Tarot History

According to occult legend, the original Tarot cards comprised "chapters" in a book known as The Book of Thoth. At the founding of Egypt, unknown centuries ago, the God Thoth is said to have given humanity the knowledge of medicine, astrology, language, art, and various sciences such as mathematics and engineering. The original chapters of The Egyptian Book of The Dead are said to have been written by Thoth.

When the Egyptian Empire began to crumble, the god Thoth intervened. He desired to keep alive the knowledge and wisdom that he had provided his people. To save his contribution to Mankind, he took all of the wisdom he passed on to the Egyptian Empire and placed it onto a series of 22 tablets. He did this by using symbols and pictures instead of words. These tablets became known as The Book of Thoth. As the empire continued to fall, the tablets found their way into the hands of gypsies. The gypsies copied the symbols of the tablets onto cards that became the Major Arcana of the Tarot deck.

It is known that a deck of fortune telling cards was used in 1390 A.D.

Lesson #1:  The Tarot is meant to be used as a Tool in interpreting the events unfolding within and outside of our daily atmosphere. Tarot CAN be used to read ones own path, it is necessary however, to be as clear of thought and emotion as possible in order to do so.
One possible assistant would be the use of a Tape Recorder. Not everyone is used to hearing their own voice over a tape recorder, therefore, recording your questions and then playing them back in order to read for yourself is a trick that many Advanced Tarot users would utilize!

Lesson #2:  When you find yourself in need of a quick answer to one question, but you need as much information as possible in order to better understand what you are dealing with, consider the '6 card Herman Spread'. In an Advanced approach, the First and 6th cards indicate what has and what will occur, the 4 middle cards describe the atmosphere, emotions and possibly the individuals you will deal with before the outcome!

Lesson #3:  Looking to buy a Tarot Deck? Consider not only the creator of the cards but the imagery used to form the representations of each card. When looking at a Tarot card, whether it be a Major or Minor Arcana card, the image should already speak to you, without the use of the Book that usually accompanies your Deck. If the cards are too difficult for you to interpret on your own, then you'd be better off finding another deck or even creating one of your own!

Lesson #4:  Storing your Tarot cards. Some say it is important to wrap your Tarot Cards within a piece of Black felt, in order to repel against negativity, others say you should store your Deck within a Wooden box...One thing is for certain, you should not allow anyone, other than yourself, to use your Tarot Deck to interpret their own path or yours. Your Tarot Deck is meant for you alone, it was your energy that drew you to them, no one elses. Simply consider keeping your Tarot Deck out of reach of children, courious friends and family, and especially your pets. Once you've invested your Money and energy into them, you should keep them safe as you would any personal item you own.

The above lessons were written by ELuminaySarah.  To learn more about the Tarot, contact ELuminaySarah.  Sarah teaches, beginning, intermediate and advanced Tarot principles through ELuminay.  Contact her today for a Private lesson via Phone, Online or Email.