The tarot cards started along with added cards in the 1300s. historians suggest that they were formed in Islamic regions, however the first chronicled information in the English-talking sphere is the Christian territory of Bern, Switzerland. The greater tarot cards consisted of just 16 trump cards as compared to twenty-one in abstract 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.

Tarot card interpretations are always changing - and they have also differed significantly through time. Today, however, there are common and general card meanings. For example, minor arcana cards usually have an astrological meaning that changes along with the seasons of the year. On another side of things, court cards talk of people and their nature. This nature concerns the physio-emotional traits of a person.

More specifically, the determinants of a card’s meaning are the following: Card Number, Key Number, Rulership (Astrology), Hebrew Letter, Translation, and Numerical Value. The meaning is also determined by the position of the card, whether it is upright or Ill-Dignified/Reversed. The difference between peoples’ readings is the weights they impose on the different ‘statistics’ and ‘attributes’ of the card.

When card readings are conducted face-to-face, the card reader will sometimes ask the querent to shuffle the cards as they concentrate on the question. The querent will sometimes be asked to split the deck into three piles, and then to put the deck back together again. The card reader then lays out the cards in a specific pattern, and each card has a different meaning, depending upon the layout used. For example, the card reader may layout three cards, one to signify the past, one for the present and one for the future: all three cards together give a full interpretation of a given situation.

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 card reading is seen as a trivial activity today, but many still hold extreme opinions about these cards. Either these cards come from the devil or are legit guide to your fortunes. Whatever value we afford to these cards, there is no question that they reflect a peculiar angle to our history and culture.