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Hello,

Don't know this is the right place or not to discuss about Tarot. But I need know about Tarot anyhow. And for this I am trying my best so far. Started google searching of reading few books as well. Also found few online articles which are written about Tarot. But I would like to know your opinion about Tarot. What do you know and experience you have.

Will be glad if someone reply here. Thanks!

I've read Tarot cards. The important thing is you find a deck that you feel comfortable with and understand the symbolism of.

I personally use the Thoth deck, but I have my own way of reading, not the celtic cross. The imporrant thing is the method feels right to you.

What I know....

Historically speaking it was a parlor game, but versions of it were done back in the 15th and 16th Century. During that time period, it was an acceptable means of divining the future for kings and queens. According to a museum piece I saw in Louisville, Kentucky, Queen Mary had one "provided" by the catholic church that Queen Elizabeth inherited and used at various points in her reign.

That said, at some point it was declared heretical and it's practice was no longer acceptable, though I'm not entirely sure WHEN that was.

Tarot has always been a card game deck. It still is in France.

As soon as it was customarily used for divination it raised heckles with the church.

 Orlanth wrote:

As soon as it was customarily used for divination it raised heckles with the church.

Well, as I mentioned with Mary and Elizabeth... they used it for divination (as well as they made use of "alchemists" for other courtly purposes), and they certainly didn't draw ire from the church. From what I've gathered around that time period, it was never an officially adopted practice, but it wasn't outright condemned for a long time.

The origins and history of tarot cards can be a bit messy. As with anything that became associated with the Occult in the 18th century, there's literally mountains worth of information published on the subject that is completely worthless. Lots of stuff basically just gets made up about them (there is absolutely no connection between Tarot Cards and the Book of Thoth or the Book of Hermes except what a few 18th and 19th century scam artists made up) which fits, given that in those time period forged manuscripts were very common, especially anything relating to Egypt following the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 and everyone was obsessed with mysticism.

What is known is that 'divination' tarot likely started in late 16th century, piggy backing on opposition to tarot cards by the church and the then moral guardians who opposed games of chance and gambling on principal. They started associating such games with the devil, initially on moral grounds but this somehow spread into being something else over time. By the mid 18th century, tarot became associated with gypsies who started using tarot cards for divination (nothing makes money in the 17th century like something the Church says you shouldn't be doing ) and is the most likely origin for 'occult' tarot that later spread into popular culture in the Victorian age.

The game side of Tarot cards is not that well documented as far as I know, but it's not really a documentatable subject. Tarot is a pretty diverse thing that encompasses pretty much all early playing card decks and the numerous games that rose up to use them. The earliest decks pre=printing press probably consisted of no more than two dozen cards and were hand made for nobles as a game. Once the printing press came along, the decks became more and more elaborate and larger, and new games were developed as the costs of cards went down and poorer people could afford decks. Most of these decks however had a lot of similarities and aren't quite as different from the modern card deck as you'd think. Really it's the occult tarot decks that started getting really fancy.

You will go to Hell for doing it

 Iron_Captain wrote:
You will go to Hell for doing it

Hollywood told me so, and Hollywood would never lie!

I know that the 'Death' card means transition or change, while the 'Happy Squirrel' card is a bad omen

The Tower is more of a bad one...though good and bad rely on context in Tarot.

What we know about Tarot cards is that they are completely inconsistent and no better than chance at predicting the future.

The deck has to feel right to you. It's a personal thing.

Oh, the cards... I thought you meant the band. :-)

There's all sorts of advice on it - get a deck that suits you, keep it stored in a specially prepared box or a fine cloth, respect the cards, yadda yadda. But when it comes down to it you can just go John Constantine on it - in magic intent and symbolism is more important than having the "right" or "finest" tools.

Using the tarot will likely be about as helpful for you as reading newspaper horoscopes. They might give you some ideas but it's you changing the future, not the cards or stars ordaining it.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 Orlanth wrote:

As soon as it was customarily used for divination it raised heckles with the church.

Well, as I mentioned with Mary and Elizabeth... they used it for divination (as well as they made use of "alchemists" for other courtly purposes), and they certainly didn't draw ire from the church. From what I've gathered around that time period, it was never an officially adopted practice, but it wasn't outright condemned for a long time.

They were monarchs, also with those in power it is largely a case of 'do as I say, not as I do'.

The biblical proscription on divination is in clear text and the medieval/rennaissance church did take notice of that when it suited them.

IIRC some Popes had their own astrologers. Queen Mary was important enough, but more importantly furtive enough to get away with practicing divination on the side. Queen Elizabeth was an isolationist, not connected to the Catholic faith and the head of her own nations church, so she could flirt about with John Dee as much as she liked.
Besides both of those queens were noted for political/religious violence. Mary executed Protestants for not being Catholics, Elizabeth executed Catholics for not being Protestants. I cant see it being as shrewd move for anyone to call out either monarch as a heretic for practicing divination.