths which are often confusing. There is also much speculation on where and when the tarot first originated. Some say it was India or China Maybe it was Egypt, or Morocco, and some have even suggested that it existed in the time of Moses. However, modern historians have been unable to back up any of those theories.
One of the earliest known Tarot card decks came from Northern Italy around 1420 to 1440. It was painted for the Duke of Milan by Bonificio Bembo and is still in existence today. It is said that another Tarot card deck appeared and was used in France in the 13th century ,but it was later found to be the card game of Triumphs or Trumps, a common game amongst the people during that era.
The traditional Tarot is a deck of 78 cards that is divided into two main sections, the Major & the Minor Arcana.
The Major Arcana is a set of 22 picture cards. These cards are symbolic representations of the different stages of our lives. Examples of these symbols are: The Sun, Justice, Strength, Star and The Emperor.
The 56 cards of the Minor Arcana section consists of four Suits. The suits are the Wands, Pentacles, Swords and Cups. The Minor Arcana cards are the representation of people, relationships, finances, health, emotions and careers.
When an individual consults the Tarot, it describes the events and qualities of the present. Each card in the Tarot has up-sides and down-sides. This means essentially there are no bad cards just perhaps some bad interpretations. A professional Tarot session therefore can be encouraging, inspiring and good for the self esteem simply because it focuses on you and your needs. Certainly, I claim no “one time fix all magical solution” to your life challenges. It is simply an effective way to give you insights and clarity that will help you in your decision making by offering suggestions and looking at a possible outcome.
The Tarot deck that I have been using since 1986 is The Mythic Tarot Deck by Liz Greene and Juliet Sharman-Burke. The Mythic Tarot is published in the US and Australia by Simon & Schuster, and in the UK by Rider Books, Random House.