The Origin of the Tarot cards

The exact source of the Tarot cards is shrouded in darkness. The Tarot and playing cards possibly go right back to ancient Egypt, as scientists claim to see the Major Arcana as Egyptian hieroglyphic scripts. Other scholars however report astounding similarities between the playing cards and earlier oriental games and deities. Even an influence on the origins of the Tarot cards from the much later Middle Ages cannot be ruled out.
It is not even known with any certainty whether the cards of the Major Arcana with their symbolic signs, and the cards of the Minor Arcana with their well-known sentences, were designed independently of each other and later combined by some inventive soul into a game; or whether from the very start they were intended as a 78 card game. Below is one of the most likely explanations for the origin of the usual playing cards and the esoteric Tarot cards.

The Egyptian Book of Thoth

In 1781 in Volume I of “Le Monde Primitif” Court de Gebelin provides an important argument for the Egyptian origin of the Tarot cards. According to Gebelin, the 22 cards of the Major Arcana are an ancient Egyptian book, namely the Book of Thoth, which was saved form the ruins of a burning Egyptian temple.
Thoth was the Egyptian Mercury, and was said to be one of the early kings and the mythical inventor of language and the hieroglyphs, or letters, with their intrinsic mysticism. Their basis was an alphabet in which all Gods are letters, all letters are ideas, all ideas are numbers and all numbers are perfect signs.
In the Tarot many occult scholars recognise pages from Egyptian books that contain the basis of the mystical philosophy of the Egyptians in a series of symbols and symbolic figures. Gebelin believed that the esoteric Tarot symbols were later spread across the whole of Europe by wandering gypsies.

Reading the Cards

The Tarot offers a way to obtain advice, help and suggestions when faced with uncertainty; to highlight the trends of a developing situation; and to seek clarity about one's own personal interests. The cards should be read in a calm, relaxed atmosphere.
The cards can be questioned in different ways and with different intentions. So there are different ways of going about this, which will be presented below. They are known as laying systems, ways of laying or laying methods, as the way the cards are laid out must always be right for exploring a particular subject.
You can ask the Tarot:
- about the current state of a matter
- about the underlying trends in a particular situation e.g. in relationships or at work
- as an aid in choosing a direction or making decisions
- as an annual preview to show the main themes or trends of a particular period of time.
You can also draw individual cards, say for a particular issue or for the theme of a day, a week or a month.
Questions that can only be answered with “yes” or “no” should not be asked, since there is no Yes/No card. The Tarot can be a great help in reaching a decision, but ultimately only the person asking the question can make the decision him- or herself.
You should avoid mixing more than one subject or question together, such as “Should I do this or that?” Instead it is advisable to ask two questions, firstly about the one, then about the other option.
It is better not to ask the cards about a vague distant future. It should also be pointed out here that as far as time is concerned, only an approximate period of time can be mentioned.
It is easiest of all to understand the meaning of the cards in connection with what is currently going on. Events or experiences from a long time ago are also brought up, but only insofar as they are of real significance for the subject.
It is also possible to carry out several inquiries about the same subject. On the one hand you can receive important variations for interpretation. On the other hand it is much easier to recognise the key points in any subject through repeatedly appearing cards.

The Meaning of the Cards in a System of Reading

The pictures are examined attentively. The reader immerses himself in thought and emotion in the pictures. They reflect the feelings of the moment and help to find clarity about a particular situation. The pictures touch the unconscious and open up the way into our innermost depths. This is why the cards always tell us what we really already knew “somewhere deep inside”. But – or perhaps just because of this – they sometimes create an impressive Aha experience.
In the Tarot there are no good or bad cards. The qualities of each card must always be viewed in connection with a particular situation. Particularly painful experiences are often the way to inner liberation. And there could be no happiness without unhappiness, no joy without sorrow, no paradise without hell, no life without death and so on. Each card is a mirror of what is, and a call to accept it as it really is.
So it is a call to experience everything, in order to really experience every side of one's self, to recognise one's own weaknesses and strengths, but also those of one's friends and partner, and to form a view of them. This means a chance to find oneself and throw away the ballast of illusion.
During the reading the particular meaning of every single card in its particular place in the layout is considered. Then the total picture of all the laid out cards is explored in depth. From these individual parts a coherent total answer develops. Only in the connections can a problem be recognised fully, and then options for change will be revealed.

An important note:

Prediction about a concrete, unforeseeable event such as an accident, death or other misfortunes is not possible and always dubious and irresponsible! This sort of funfair fortune telling only frightens people and creates mistrust towards the cards and those who read them. In such circumstances intuition cannot unfold and the way to the unconscious remains blocked. Thus e.g. card XIII in the Major Arcana does not mean the physical death of an individual, but departure or letting go. Whether this means a long-dreamed of, liberating letting go or a painful loss can only be understood in connection with the other cards.