🔮 Introduction to the Tarot: Masterpost 🌌
Warning: This is a longer post
The Tarot is arguably one of the most iconic symbols of witchcraft. It’s been used in books and movies for decades, it’s talked about extensively online, and it even has its own section at Barnes & Noble.
Some people are inexplicably drawn to the symbolism and aesthetic of the cards, and some people avoid them like the plague (mostly due to the same superstitions surrounding ouija boards, seances, and all other forms of divination). My goal with this post is to demystify this beautiful form of magic and to hopefully help some of you out there to take your first step into the world of the Tarot.
The Tarot, simply put, is a special deck of cards. They can be the size of a tablet, they can be small enough to fit on a keychain (pocket-sized tarot decks are adorable in my opinion), but most are about the size of a cell phone. These cards are used in a type of divination known as cartomancy: divination using playing cards.
Tarot cards are not to be confused with standard playing cards (though, types of cartomancy using regular playing cards do exist). Tarot cards should also not be confused with Oracle cards.
All three of these decks can be used for cartomancy, though, and you’ll have to gauge for yourself which type of deck works better for you as an individual. To clear this up now:
Playing Cards - Originated in the 1300s in Europe (though many historians argue that they were used in the Middle East for centuries before that) consisting of four suits and 52 cards. Each suit contains cards numbered 1-10, plus three more cards denoting a Jack, a Queen, and a King. Primarily used for card games, but also used for divination in some types of folk magic.
Oracle Cards - originated in the 1700s in France. These are special decks of cards used for divination, and each deck is unique to the person who designed and created it. These cards have no set number of cards, no set suits, and no set meaning that is standard to every deck. The creator of the deck will develop their own meanings and symbols that they attribute to each card.
Tarot Cards - originated in the 1400s, arguably either in France or Italy. A tarot deck consists of 78 cards, each with its own specific symbols and meaning. The cards are the same among every tarot deck, no matter who creates it; only the artwork changes. Tarot is almost exclusively used for divination.
🔮 Origins of the the Tarot
The Tarot deck’s beginnings are just as obscure as its symbology. No one is completely sure when or where the Tarot came about. Historians claim the first accounts of them appear in various letters and documents dated in the 15th and 16th centuries. Back then, though, it seems that Tarot cards really did begin as nothing but a card game.
Back then, they were known as “triumph” cards, a word that eventually led to the English phrase ’trump card’. They were used in a game known as Tarock in Germany, Triumph in England, Tarocchi in Italy, and Tarot in France.
These decks consisted of the same standard for all card decks - four suits with ten cards each, plus court cards for each suit. However, the triumph decks also incorporated 22 additional cards that represented different medieval archetypes (The Magician, the Fool, the Emperor, etc.).
In the original game, two people would take turns laying down cards in a way similar to Uno. If your opponent laid down a card, you then had to lay down a card of the same suit or number. If you didn’t have one, you had to lay down one of the 22 ‘triumph’ cards. The first person to run out of triumph cards lost the game.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, people began to play a different game with these cards, though. In this newer game, a player would lay down several 'triumph’ cards, and then their opponent would have to create a short sonnet describing a story told by those specific cards, kind of like a 'create your own adventure’ game, or an Ad-Lib.
At some point after this new game was invented, historians begin to see accounts of players taking the game a step further and actually using the game to tell the fortunes of the players.
Before long, tarot divination was running rampant throughout most European countries, though mostly done behind closed doors. However, it was a very well-known practice, and there are even accounts of many royals and noblemen visiting 'tarot readers’ to have their fortunes told.
Occultists became fascinated with the Tarot throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, claiming that the symbolism in the Tarot held ancient knowledge of magic and the universe. Some even claimed that it was the only surviving 'book’ from the Library of Alexandria.
In the late 1800s, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn deeply studied the symbolism within the Tarot, and eventually released the infamous Golden Dawn Tarot deck. This was the first deck to attribute Kabbalistic, astrological, and elemental associations to the cards.
Since then, hundreds and hundreds of decks have been created by witches and occultists all over the world, each one throwing their own spin on this divinatory tool.
A tarot deck consists of 78 cards, divided into two groups: The Minor Arcana ('Lesser Secrets’) and the Major Arcana ('Greater Secrets’).
The Minor Arcana is made up of 56 cards that are pretty standard. There are four suits (typically Wands, Swords, Coins, and Cups, though newer decks use Pentacles instead of Coins). Each suit has cards numbered 1-10, as well as a Page, Knight, Queen, and King. In Tarot divination, the Minor Arcana represents minor events in a person’s life, such as day-to-day activities.
The Major Arcana is made up of 22 trump cards, each with its own unique meaning. The Major Arcana symbolically tells a story of a person reaching spiritual fulfillment, beginning at Card 0 (the Fool) and ending at Card 21 (the World). In Tarot divination, the Major Arcana represents large and important events in a person’s fate, usually signifying a new 'chapter’ in someone’s life or a life-altering decision. These cards are:
10 - The Wheel of Fortune
🔮 How is Tarot able to tell the future?
