History of Tarot Cards and Tarot Card Meanings

The relationship between Tarot Cards and playing cards is well documented. Playing cards appeared in Christian Europe during the period 1375-1380. The first known Tarot Cards were created between 1430 and 1450 for nobility in northern Italy. The 78-card Tarot Card deck resulted from adding 21 Trumps and the Fool to an early 56-card variant playing card deck. Tarot Cards (or Taroc Cards, or Tarocchi cards) were originally used for playing a card game called tarocchi, and had no more (or less) to do with foretelling the future than did other types of playing cards. The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Card deck is a 15th century Tarot deck and one of the oldest known to exist. It had a significant impact on the visual composition, card numbering and interpretation of modern decks.

<3 cards from the Visconti-Sforza tarot deck.>

The Tarot Cards eventually came to be associated with mysticism and magic. But it wasn't until the 18th and 19th century. When France and England, followers of the occult discovered Tarot Cards. They saw the symbolic pictures of the cards as having more meaning than the simple trump cards they were used for at the time. The Tarot was quickly adopted as a tool for divination, and popularized by occult societies such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The early Tarot symbolism was deeply rooted in Medieval and Renaissance Europe, but over the centuries it has grown to incorporate everything from Astrology and Kabbalah to Runes (which predate the Tarot by 1000 years) and the I Ching (which predates the Tarot by 2500 years).

Tarot became increasingly popular beginning in 1910, with the publication of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, which included symbolic images related to divinatory meanings on the numeric or pip cards. (Arthur Edward Waite had been an early member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn).

<4 cards from the popular Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck.>

The 78-card tarot deck have two distinct parts: The Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana

The following are the keywords to (UPright) meanings

The Major Arcana (meaning greater secrets), or trump cards, consists of 22 cards without suits:

0-The Fool- Beginnings, possibilities, faith, being carefree, optimism, trust in the universe, innocence

1-The Magician- Manifestation, action, energy, awareness, concentration, magic, destiny

2-The High Priestess- Wisdom, intuition, unconscious awareness, mystery, meditation, psychic potential

3-The Empress- Creativity, mothering, abundance, nurturing, pregnancy, birth, mother nature, beauty

4-The Emperor- Law and order, father figure, achievement, structure, authority, responsibility, father time

5-The Hierophant- Spirituality, beliefs, teaching, traditions, culture, being in a club, mentor, spiritual guidance

6-The Lovers- Union, co-operation, relationships, sexuality, partnerships, attraction, choice, romance

7-The Chariot- Movement, control, victory, will power, faith in your own abilities, transportation, travel

8-Strength- Perseverance, strength to endure, patience, compassion, self esteem, brave heart, loyalty, courage

9-The Hermit- Guidance, solitude, introspection, searching, enlightenment, a journey, mysticism, spiritual guide

10-Wheel of Fortune- Fate, destiny, turning points, movement, ups and downs of life, cycles, luck, fortune

11-Justice- Karma, balance, justice, cause and effect, weighing decisions, structure, adjustment, legal matters

12-The Hanged Man- Choice, another perspective, letting go, suspension, self sacrifice, waiting, transistion, delays

13-Death- Transformation, transition, endings, eliminations, renewal, new growth possible, winter,

14-Temperance- Blending, moderation, balance, healing, temperance, guardian angel, patience, forgiveness

15-The Devil- Bondage we create, no self control, materialism, ignorance, hopelessness, trickery, addiction, lust

16-The Tower- Sudden change, release, shock, downfall, revelation, restructuring, natural disasters, crisis, liberation, freedom

17-The Star- Hope, bright future, optimism, inspiration, peace and serenity, shining like a star, illumination, joy

18-The Moon- Intuition, illusion, confusion, exploring unknown inner realms, dreams, warnings, darkness, night journey

19-The Sun- Enlightenment, joy, vitality, clarity, creativity, happiness, understanding, radiance, validation, brightness

20-Judgement- Awareness, using judgement, inner calling, crossroads, transformation, awakening, realization, evolution

21-The World- Completion, integration, accomplishment, living spiritually, knowledge, fulfillment, infinite potential, awareness

The Minor Arcana (meaning lesser secrets) consists of 56 cards, divided into four suits of 14 cards each; ten numbered cards and four court cards. The court cards are the King, Queen, Knight and Page, in each of the four Tarot suits. The traditional Italian Tarot suits are swords, batons, coins and cups; in modern tarot decks, however, the batons suit is often called wands, while the coins suit is often called pentacles or disks.

The suit of Wands represents work and overcoming odds to achieve success. Wands stand for wordly activities, enterprise, success and achieving your full potential.
What do you desire?
Wands represent the element of Fire.
Wands symbolizes energy, growth, passion, desire, enthusiasm, action and vitality.

The suit of Cups represents emotions, relationships, love, intuition, moodiness, flowing feelings and creativity. Cups are emotional force and thinking with your heart.
What are you feeling?
Cups represent the element of Water.
Cups symbolize our sub conscious, flowing emotions, feelings, love and loss.

The suit of Coins represent a concern with money and the development of skills, self worth, accumulation of practical knowledge and building foundations.
What do you value?
Coins represent the element of Earth.
Coins symbolize what grounds you, stabilizes, finances, knowledge, ability and materialization

The suit of Swords represents obstacles or depressed state of mind, swords are associated with things that are difficult to deal with. But they can also represent growth and the development of a conscious mind.
What tension do you need to deal with?
Swords represent the element of Air.
Swords symbolize mental activity, thought, intelligence, struggle, penetration, truth and conflict.

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