Basics of Tarot

The Tarot Cards
As mysterious and magical they may be, they are only a tool that we use for the purpose of divination, and for the purpose of soul growth and enlightenment. The Tarot ignites our psychic abilities and intuitive senses opening us up to explore expanded states of consciousness. When we decide to use the Tarot Cards, we should be mentally, spiritually and emotionally open-minded.

The Classic 78 cards Tarot Deck:
The classic tarot deck has 78 cards with two main parts, the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. 

The Major Arcana consist of 22 cards which are numbered “0 to 21”.

The Minor Arcana consist of 56 cards which are divided into four suits, (much like the traditional playing cards).
Each suit has numbered cards 1-10 and 4 Court cards, which are the Page, Knight, Queen, and King  

“Arcana”
Is a plural term (the singular form is Arcanum) that refers to collections of secret wisdom. 

The Major Arcana consists of the twenty-two cards that form the spiritual and philosophical core of the Tarot. The cards of the Minor Arcana resemble those of a regular pack of playing cards, having four suits and a set of court cards; the Minor Arcana cards are more concerned with the affairs of everyday life.

The Major Arcana = Tends to portray life changing events that affect our psyche. The Major Arcana consist of 22 cards which are numbered “0 to 21”. Each of the Major Arcana cards tells a story or conveys a message. The Major Arcana depicts the different stages of life we must go through until our souls journey is complete. At one time or another we all must go through each stage of the Major Arcana. We encounter several beginnings and endings throughout our lifetime that are represented by the archetypes portrayed on the cards. The Major Arcana represent more significant events or decisions practically, emotionally and spiritually.

The Minor Arcana = Portrays day-to-day events and seems to be less dramatic. The Minor Arcana consist of 56 cards.
These cards are divided into four suits of fourteen cards each. Each suit contains ten numbered cards and four court cards.
The Minor Arcana is more concerned with the affairs of everyday life. These suits correlate to the four basic elements of life: fire, earth, air, and water. 

Again, the Minor Arcana is broken into four suits similar to the modern playing deck of cards we use today.
The Court cards in each suit consist of; a Page, a Knight, a Queen, and a King each portraying people, or sometimes events.
(In the modern playing deck, the Pages combined with the Knights to form the Jack and the Fool is the Joker).

The Four Suits are:
Wands (clubs)  Cups (hearts)  Swords (spades)  Pentacles (diamonds)

Laura “LaBefana” Colavito-Agosta
www.labefanas.com

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