What's on the Tarot Cards?
Hello!!
Those of y’all who are in the HHS Facebook group might have seen the poll John put up about how people felt regarding him doing a weekly Tarot card reading. There can be a lot of controversy about Tarot Card reading, many people not knowing what it exactly is or how it works, so I thought what better topic to talk about on the blog this week than this!
So what are Tarot cards? Tarot cards are a traditional type of playing card used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany and France since the 1300s. The format is still very similar to what it was then and to this day are still used to play traditional card and conventional card games. They are also used as a tool for divination.
A tarot deck has 78 cards in it. It divided into two major types of cards: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana are used as a permanent trump in card games. In divination, it is considered the main or the most important message being sent across. There is also the Minor Arcana. This part of the deck is the same as a standard deck except the suits are different, comprising of Wands, Cups, Pentacles and Swords. They have numbers from ace to 10 and a Queen, King, Page, Knight.
The different suits relate to different aspects of life and have different meanings:
Cups: The element associated with this suit is Water, which covers anything related to emotions, feelings, relationships, friendships. In a standard deck it would be the same as the suit of hearts.
Wands: This relates to element of fire, which is related to will power, passion, vitality, deeply important at core and getting motivated and propelling into action. In a standard deck it would be the same as the suit of Clubs.
Swords: The element of this suit is Air. It’s meaning surrounds Intellect, your mental state, things which might be on your mind and it’s about taking action. The relating suit for this is Spades.
Pentacles: The element for this suit is Earth. It relates to money, projects, jobs, anything to do with your external environment and image. And the suit that this is the same as is diamonds.
So how does it all work? Tarot cards are used as a tool used to gain spiritual guidance. This could be engaging with your guardian angels, spirit guides, ancestors or the universe. Many religions do believe in guardian angels and many indigenous religions do believe in strong connections to their ancestors. By choosing the card you are most inclined towards, you are picking the card that has the message your guide or ancestor chooses to tell you to help you on your path. You can receive tarot readings online or in person. There are many peple who read Tarot including new age practitioners, clairvoyants, psychics and witches. Tarot cards are readily available at bookstores, new ages stores and online. The most commonly used deck, designed for the basic layout is the Rider-Waite set but Tarot cards have varying illustrations, sets and come themed such as fairies or mermaids. It is said to not to do readings on yourself as your ego, fear and insecurities may cloud the message your guides are trying to tell you, so it’s better to have an independent, neutral person do a reading. However in saying that there are many people who do their own readings successfully.
So is it evil? The media through movies would have you believe it can open up doors to evil entities however; this is not at all true. It is the same as reading your horoscope or tea leaves and does not open up any portals or let in anything evil. Religiously it is discouraged. In the Bible in Leviticus 19:26, although the sentence varies depending on which version of the bible you read, in general it warns against not engaging in divination or working with spiritualists . It is considered seeing the future and that is divine knowledge that only God has. Some may argue that you do not know who you or your tarot card reader are engaging with on the other side therefore it is best to keep away from such things. In reality, tarot is not predicting the future and telling you what will happen. It is a form of guidance to help you with making decisions and looking inwards and finding the answers within yourself and your subconscious. Most of the time a person who is getting a reading will interprate the cards in a way that they feel is best suited to their situation. It just brings clarity internally. Readings are conducted by people who know methods of protection against negativity and are very clean, pure and in the light. It is also up to the individual to set their own intention before and during a reading. As mentioned earlier, Tarot is about exploring the inner self. Really at the end of the day, it’s up to the individual to choose whether they use this or not and how it fits into their belief system and ideology.
That's a basic run down of Tarot Cards and their use! I hope that brings some light and information on something that can be hidden in the shadows and we hope you make your own decision on whether it’s “evil” or “good”. Y'all come back now, hear!!