Tarot Card Reading
Tarot Card Reading has become one of the most popular forms of divination today. The word Tarot brings about a feeling of mysticism, occult, magic and mystery whenever it is mentioned. There are hundreds of different Tarot Card decks available in the market today thereby making anyone who possesses a set of Tarot cards a novice reader or a Tarot enthusiast. Some attribute Tarot Cards to be the work of Satan, whereas some brush it off as antics of ‘hocus pocus.’ The reality is that the Tarot Cards are a very sacred and powerful tool for divination which has a very typical structured format.
Tarot Cards are traditionally a set of 78 cards divided into 2 parts or arcana. The Major Arcana comprises of 22 cards and the Minor Arcana consists of 56 cards. The cards in the Major Arcana are also known as the Trump Cards as this Arcana represents the major turning points of a person’s life i.e. their commitments, tragedies, triumphs etc. it represents a person’s journey through life, its various phases, realizations, pitfalls etc until they reaches their destination, from where ironically the cycle of life and the journey begins all over again. The Minor Arcana is divided into 4 suits i.e. Pentacles (Earth), Wands (Fire), Cups (Water) and Swords (Air).It represents the day to day aspects of life including our work, relationships, ideas, ambitions etc. it is believed that the modern playing cards originated from the Minor Arcana and the Cups, Wands, Pentacles and Swords evolved to Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds and Spades respectively.
The theory behind how exactly the Tarot works is unknown. We all have our own beliefs and reasoning but if one asks for a scientific or logical explanation of this deep mystical art, we may not have anything to offer. A commonly accepted theory is that the Tarot works entirely on intuition and the symbolism involved in the cards. The skill of the interpreter is extremely important in order to have a clear and accurate reading. Every small thing in a reading matters, be it the position of the card, the symbols in it and even the faith of the person seeking an answer. I have often seen that people who do not have faith and those who come with the purpose of mockery never get their answers. On the other hand, those who are receptive and who earnestly seek an answer get amazing guidance and get to see and understand the depth of their situation in a way that they have never seen or anticipated before.
The reader and seeker need to ‘tune in’ to the cards during a reading. The seeker picks up cards by using his or her intuition. They may feel drawn to a certain card in the spread or might feel a tingling or warm sensation upon touching the ‘right’ card. The reader then interprets the cards based on the question or situation at hand. Like with any form of energy or mystical activity, the amount of energy or guidance you receive totally depends on your capacity and readiness to take.
The Tarot can give guidance at every level, right from mundane issues to relationships, finances and even give deep spiritual guidance. It is what connects us to our deepest desires, fears, and ambitions and even to the part of us that is hidden, whose existence we may not be aware of. It is the link to our past, present and future. It has the ability to give us a picture of the outcome of our actions and decisions and what we can do to change or alter it. It can tell us about tomorrow based on how we act, live and think today. The truth is dynamic and ever changing. Nothing is written in stone. But with the help of the Tarot we can be in tandem and in harmony with our lives and our true purpose.