The Origins of Tarot
By: Aussie Angel
Tarot is one of our ancient forms of fortune telling or divination, it can foretell the present, past and future. It can give us guidance through our life's journey. It is often used by psychics as a guide when giving psychic readings. The exact origin of the tarot reading is still at large a mystery. However Tarot can be traced back to over three thousand years ago.
Egypt - the stone tablets
Many scholars today believe tarot originated in Atlantis. It is believed that Tarot came from stone tablets in Egypt, perhaps bought there during the last day of Atlantis. The tablets were considered by the Egyptians to be one of their most sacred items.
With the decay of Egyptian culture, the tablets and the Book of Life were transferred for safekeeping to the great library of Alexandria. Centuries later when the library was burnt down the tablets of stones were rescued and placed in the hands of the nomadic Gypsies to prevent the stone tablets falling into the hands of pagans. However, these stones were awkward for the nomadic tribe to carry, so the Gypsies carefully reproduced each stone on small sheets of metal (more than likely to be made of silver and gold).
It is believed the Gypsies then buried or destroyed the original stones. The gypsies knew and understood the messages on the stones and became known for their ability to read the book to others, thus foretelling the future.
The First Tarot Deck
The earliest known Tarot cards date back to 1390s. With the invention of cardboard and later block printing, the cards found wider distribution. To further reduce the cost and because of a fashionable game of that time Tarroc. It used the Minor Arcana and the Fool from the Major Arcana. The other twenty-one cards where dropped from the deck. Even more economical decks were produced when the queen was dropped from the decks. After the Inquisition the Queens where restored to the decks and the knights and pages were combined to form our modern deck of cards.
Tarot - A Form of Art
The earlier Tarot Cards were the exclusive possession of nobility who commissioned an artist to paint reproductions. The individual artists were careful to maintain the original colours and symbology, yet each pack was the individual artist conception and interpretation. Sometimes, they may have used the faces of the people at court to portray the images on the cards they were painting for Novelty. The cost of painting a pack of cards was excessive, both because of the tie involved and because they were painted on sheets of precious metal.
The Popular Tarot Card Game
One thing for sure is that the cards were used in Italy in the 15th century as a popular card game. Wealthy patrons commissioned beautiful decks, some of which have survived until now. The Visconti-Sforza, created in 1450s, is one of the oldest and most complete decks.
Understanding the Meaning of Tarot
Later in the 18th and 19th centuries, the cards were found by a number of important scholars of the occult. They were fascinated by the tarot reading and recognized that the images on the cards were more powerful than just a popular card game would suggest. They revealed or recreated the history of the tarot reading by connecting the cards to Egyptian mysteries, the Kabbalah (now popular in Hollywood), Hermetic philosophy, alchemy, and other mystical systems. All these pursuits continued into the early part of the 20th century when the tarot reading was incorporated into the practices of various secret societies, one of them was the Order of the Golden Dawn.
Modern Tarot
Tarot has been subjected to many different styles over the centuries and even today there are many different packs available. Generally they are known by the name of the person who researched and designed the individual packs. Fore example, the Ryder Waite packs were designed by Arthur Edward Waite, the artwork was by Pamela Coleman Smith and was published by Ryder, others may be known by the country in which they originated such as the Swiss, French, and Spanish packs. The choices are many.
The general rule in picking a pack of Tarot is up to the individual. Some say that you should not buy a pack of cards for yourself, but I have found over the years, that again, it is the individual choice of the person wanting to know more about this fascination form of divination. Its method stemmed back to the times when tarot was not readily available to the individual person.
Everyone has psychic abilities if they choose to be aware of them. We can all learn divination and reading tarot cards. However to do this accurately and proficiently one must seek advice from a qualified professional psychic or tarot card reader, who has the ability to pass on these psychic gifts.
Have a go at our online tarot card reading http://www.psychic.com.au/psychic-free-tarot-sample-reading.htm
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