Concept in Definition ABC

The tarot is a technique of divination in which a deck of cards is used (normally 78 cards), with which the analyze past or present events or even those events that are supposed to take place in a future. In other words, tarot is a set of knowledge that aims to solve problems for people who consult the tarot expert.

The mechanics of tarot and the meaning of the cards

People who believe in authenticity of this knowledge expose the tarorista some problem or concern (for example, of a love type, labor or family) and the tarot reader consults the cards to give an answer on the question posed.

The usual mechanics of tarot is normally the following:

1) approach of a problem,

2) the tarot reader shuffles the cards and draws a certain number of them,

3) the cards drawn are distributed in a specific order and each one has symbols or pictures

4) the tarot reader interprets the selected cards and gives an answer to the problem that they have initially posed.

As for the meaning

symbolic cards, some of them represent the spiritual leaders of society, others the powers of nature and others ideas such as death, the marriage or unhappiness. The 78 tarot cards are divided into two groups (22 cards are the major arcana and the remaining 56 are the minor arcana and represent the four traditional suits).

The origin of the word tarot and tarot as cartomancy

There is no definitive agreement on the origin of the word tarot (for some it comes from the Hebrew term tora and other scholars maintain that it comes from an Egyptian goddess, Taor).

In relation to the historical origin of this divination technique, all the indications suggest that this knowledge arose between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and the first tarot that is known is the Visconti Sforza Tarot, which was elaborated by a family of the Italian nobility, which kept hidden a series of tarot decks because at that time card games were forbidden by the church. Most of the tarot cards in use today are inspired by the Visconti Sforza Tarot.

Supporters and detractors

Tarot supporters hold that this knowledge is a tool Useful to know ourselves and to face the challenges of daily life. Those skilled in this divination technique claim that the cards do not fully determine the future, but rather express the querent's hidden wishes.

Instead, detractors consider tarot readers to be scammers who play with the sensitivity of others and take advantage of their internal fears.

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Tarot themes