Playing cards first entered Europe in the late 14th century from Egypt, with suits of Batons or Polo sticks (known as Wands), Coins (known as disks, or pentacles), Swords, and Cups. These suits were very similar to modern tarot divination decks and are still used in traditional Italian, Spanish and Portuguese playing card decks.
The first known documented tarot cards were created between 1430 and 1450 in Milan, Ferrara and Bologna in northern Italy. This is when additional trump cards with symbolic illustrations were added to the four-suit pack. These new decks were originally called carte da trionfi, triumph cards, and the additional cards known simply as trionfi, which became "trumps" in English. The first literary evidence of the existence of carte da trionfi is a written statement in the court records in Florence, in 1440. The oldest surviving tarot cards are from 15 fragmented decks painted in the mid 15th century for the Visconti-Sforza family, the rulers of Milan at the time.
(are-khan-uh), also known as the “trump cards”, consists of 22 cards without suits. They are numbered from 0 to 21 with the Fool being the first card in many decks. The Major Arcana, in order, are The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, The Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgement, and The World.
consists of 56 cards, divided into four suits of 14 cards each. The common name for the suits are swords, batons/wands/rods, coins/pentacles, and cups/chalices. Each suit is made of 10 numbered cards and 4 court cards. The court cards are the Page, The Knight, The Queen, and The King.
You can read card meanings that are the standard upright meaning, or you can also read reversals. Reversals are a tricky subject. Many people believe that you don’t have to read reversals, many believe that the deck is incomplete is you only read upright cards. Every deck booklet that I’ve ever found my cards states the upright and reversed meanings. It’s really a matter of personal preference.
You do not have to be psychic to read tarot cards. You don’t have to be a witch to read tarot. You just need to have a willingness to learn how to use them.
You do not need to know someone’s birthdate to do a reading for them. It’s sometimes helpful but not absolutely necessary.
The Death card doesn’t mean death the majority of the time. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to die physically, it’s more of a transformation and metamorphosis, you will not die if you pull this card most of the times. It can, though, refer to something around you dieing, such as an animal or family member.
You can read tarot for yourself, the only thing that you have to worry about is being too close to the situation and reading cards the way you want to see them.
A tarot deck doesn’t have to be gifted to you. Believe me, the decks that I bought work just fine. You can make your own and they will be perfectly fine! Seriously don’t let anyone tell you this. Pick a deck that you’re drawn to.
I BOUGHT A DECK, NOW WHAT?
Take the deck out of the package and remove excess stuff, like plastic and the advertisement cards usually with the history of the company. Keep the deck with you as much as possible, treat it kindly and with care. Shuffle them and mix them together and infuse them with your energy. Many decks have an energy and try not to neglect that.
There’s no set way to shuffle your cards, do what you feel will work. If that means shuffling like in a casino or throwing your cards in the air, either way will work fine. While shuffling, some like to “cut” or split the deck into piles before they read. Shuffling is also a good way to “clear” your deck after a reading.
Try a spread. A spread is a layout of cards, it’s a way to keep track of which cards mean which. They’re usually numbered in pictures and posts. Some like to make a specific design with their cards and some just like to lay them out in a line. You can use spreads that you create or you can use spreads that others create.
After you get physically tuned to your deck, try doing a “getting to know you” spread. It basically goes along the lines of “What is your nature?”, “What are your strengths?”, “What do you like doing best?”, “What are your weaknesses?”, “How do you feel about me?”, “What do you think I need to learn?”, “How can I achieve that?”, “Where do you see us going together?”
There are many ways to ask your cards questions, some like to put their hands on the cards before they start shuffling. I like to think of the question while I shuffle. All of this can be verbal or nonverbal.
The best way to become proficient in tarot is to practice on other people. You have to accept that your first readings aren’t going to be perfect. Like every type of skill, it takes practice. If you don’t practice, you’ll stay at the level that you’re at.
Remember to take care of your deck’s physical state and energy state.
A big thing with magical tools is cleansing. However, you have to treat a tarot deck differently than a wand or a rock or something like that. You can’t just put a tarot deck in salt water or pass it over fire. The safest way to charge and cleanse decks are to leave them in moonlight. But also, some decks might get “too positive” after they’re cleansed and charged so just remember to shuffle a couple times to get the deck’s energy back to a more neutral place.
Also, make sure your hands are clean while reading hand handling your cards. If you’re often forgetful, keep hand sanitizer near your decks.
While it’s not required to read on a cloth, it’s good to read on some sort of textured surface to prevent your cards from slipping around and getting dirty.
All and all, learning tarot cards is like college. It’s learning what you don’t want to do and how it’s best for you to learn and practice. Hopefully I made it a little easier for those people trying to learn to read tarot. Go forth and practice!
Christina (@magick-mels)
7/6/2016
Coven of Wandering Witches
