An Overview of Tarot

                                                              by Tia Joy
 

 
What is Tarot? (pronounced Ta-row). Tarot is a form of divination that uses a special deck of cards to reveal probable outcomes to questions asked. The layout of the cards and how they fall is a story that unfolds to the reader. The reader interprets the story and relates the events that she sees to give answers to the querent (person asking question). Each reader may interpret the cards differently, but generally the overall answer should be along the same lines. The cards "speak" to the reader and all s he does is pass along the information that she "hears."

The tarot cards are a series of symbols presented on a deck of cards. Most decks consist of 78 cards. The deck is divided into two parts. The first is called the Major Arcana and the second is known as the Minor Arcana. The word "Arcana" comes from the La tin arcanus, which means closed or secret. In the concept of Tarot readings, it usually holds the meaning of secret or mystery.

The Major Arcana are considered to be the trump suit and consist of twenty-two cards. Each card is unique from the others in appearance, title, and meaning. The cards here represent action, behavior and/or events. In a reading, the Major Arcana represents states of being. This simply means that the cards describe the querents mental, emotional and spiritual status surrounding the reading and the current circumstances of the questions posed. All of the cards in the Major Arcana are numbered, with one excep tion. The numbers begin with One and end with Twenty-One. The Fool (Joker) is the only unnumbered card and most often can be found with the number Zero in place.

The Minor Arcana complete the remaining fifty-six cards in the Tarot deck. These cards are divided equally into four suits and are most commonly referred to as being a representation of the modern deck of playing cards. The four suits in the Minor Arcana and what they each represent are (with the relation to the modern deck in parenthesis) are Swords (Spades)-mental and/or intellectual state, Cups/Chalices (Hearts)-emotional life, Coins/Pentacles(Diamonds)-physical and/or material status and Wands/Batons( Clubs)-career abilities and potentials. There are fourteen cards in each suit beginning with the Ace and ending with the King. Unlike the modern deck, there is also an addition of the Page card (sometimes referred to as Valet) which precedes the Knight. These cards describe events or situations overall. The court cards (Page, Knight, Queen and King) often represent people in the querents life, or they may have the same interpretation as the pip cards(Ace through Ten).

Where the Major Arcana represents the involvement of physical forces, the Minor Arcana relates to social status, occupations, etc. For example, Swords correspond with the characteristics of executives and the aristocracy, while the working class would hav e more in common with the Wands. The clergy and religious groups fall under the energies of the Cups, while merchants, traders and retailers fall under the influences of Pentacles.

Each suit has a direction in which its energies may be applied in relation to the questions of the querent.

The suit of Swords represent force, strength and courage in the face of adversity. They
symbolize the part in each of us which stimulates ambition, activity and progress, as well as accomplishment for good or bad. They are the rulers of the element of Air and their expression through the mind gives them the power to dominate.

The suit of Wands relates to the qualities of enterprise, particularly the enterprise of modest and humble people who strive to better their families and themselves. This is the suit of the worker or laborer. The Wands are rulers of the element of Fire.

The suit of Cups signifies love, happiness, and joy, and also deals with religion. Cups hold liquids, and Water is the element which deals with passions, feelings and the compassionate nature of mankind.

The suit of Pentacles relate to the gain or loss of material possessions, and to financial matters in general. Opportunities also come under their influence. Earth is the ruling element of the Pentacles suit.

Each of the court cards have their own ruling element as well and they are as follows:

          Kings are the mental expression of Air.
          Queens are the emotional expression of Water.
          Knights are the creative expression of Fire.
          Pages are the material expression of Earth.
 

Each of the suits are related to the astrological signs as follows:

           Wands            Leo, Aries and Sagittarius

           Swords          Gemini, Aquarius and Libra

           Cups              Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio

           Pentacles      Taurus, Capricorn and Virgo
 

The court cards also give an indication of the ages of the people the querent may encounter as follows:

           Kings     Mature man

           Queens    Mature woman

           Knights    Young man under age 30

           Pages      Children or the innocent
 

This concludes a brief overview of Tarot. Stay tuned for other topics that will include the History of Tarot and more in-depth overviews of the Major Arcana, Minor Arcana and
explanations of each suits individual cards as well as deck reviews and card lay outs.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Tarot. Good luck on your journey down this most
extraordinary path of knowledge and enlightenment.

Many Blessings to each of you and, may a bright light always be your guide.

**If you are interested in a private online tarot reading, please e-mail me. I request payment in advance and a reading normally runs 15-30 minutes. A 15 minute reading is $15.00 and a 30 minute reading is $25.00.
e-mail fireslites@aol.com