The Origins
The first decks of 78 Tarot Cards appeared in the 15th century. The first origins are somewhat cloudy. Some will say they first originally were produced in Italy and used as a game of playing cards. The aspect of using them for oracles came much later on.
Other legends recount the Knights Templar bringing them back from the Middle East during the crusades and the cards having Arabic origins. This history recounts that they were already used from ancient times for the purpose of psychic readings and insight, complete with their air of mystery and spiritual aura.
Certainly India, Egypt, Persia and China had been using picture based systems for many centuries. There are histories recorded around the same time as the dawn of the Italian cards. These have similarities in the suits that later become the four suits in the modern day European decks.
The Marseille Deck
The basis of most of our popular decks today comes from the “Tarot de Marseille” decks. These were produced later and are mainly attributed to Antoine Court de Gebelin. He was a former member of the Clergy who created many writings on the Cards and undertook many years of research. He looked to the Ancient Egyptians and their esoteric beliefs and believed their sacred secrets came directly from the Egyptian Book of Thoth. Through the interpretation of the cards, hidden mysteries could be revealed. De Gebelin proposed various ways of interpretation and layout and things then developed from there.
Tarot Cards
In each deck there are 4 suits comprising of 10 cards numbered 1 to 10, plus 4 cards with pictures of the “Royal Family”; Page, Knight, Queen, King. In addition there are the 22 Major Arcana or picture cards which are also labelled number 0 to 21 or 1 to 22 .
The Four Suits of Tarot Cards Are:
WANDS/STAVES/RODS/CLUBS representing creativity, imagination, dreams and desires, action. Wands represent the Fire signs Aries, Leo, Sagittarius and the season of Spring.
CUPS/CHALICES/HEARTS representing emotions, love and empathy. Cups represent the water signs Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio and the season of summer.
COINS/PENTACLES/DIAMONDS representing material situations, the physical, material progress, the home, security etc. The earth signs of Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are represented by this suit, as well as the autumn season.
SWORDS/SPADES representing battles, or “cutting through” issues, challenges and observations. Swords also represent the air signs Gemini, Libra and Aquarius and the winter season
The Major Arcana cards are also the Trump cards of the pack and are therefore viewed as being the cards with the most powerful messages. They tell a story, and are like representations of various learning stages in life, people we encounter, influences and situations. From a reading perspective they hold the keys to the various lessons in life we can expect. Get a Tarot Card Reading today!