Welcome to Tarot-Explained.com! Tarot-Explained has detailed interpretations of every card that go through their meanings and how they affect you! Everything here is completely free. Get started now by looking at the meanings of the cards, or perhaps continue reading for an overview of Tarot. I hope you enjoy your time at Tarot-Explained, and I sincerely hope the site helps you on your journey.
What is Tarot, can everyone learn tarot?
Tarot is a complex form of divination. The tarot reader uses the 78 tarot cards to decode the message presented; be it the future, the past, or life choices. There are many ways to interpret Tarot cards. As well as this, there are many spreads (ways to lay the cards), which can deal with all sorts of different situations. Tarot is both an eclectic and deep system of divination. Tarot-Explained.com will teach you all about Tarot, so if you’re just getting started with tarot, this is the perfect place!
Where did Tarot come from?
The origin of the Tarot system of divination is not entirely clear. What is agreed upon is that in the mid 15th century, pictures on cards started appearing. Tarot cards and regular playing cards are deeply connected. There are four suits; Cups, Swords, Wands and Pentacles, compared to Hearts, Spades, Clubs and Diamonds. To add to the similarity; Tarot was also originally used in games.
Tarot as a form of divination comes about as a result of Antoine Court de Gébelin, a French pastor. He was certain that the cards held within them some ancient Egyptian mystic wisdom. Egypt, as a source of mystic schools and traditions, was a hot topic in those days. If you look closely, Egypt is still popular now in more ways than you’d think.
Antoine Court de Gébelin wrote ‘Le Monde primitif’ (The Primeval World), a book on contemporary society. Within it, he wrote a chapter on Tarot, and his perceived origin of the cards. He said they were created by Thoth, a figure present in many religions, a God of knowledge. Thoth is known by many names. You might recognise him as Hermes Trismegistus, and you may be familiar with the Emerald Tablets of Thoth, upon which whole essays could be written. The Egyptian link continues to this day, many symbols on the illustrated cards in many decks are Egyptian in origin.
Certain comparisons are made with the Tarot and western mystical traditions of the nineteenth century, such as Kabbalah, specifically the Tree of life. Many decks were created during this time, including the ever popular Rider-Waite deck. The Rider Waite deck is beautifully illustrated with symbolism of Egypt and other mystic traditions, which also help to describe the cards and see meanings from new angles.
Nowadays, Tarot has seen an enormous boom in popular culture. There are countless decks and ways to interpret the cards. Tarot-Explained draws from many sources, with years of research put in, to provide a concise definition of all 78 tarot cards, as well as popular spreads.
How do I learn Tarot?
There is no right way, or wrong way, to practice divination from Tarot. There are established ways, and certain universal rules that you can take and apply to your own readings. So do you want to start right now? Shuffle your cards, place a card each into the past, present and future positions, then look up their meanings in the Card meanings section. That’s a quick simple spread. You should first look into what the cards mean, and then how they connect with each other. Tarot-explained.com will guide you through your tarot journey, whether you’re just starting to learn tarot, or if you’re looking for a resource to refer back to.