Tarot cards consist of twenty-one trump cards, the fool and one supplemental face card for all additional suits in the deck. Different climates about Europe utilise the deck to pleasure with formed rules, but in English-communicating territories, tarot cards find their utility in the scope of fortune-telling.



The tarot cards began also with additional cards in the 1300s. Historians suggest that they were generated in Islamic territories, although the early documented reports in the English-communicating globe is the Christian area of Bern, Switzerland. The greater tarot cards contained solely sixteen trump cards as compared to twenty-one in hard decks.



Tarot cards are separated into five divisions: The Major Arcana, The Suit of Wands, The Suit of Coins, The Suit of Cups, and the Suit of Swords. Each card in The Major Arcana has an equivalent face card for every following suit.



The suits themselves have divisions as well. Their interpretations and worth are determined by their statuses as Oudlers/Trulls, Kings, Queens, Cavaliers, Jacks, and Others. Oudlers generally have the same point and value as Kings, while the rest from Queens to Jacks are worth one point less than their predecessors.



More than the value of cards, the English-speaking world gives significantly more value to the interpretations of the cards.



Every card has a different meaning, depending upon what the card’s suit is, and if it is part of the Minor or Major Arcana. All of the Tarot cards are numbered, so each card serves a reader with a specific numerological value which can be interpreted during divination practices. Furthermore, the meanings of the cards evolve depending upon where the cards appear in a reading, as well as what kind of card layout is used. The cards are read both singularly and together to get a complete reading. The most popular layouts are the three card spread and the Celtic Cross.



Face to face tarot readings are interactive in a sense that the reader allows the person to determine which face down card is interpreted by the reader. Face to face readings are commonly found in the streets of many different places in the English-speaking world.  Some offer the service in the comfort of one’s own home, while some offer it on the street for cheaper rates as well.



There is a purist belief that face to face readings are significantly more accurate than other types of readings such as e-mail readings or phone readings, but of course the general destiny of these beliefs is to be completely unfounded like all other astrological arguments.



Alternative tarot card reading methods include phone and online readings. While there are free Internet sites to read your fortunes, they are only for show or offered as a gimmick. On the other hand, professional tarot card readers offering their services over the phone can cost about £5.00 per reading. Card reading over the phone offers a different approach to commercial tarot card reading, since the customer can have a hotline to know his fortunes on demand. Card reading allows people to have their fortunes checked every morning, which is both convenient and lifestyle altering.



Tarot cards have a long history, both as a simple card game and as a tool for divination. The modern usage of these cards is purely esoteric. If you are interested, you should keep in mind that tarot cards are only as helpful as the reader is perceptive, and that while you may leave with some clarifications of your own thoughts, more than that is unlikely.

Salome Keomuangtani is a freelance writer and is interested in psychic issues, guardian angels and relationship problems.