Tarot – Deck Basics
Whether you are getting a Tarot reading for the first time or the thousandth time it is important that you have a general idea of what Tarot is and how the deck works. Every regular Tarot deck contains the major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. Some Tarot decks will very in size, color and symbols used to distinguish them.
The first 22 cards in the Tarot deck are the Major Arcana which consist of 22 cards and are the most important cards in the deck. They provide detail to the psychological state of the person and specify the areas that must be worked on to promote psychological growth. Basically, these cards reflect our “inner self” and have spiritual significance to the individual. This is the simplest way of showing the phases of growth begins with looking at the “The Fool” starting out on his journey through life as “The Fool” is numbered 0.
The Tarot deck shows you the travel of “The Fool” from his first appearance in the Major Arcana until the end of the 22 cards when he reaches “The World”. “The World” is the last card in the Major Arcana numbered 22. From the first time we see him, traveling from being a spark of enlightened perfection, into facing the trials of life that we all go through, experiencing the lessons of both positive and negative in order to grow and change until we gain enough wisdom and insight of life to become an enlightened being. On reaching this final stage “The Fool” has evolved into the same state of being he was when he first arrived. Looking through the major Arcana you can easily follow his journey!
The following 40 cards are the Minor Arcana. They add a fullness and depth to the details given in the Major Arcana. The Minor Arcana is the representation of everything else in life; relationships, events, work, money and other things that are going on around you in your life. The 40 cards are divided into four suits. Typically, these suits are Cups, Wands, Swords and Coins, but not always as each deck is slightly different. These suits resemble the suits in regular decks of playing cards where we have Hearts, Spades, Clubs and Diamonds, as this is where Tarot cards originated from. The four suits of the Minor arcana are ruled by the four elements earth, water, fire and air.
The last part of the deck are the court cards. There are 16 court cards that are also split into four sections of four cards for each of the four individual suits. The court cards are the link between the Major and Minor Arcana and show up in a spread representing a whole range of circumstances. These cards typically represent the people in your life or an aspect of a characteristic of your personality. They can show the arrival of a new person entering into your life or someone who is already a part of your life that will bring change by influencing a situation. These cards also represent an event, a shift in circumstances or the arrival of news or messages from someone else.
The specific sections of the Tarot card deck determine different areas of our lives, but no one area is any more vital than another, its all about balance. All aspects are vital to bring together structure and balance which is the point of the Tarot. It is a valuable tool and will show us the area in our life that is out of balance. It is important to know that we are the rulers of our own destinies and we create our own path. The Tarot is here to help guide us!
Heather aka Shadows
PsychicCosmos.com
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