Tarot FAQ
From SourceryForge
This is some answers to common qustions in Tarot. A simple answer will be given here, with possible links to more detailed information. Some questions may have more than one answer to express differing schools of thought.
No real order to the questions yet. Somebody tidy them up when we've got more...
Add an answer, add a question. Try and link answers to useful related nodes.
Where did the Tarot come from?
Tarot cards were invented in mid 15th century as playing cards for a trick-taking game and are used as such till today in Europe (and among reenactment enthusiasts elswhere). It is still debated among scholars since when they were used for cartomancy. But it is a fact that occult tarot as we know it today was developed in the late 18th century by French occultists, and refined a century and more later by the members and ex-members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Both occultists and early scholars have made up numerous theories about the "real" history of Tarot. The alleghed origins include, but are not limited to Gypsies, ancient Egypt, the Knights Templar and mysterious unknown medieval adepts. All those theories are rated impossible or highly unlikely today. Nevertheless, you will still run into people believing and promoting them.
Of course, over time tarot was linked to much older wisdom, such as kabalah and astrology. but that doesn't mean it was created with these matters in mind in the first place. Such systems are a good thing when they offer a system that helps understanding oneself and the world, but they derrive their authority from personal resonance, not from antiquity.
Generally, it is a misconception in magick that things that work need to be hundreds or thousands of years old, or that being that old will make things work. Often, the contrary is true. We are better off with tools that resonate with our life experience, not with that of people long since gone.
Delving into tarot history can be fun and may even teach us a thing or two about the cards. But it is not the key to real understanding, or to making the cards work. It is the practitioners personal relationship to those symbols that makes all the difference, and his/her connection to their own subconsciousness and the world arround them.
http://TarotCanada.tripod.com/IntroductionToTarot.html
Which is the original/real/proper deck?
There is no such thing. Of course, the historical Marseilles decks can be seen as such, but they were never really used for cartomancy prior to the 18th century. They have unillustrated pips and may be hard to learn for those who rely on pictures in their interpretations.
Others claim that Rider Waite Deck or the Thoth Tarot are the right thing to use. They are the oldest occult decks still widely available today, and may be the most influential decks. It has advantages if a beginner starts studying with one of those (or their close clones), among them the fact that the decks have a big user base and many books written about them. Also, the student gets the basics right and isn't in the danger of learning the idiosyncrasies of some obscure deck as the gold standard.
How does the Tarot work?
How can I get started?
Get a deck, get a beginner's book that seems to make sense to you, and start doing readings. That's pretty much it. Practice will teach you how to be successful, and will show you what else you might want to study. To get the most out of your practice, record your readings, their results and your thoughts on the cards. Most people find a ring binder most convenient for that. In the beginning it is fine to look into the book during a reading, but you should try to get past this soon, and let the pictures speak to you. It may help if you take a day for every card to look at it, think about it and read what your book has to say. Books and other tarot readers can give guidance, but in the end everybody must work out their connection to the cards and the best way of using them for themselves.
In the long run, tarot should be used in the context of some spiritual and magickal path. Practicing a meditation or relaxation technique regularly may also help. But that is beyond the scope of a Tarot FAQ.
Is it true that you're not supposed to buy your own deck?
This is mere superstition. Of course it's nice to get your first deck as a present from a teacher, or someone who means much to you, but there's nothing wrong with buying it. Most probably this goes back to times when you were not supposed to study the hermetic arts without a teacher, but today there are many solitary practiitioners that do well.
Does it predict the future?
Some people believe that it does. Others believe that the power to predict the future resides in the individual doing the reading. Frankly, the Tarot is far more useful than telling fortunes. The cards are rich with symbols that, when interpreted, can provide dramatic insight and new perspectives on issues the reader is facing. The chances are that the reader already knows the answer to questions asked of the Tarot, and the structure of the working, the state of Gnosis, and the pattern of the layout and symbols help unlock that higher awareness.
A reading is neither accurate nor inaccurate. Its power is in the effect it has on the subject of the reading.
Another thing to remember is that the future is not really set in stone. The best the cards can ever show is what may happen if things keep going in the same direction as they actually are. This again makes the reading's effect on the reader or client so important. We are free to chose our actions.
The cards are also useful as ritual objects. Use cards that have particular meaning for you as objects of power in your own workings.
Do you have to be psychic to read Tarot?
It probably helps to believe that you're psychic, but that's not a requirement. However, the Tarot will not give you psychic abilities, or enhance abilities or skills that you don't already possess. All that's required to read the Tarot is a personal connection with the cards—each card should have a meaning or significance to you that plays out in the structure of a layout.
What's the best deck to use?
Many people consider the Rider Waite Deck to be a good starting place to learn as it has a very rich symbology. Once you've learned the ropes, then the best deck to use is your deck, which ever one you are comfortable (and successful) with.
Folks that already follow some magickal or spiritual path will want to chose a deck that is consistent with or at least not contradictory their tradition. Magickians should be aware that the Toth deck is stongly connected with Thelema, and Aleister Crowleys somewhat ideosyncratic attributions to other systems. The rider Waite deck (and it's numerous clones) is more on the Golden Dawn side, but also has some quircks in comparism with the golden dawn standard. Those that are into pre-Golden Dawn ceremonial magick often prefer Marseilles style decks. They also might want to have a look at egyptian style decks, or Etteila style decks sometimes available as reproductions of historical decks. Pagans may find all those hermetic decks inadequate, because they tend to draw heaviely on Judeo-christian traditions. There are enough pagan-themed decks to chose from today, so there's no need to bother with symbolism alien to one's tradition.
Should you let other people touch your cards?
The cards are symbols. Some people seperate out the message and the medium. (heh). Others don't. If in doubt then don't. (Personally I don't care and play free cell with mine, but I maintain respect for the symbol, if not the object. Elseware)
What is the book of Thoth?
In the egyptian pantheon,Thoth was the god of magic. In later times he or one of his his avatars were often named as autors of magickal texts to bestow them with authority. When the early French occulists started using tarot cards, they believed them to be of egyptian origin, and linked them with Thoth. Ettaila named his tarot deck the Book of Thoth. Much later, Aleister Crowley named his own deck also the Thoth Deck, or book of Thoth, although he probably knew that the story of the egyptian origin of the cards is only a romantic fantasy.
THE EMERALD TABLETS OF THOTH: http://www.crystalinks.com/emerald.html
Can you use normal playing cards?
There are many divination systems making use of ordinary playing cards of several flavours, or other specialized cards. see Cartomancy. If you have to use ordinary playing cards instead of tarot in some kind of emergency, or because you are in a place where you are not allowed to have a tarot deck, use the cards with the meanings of the Minor Arcana. If you have two decks availiable, you can make up your own cards for the missing ones. This also can be a very simple and effective way to make up your own basic tarot deck.
- http://TarotCanada.tripod.com/ReadingOrdinaryPlayingCards.html
- http://TarotCanada,tripod.com/MoreOrdinaryCards.html
Is Tarot Dangerous?
Tarot isn't more dangerous than any other divination system.
http://tarotcanada.tripod.com/AreTarotandPsychicReadingsEvil.html
http://tarotcanada.tripod.com/IsTarotEvil.html
Other systems
Tarot and Kabalah
http://www.byzant.com/tarot/kabbalah.asp
Tarot and Astrology
http://TarotCanada.tripod.com/AstrologicalCorrespondencesMajorArcana.html
Tarot and Christianity
http://TarotCanada.tripod.com/ChristianTarotArticles.html