This is one of the most speculated questions among witches and occultists. Simply put, it depends on what you believe.
Some practitioners have a specific spirit or deity that they work with, such as their ancestors or a personal deity. They use the cards as a tool to channel the voice of these entities, and rely on the knowledge of the spirit or god to predict the future.
Some practitioners believe that the Tarot itself has a spirit that lives within the cards, and this divinatory spirit will reveal hidden knowledge through card readings.
While both of these can totally be true - and while Tarot decks are a perfect tool to communicate with spirits and gods - I have found that my Tarot decks will give accurate readings even if there are no spirits around, and even if I sense no spirit in the cards themselves.
This leads me to one of the more new-age beliefs, which I’ve heard circulated in many chaos magic circles. There is a wonderful book called The Chaos Protocols by Gordon White that talks about this theory extensively.
Basically, the theory states Tarot cards are not the ones telling the future: you are. While humans are very much earthly creatures that exist in this material world, we also possess a consciousness or spirit that exists in higher dimensions. In these higher dimensions, constructs like space and time are less concrete and more fluid. Many astral travelers describe experiences where they are able to see through time while in the astral dimensions, and this Tarot theory builds off of that.
In this theory, the Tarot cards are nothing more than a way for a person to tap into their subconscious mind (the 'higher self’), and their higher self relays information about the future through the card reading.
Whatever way you practice, whatever you believe, the Tarot is a deeply spiritual and personal tool, and I would advise learning its secrets directly from the cards themselves.
In reality, there is no wrong way to read the Tarot. The bond between a witch and their Tarot deck(s) is typically very personal, and many readers find that individual decks have their own personalities and prefer to be read in a certain way or for a specific reason (general readings, love readings, health readings, etc.).
For instance, I have one deck I will use to read for others. I have another deck I will only use to read for myself. I also have a deck that I only ask questions about my relationship. And so on.
In general, Tarot divination is pretty simple.
Begin by shuffling the deck with a specific purpose or question in mind.
You’ll reach a point where the deck feels 'ready’. Use your intuition, and trust your gut.
If you wish to do a spread, begin pulling cards off the top of the deck and lay them out in the spread. If doing a one-card reading, pull a card off the top. If you wish to simply have a 'conversation’ with your deck, pull as many cards off the top as feels right.
Interpret your card(s) using both the actual meaning of the card (which you can usually find in a booklet that comes with your deck, or you can also use the meanings found online) as well as your own interpretation of the symbols in the card. If you’re using a spread or multiple cards, it can also be helpful to look at the reading as a whole and see how the meanings of each card relate to the other cards in the spread.
Once you’re done, put the pulled cards back into the deck.
This is the spread I will use most commonly. It is a simple three-card spread to reveal a glimpse of the past, present, and future.
Pull one card from the deck and lay it down in front of you. This card represents your current situation.
Pull a second card and lay it down to the left of your first card. This represents the circumstances or events that led you to your current situation.
Pull a third card and lay it down to the right of your first card. This represents where your current situation will lead you if you stay on your current path.
Such as the first card in my spread described above, a card that represents you or your current circumstances is called a significator. Significators are not necessary, but are helpful to base questions off of and build the rest of the reading around.
By no means do you have to follow the reading method I’ve listed above. Shuffling and pulling cards is a very intuitive and personal process. Some readers will lay all the cards out and pick some at random. Some readers will shuffle until one or more cards fall out of the deck. Experiment with your cards and see what feels right.
The idea that Tarot decks have to be gifted to you is a superstition. The decks I’ve bought for myself work just as well as the ones others have given to me.
It is wise to cleanse your deck when you first get it, but I find it a bit impractical to cleanse your deck every single time you use it, especially if you read for yourself daily.
You do not need a special bag to keep your Tarot cards in. All of my decks live happily on my altar.
Tarot cards are not just for divination. They can also be utilized in spells to represent people, spirits, deities, or energies.
You can create a very powerful protection spell by placing the 22 Major Arcana cards in a circle around you.
Oracle cards are very similar to Tarot cards, except that they don’t follow the standard layout of the Minor and Major Arcanas. Oracle cards are divination cards that have their own symbols, meanings, and layout created by the designer of each specific oracle deck. These can often be easier to use, especially for beginners, because they are usually not as cryptic or archetypal as the traditional Tarot.
Do not feel ashamed or less effective if you have to look up the meaning of each card. I’ve been reading the Tarot for 7 years now, and I still have to look up card meanings every now and again.
Tarot readings do not show a future that is set in stone. They show the future based on current circumstances. If a circumstance changes (such as you changing your mind about a course of action), the future will also change.
Brightest blessings, and best of luck 🌙
