What Were Tarot Cards Originally Used For?

Tarot cards were originally designed to be used in games. In a text written before 1425 by Martiano da Tortona, he gives a very brief explanation of the rules for a tarot-like deck. For the next two centuries, vague descriptions of game play or game terminology prevailed, until the earliest known detailed description of rules for a French variation was published in 1637. Tarot is a game with several regional variations. Tarocchini is still played in Bologna, and there are others in Piedmont and Sicily, although it is not as popular in Italy as it is elsewhere.

Tarot experienced its greatest resurrection in the 18th century, when it became one of Europe's most popular card games, with the exception of Ireland and the United Kingdom, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Ottoman Balkans. Beginning in the 1970s, French tarot underwent a new renaissance, and the country now has the largest tarot game community in the world. Regional tarot games, sometimes known as tarock, tarok, or tarokk, are popular in Central Europe, particularly within the former Austro-Hungarian empire's borders.

Where did tarot card reading come from?

A mocking tarot card marked “Dear Policeman, I am God” was left near the scene of one shooting by the sniper terrorizing Greater Washington, D.C. What is the origin of tarot cards?

Tarot cards are thought to have first appeared in northern Italy in the late 14th or early 15th centuries. The Visconti-Sforza deck, the oldest surviving set, was made for the Duke of Milan's family in 1440. The cards were used to play tarocchi, a bridge-like game popular among nobility and other leisure seekers at the period. The whimsical imagery on the cards—from the Fool to Death—were inspired by the costumed figures who participated in carnival parades, according to tarot historian Gertrude Moakley.

What's the meaning behind tarot cards?

What do tarot cards symbolize in general? Tarot cards are used to provide guidance and “medicine” for what is going on in your personal orbit, such as love, money, job, aspirations, and overall life path.

What can you use tarot cards for?

“Tarot cards do not predict the future; rather, they are a spiritual counseling tool that allows the person getting the reading to connect to his or her inner wisdom,” she told INSIDER. “Tarot readings can help a person figure out what they need to know about a circumstance. Readings give a person insight into past, current, and future occurrences based on the person's current path at the time of the reading, therefore decks are best utilized as a tool of inner wisdom and guidance. The cards do not always predict what will happen; instead, they help a person obtain a better knowledge of a situation and select the best course of action based on what is known and what the cards reveal.”

What came first playing cards or tarot?

As I see it, “Because, as it turns out, no one knows who invented the initial card decks that evolved into what we now know as the Tarot. As it turns out, the same is true for conventional playing cards. Playing cards first arrived in Europe in the 14th or 15th centuries, from somewhere other than Europe. We can't determine whether it was Arabia or China, but considering the chasm between our modern card decks and games like Mah Jong, I'm betting on China. So we can't say for sure whether Tarot or playing cards came first, however it's possible that both, and it's likely that they have a similar ancestor.

What we do know for sure is that by the fifteenth century, Europeans, particularly Italians, were playing card games, some of which featured graphics inspired, in part, by Italian festivals and plays. Carta da trifoni was a game in which the four suits we know today were combined with other cards with greater individuality. These allegorical emblems of Fools, Devils, Death, and others may have served as warnings “In this old game, “trump” refers to the winning cards. Like a complete suit of aces or jokers; and yes, the modern playing card joker is most likely tied to The Fool in the Tarot.

What religion do tarot cards come from?

The tarot (, originally known as trionfi and subsequently as tarocchi or tarock) is a deck of cards that has been used in many regions of Europe from at least the mid-15th century to play games including Italian tarocchini, French tarot, and Austrian Königrufen, all of which are still played today. Some tarot decks began to be utilized for divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy in the late 18th century, leading to the creation of specialized cards for such occult purposes.

Tarot includes four suits, which vary by region: French suits in Northern Europe, Latin suits in Southern Europe, and German suits in Central Europe, similar to traditional playing cards. Each suit consists of 14 cards: ten pip cards numbered one (or Ace) to ten, as well as four face cards (King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave/Page). The tarot deck also includes a distinct 21-card trump suit and a solitary card known as the Fool; this 22-card segment of the deck is known as the Major Arcana in divinatory circles. The Fool can either operate as the top trump or be used to avoid following suit, depending on the game. Throughout much of Europe, these tarot cards are still used to play traditional card games with no supernatural overtones.

Tarot cards are mostly used for novelty and divinatory purposes in English-speaking nations where these games are not commonly played, and are usually packaged in specially designed packs. Although scholarly research has demonstrated that tarot cards were invented in northern Italy in the 15th century and confirmed that there is no historical evidence of the use of tarot for divination before the late 18th century, some who use tarot for cartomancy believe the cards have esoteric links to ancient Egypt, the Kabbalah, Indian Tantra, or the I Ching, some who use tarot for cartomancy believe the cards have esoteric links

Who invented tarot cards?

Jean-Baptise Alliette, a French occultist who wrote under the pen name Etteilla, is credited with designing the first tarot deck for divination purposes, as well as a treatise on how to use tarot for divination. His deck was heavily influenced by astrology, and he was the first to use spreads and interpret the cards in a continuous narrative. He maintained a tarot and astrology school that finally closed down after his death, but his teachings are still widely used today.

What is the most powerful tarot card?

