No one knows exactly how long tarot cards have been around. Certainly, they were precursors to the modern deck of playing cards. History also tells of gypsy fortunetellers who divined the future with them and there are even rumors that the tarot was used in Egypt during the golden age of the pharoahs.

What are tarot cards exactly? They are seventy-eight cards with pictures and symbols designed to foretell future events and help a person learn more about themselves and the problems that they face in life. There are fifty-six minor arcana, which are very similar to today’s playing cards, and twenty-two major arcana. Some very popular decks today are the Rider-Waite and Marseilles tarot decks. However, there are many, many decks to choose from featuring myths and legends like King Arthur to incorporating Native American artistry. It depends upon what feels right to the person wanting to purchase them. A person’s tarot deck is very personal and no one else is supposed to give readings with it. Some people wrap their cards in a scarf while not in use while others place them in a box or a stylized bag. It is also important to know that not everyone reads the cards in the same way. There are many different tarot spreads and many techniques in the shuffling and the way one is supposed to read the cards. In my twenty years of experience, I find that the person should do what feels natural to them.

Each card is deeply symbolized. The minor arcana features four suits numbering from one to ten and each suit has a knave (or prince), knight, queen, and king. The suits are wands (staves), cups, swords, and coins (pentacles). Wands speak of work and progress, cups emote love, swords carry the burdens of troubles, and coins are coincidentally about money. The court cards are usually people in the querent’s (or questioner’s) life, but it can also mean an emotion that the querent will feel. When cards of the minor arcana appear in a person’s spread the events in the reading will not be of a very high significance. The cards of the major arcana foretell large events in a person’s life. These cards carry the most symbols and are numbered from one to twenty-two.

A good tarot book is a must for any beginner. A person with a tarot book will memorize the cards and soon be able to give readings without it. Reading tarot cards is a very ancient tradition and is an easy way to connect better with yourself and other people.