Note #40...Tarot: pronounced 'tare oh' or 'tare ah', no 'T' on end. It's use as a scrying tool is ancient with much dispute over its origins. I will leave such delving of history to you & others.
Tarot decks usually have 78 cards divided into 22 cards called the Major Arcana & the rest make up 4 suits of the Minor Arcana. To help understand the Minor Arcana think of: Hearts/Cups; Diamonds/Pentacles or Coins; Clubs/Wands or Rods; & Spades/Swords. These also represent the 5 Elements. Suits run King to Ace, with 2 (Page & Knight) cards for the 'Jack.' These have traditional pictures & meanings depicting the reader (querent) as the Fool traveling through life. Each suit has a meaning, the card number carries a meaning & ALL these meanings combine to aid you to divine.
As in other scrying tools, the tarot does NOT predict the future. BUT allows for YOUR intuitive skills to manifest themselves in a way that you can be aided & guided by your own intuition. Aided in gaining a greater wisdom of the Great Wheel that you travel. Some keep Tarot limited to parlor tricks & games, this is up to you. However, if you're serious & Tarot seems to be your talent; then buy a set that 'speaks' to you, handle them daily, get some books & be prepared to LEARN!
Try starting with a Rider-Waite deck to begin with because of the traditional symbolism present in these & copying decks. I like the set of Barbara Walker's Tarot Deck & book 'Secrets of the Tarot' because it will teach you origins & history as well as traditional meanings of the cards. And though it's NOT important to memorize every single card, it IS important to learn & understand the symbolism behind Tarot. After awhile, you'll be surprised at how you memorized the cards without hard memory work, it will come naturally. As in other magicking, exercises can combine - Tarot can (or not) be combined with Astrology & Numerology, for example. But to be expert, as with most things - study & practice and... * KEEP THOSE CARDS SCRYING!!! *
BOOKS & SOURCES: The Mystical Tarot by Rosemary Ellen Guiley; Tarot for Your Self by Mary Greer, in fact ANYTHING written by her is good! The New Tarot by Rachel Pollack as well as her 2 vol. - 78 Degrees of Wisdom. P* Hobbies BB / TAROT BOARD. Mailorder catalogs: US Games 1-800-544-2637 & request a catalog. This one clearly shows card samples & for if you heard about a deck but haven't seen it. MANY deck varieties are available to you! Llewelyn: 1-800-THE MOON, has decks that US Games doesn't. Newsletters: TAROT SIG, PO Box 561, Quincy IL 62306-0561 - 6x/yr, $9. Mary Greer's: T.A.R.O.T, PO Box 720, Nevada City CA 95959 - sorry, I don't have further data on this.
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NOTE: I, MYSELF ---
feel VERY strongly AGAINST so-called Indian decks. Generally ripoffs, these range from quite offensive & inaccurate to interesting & inaccurate (including one NOT Tarot). IN MY OPINION these were developed to make-a-buck off the 'native' fad sweeping this country, I MYSELF boycott such decks, in sympathy & RESPECT to the REAL Native culture being exploited for greed. This is my opinion based on what I've read from Native American commentaries & personal belief.