The Fool is frequently included in the Major Arcana in tarot card readings. In tarot card games, however, the Fool's role is independent of both the plain suit cards and the trump cards, and the card does not fall into either group. As a result, most tarot decks designed for game play do not assign the Fool a number denoting its rank in the suit of trumps; it does not have one. Waite assigns the Fool the number 0 in his book, yet the Fool is discussed between Judgment, no. 20, and The World, no. 21. The Tarocco Piemontese is the only traditional game deck with a Fool 0 number. Tarot Nouveau decks have used a black inverted mullet as the Fool's corner index since the 1930s. The Fool is one of the most expensive cards in practically all tarot games.

What is difference between tarot and Oracle?

The majority of tarot cards have a mystical quality to them “The deck's “traditional structure” and common meanings The Rider-Waite deck is the basis for the majority of tarot decks. As a result, most tarot decks have similar messages and themes. However, depending on the art or topic of the deck, the visuals and photographs may differ, but the language behind each card is typically extremely similar (keep in mind that messages from tarot are partially based on interpretation). Oracle decks, on the other hand, frequently lack a unifying theme and are not based on a single deck.

Oracle cards are truly amazing “unrestricted”. Oracle cards are notoriously broad, allowing them to be read in a variety of ways and containing a wide range of substance. There are normally 78 cards in a deck of Tarot cards. There are some decks with more or less cards, but the total number of cards is usually 78. Oracle cards, on the other hand, do not have a defined number of cards in a deck. An oracle deck might be as small as ten cards or as large as one hundred.

What does it mean when all tarot cards are reversed?

Do you have a firm grasp on the fundamentals of Tarot card reading? You're ready for reversals now, aren't you?

Because upright Tarot cards are easier to interpret, the majority of Tarot readings on Tarot.com use only upright Tarot cards. However, many experienced Tarot readers

When Tarot cards are turned upside down, they might have a completely different meaning than when they are upright. Some people believe that a reversed Tarot card portends bad news, however this is not the case. Reversed Tarot cards frequently offer good news or simply amplify, weaken, or redirect the upright card's principal message.

When reversed Tarot cards appear in your Tarot reading, you must trust your instincts and look at the other cards to figure out what the reversed Tarot card is attempting to tell you. It could be positive, negative, or neither; it could just be communicating a lesson that you must learn.

Opposite meaning of the upright Tarot card

Many reversal Tarot readers believe that the reversed Tarot card conveys the exact opposite information as the upright card. The Devil card, for example, can signify being trapped in a reading, yet the reversed Devil card can indicate being set free. This is the simplest method for reading reversed Tarot cards, although it isn't always the best.

Increased or decreased energy

Some Tarot readers believe that reversed Tarot cards represent the same underlying energy as the upright card, but heightened or diminished. The 3 of Swords Tarot card, for example, can signify heartbreak if drawn upright. However, drawing the 3 of Swords backwards can imply that you are either less grieved than before — or that your intense pain appears insurmountable. It is up to the querent in this way of reading reversals to discern the true meaning of the card, so trust your instincts and pay attention to the surrounding cards.

Delays and blocked energy

It's likely that your reversed Tarot card is just trying to warn you that something will get in the way of the upright meaning of the card being realized. The 10 of Cups, for example, is a card of celebration when it is upright; it denotes happiness, marriage, birth, and other causes to rejoice. If this card appears in your spread reversed, it may indicate that you will still have these things, but you will have to wait for them. This isn't meant to be a negative thing; rather, it's meant to teach you patience or to assist you in removing the block.

Internal energy

Upright Tarot cards typically depict persons, energies, and situations that are influencing your life from the outside. However, when a Tarot card is reversed, the meaning might shift to one of internal influence. The Page of Cups in an upright position, for example, can signal the arrival of a new person or relationship in your life. Reversing the Page of Wands, on the other hand, could indicate that new emotions are rising within you — that your own perspectives on love and feeling are shifting independently of external circumstances or who happens to be in your life at the time.

Because the significance of reversed Tarot cards isn't always evident, such readings are better left to more experienced Tarot readers. However, the only way to improve is to gain experience, so go ahead and practice! The more Tarot readings you do, whether upright or reverse, the more intuitive the process becomes.

What is difference between tarot and astrology reading?

Horoscopes, on the other hand, are concerned with the positions of planets at a certain period. When it comes to interpreting tarot card readings, a certain card can correspond to a zodiac sign, and vice versa, with zodiac signs representing specific outcomes.

The ways in which astrology and tarot are computed, as well as how accurate they can be, differ. Because tarot cards are selected at random, they aren't as calculated as astrology and can be different for everyone. Tarot card readings are tailored to the individual, and the cards are pulled by the person's “spiritual guide,” which is similar to a guardian angel. The cards chosen in a reading represent messages from your spirit guide, which can be important or minor.

Math and the exact locations of the sun, moon, and planets are used in astrology. Because a birthdate can be shared by numerous people, it's not as customized as tarot readings. Astrology can be thought of as a more rational and methodical version of tarot, as it can sometimes involve numbers like the Angel Number 1010. While tarot can be interpreted differently for each person and varies depending on who is giving the reading, it is more factual.

The Basics of Tarot

Now that you've learned the differences between tarot and astrology, it's time to have some fun. A tarot deck is made up of 78 cards, which are then divided into two groupings, the Minor Arcana and the Major Arcana, according to Cosmopolitan.

Are tarot cards part of astrology?

If you've dabbled in astrology long enough to know your sun, moon, and rising signs, chances are you've also tried (or at least contemplated) reading tarot cards. While these two magical disciplines may only appear to be comparable in the sense that they may both be found in the occult section of your local bookshop, they are conceptually and symbolically quite similar. In fact, each tarot card in astrology correlates to a particular planet, sign, or elemental combination, and each zodiac sign has its own tarot card.