A Tarot card deck typically consists of 78 colorful cards
imprinted with what many deem fascinating and curious images. The
cards, each filled with a particular meaning and portent, most often
come somewhat larger than ordinary playing cards and make an impressive
display when ritually laid out. This deck of special cards can be used
by a trained “reader” for glimpsing into his or her own future or that
of another person for whom the cards are read. The Tarot deck, divided
into Major Arcana and Minor Arcana, contains 22 symbolic cards and 56
suit cards – wands, swords, cups, and pentacles – interestingly also
called “pip” cards.

Many types and styles of Tarot cards exist, and a breakdown of
even the more common Tarot card deck reads like a mysterious journey
into the occult – and perhaps it is! The Major Arcana includes the
magician, high priestess, empress, emperor, hierophant (a sage or wise
man), lovers, chariot, strength, hermit, wheel, justice, hanged man,
death, temperance, devil, tower, star, moon, sun, judgment, world. The
Minor Arcana (the suits) consists of the aces, twos, threes, fours,
fives, sixes, sevens, eights, nines, tens, court cards, pages, knights,
queens, and kings – all in the above-mentioned suits.

The key to successfully reading the Tarot deck, however, does
not lie only in what the cards mean, but in how to interpret them. A
gifted Tarot reader can sometimes create a huge following by accurately
predicting the futures of friends, family – even strangers who call on
him or her for a reading.

“Tarot” comes from the Italian word "Tarocchi,” a French card
game originally termed “carte da trionfi” – “cards with trumps.” It has
been theorized that the name was shortened from “Tarocchi” to “Taro”
and thus evolved over time into “Tarot” by the French. The definition
of Tarot goes hand in hand with the origin of the name because Tarot is
considered to be a tool of divination by believers, and the roots of
the name explain, in part, how this came to be so, though we may never
know the complete story, since its complete origins have been lost in
the passage of time.

The origins of Tarot vary almost as widely as there are people
exploiting the powers of these fascinating cards. Some maintain the
cards have roots beginning in the ancient mysteries of Egypt, the
mythical city of doomed Atlantis, or from the magic-filled background
of the European gypsies. But etymologically speaking, that is,
considering Tarot from the history of the word itself, this mysterious
deck of future-foretelling cards probably came into being in the
northern Italian courts of nobility during the mid-15th century.

Whatever and whenever the source of Tarot, this remarkable deck
of cards remains an entertaining and intriguing journey into the
unknown, the inexplicable, and the sometimes mystifying realms of life.
Perhaps the roots of Tarot lie shrouded in doubt for a reason. Perhaps
Tarot is meant to mystify as well as to reveal. Perhaps…only the Tarot
cards know for sure!