Cartomancy is a method of divination that utilizes a deck of cards. While the practice has been widespread for hundreds of years, it has seen a recent surge in popularity, with a new wave of independently published and mass-marketed Tarot and Oracle decks hitting the market. More and more people are finding their way into working with Tarot cards and making them part of their daily lives.
I bought my first Tarot Deck when I was 11 years old.
Fascinated by their pictures and meaning, it didn’t take long until I did little Readings for my friends. But it wasn’t until I found my way to the Arthur Findlay College, where I studied Psychic Development for over ten years, that my ability to do Readings came to fruition. Suddenly, I realized that I had a natural talent for Reading Tarot Cards, and it wasn’t long till more and more people asked me to do them a Reading. People were amazed by the accuracy I could give during a Reading and the practical advice I had to offer. Over the years, I have done far more than 700 Readings and still counting. People from all over the world contact me for Astrology Tarot Card Readings.
It all started in Italy and soon spread all over Europe
How did Card Reading come about?
Initially, cartomancy was done with basic playing cards; if you are well-trained, you can easily use them. To do that, you will first need to develop your psychic abilities to the extent that you can perceive and interpret the correct meaning of the cards. In many places, basic playing cards are still used today. In some areas, the use of basic playing cards is still. While the popularity and mysterious nature of Tarot cards have somewhat negated the practice of reading standard playing cards, the principles are much the same. At the same time, we took Tarot card Readings very seriously till the mid-15th century people played it as a card game called Italian Tarocchini.
The oldest surviving set
The Visconti-Sforza deck was created for the Duke of Milan’s family around 1440. From Italy it soon spread all over Europe, and it evolved into games that include German Grosstarok and, Grosstarok, as well as the French Taor or Austrian Königrufen. Those games are still popular today. In the late 18th century, a French occultist began to make elaborate but unsubstantiated claims about their history and meaning. Soon after the emergence of customs decks, those cards were used for divination rather than playing a game. It is presumed that the Tarot of Marseille is one of the most common types of tarot decks and was firstly produced in the 17th century. Those Marseille decks were generally printed with woodblocks and later coloured by hand using basic stencils. The standard modern tarot deck is based on the Venetian or the Piedmontese tarot. It consists of 78 cards divided into two groups: the major arcana, which has 22 cards, also known as trumps, and the minor arcana, which has 56 cards.
The most common Tarot deck worldwide
Man tarot practitioners use a set of cards known as the Waite-Smith deck, created in 1909 by A.E. Waite, a British member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and Pamela Colman Smith. Pamela Coleman-Smith, nicknamed Pixie, was a British artist, illustrator, writer, publisher, and occultist. Arthur Edward Waite was a British poet and scholar-mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters. Believe it or not, this deck has been published in numerous editions and inspired various variants and imitations. It is estimated today that more than 100 million copies of the deck exist in more than 20 countries.
When we look at the images, we can see that they are created simple and full of symbolism. Waite-Smith did change the cards and removed all the Christian imagery from some cards. The images were influenced by the 19th-century magician and occultist Eliphas Levi. Additionally, to accommodate the correspondence to astrology which is found in the teachings of the Golden Dawn and they were implemented as well. It is today known as the Rider-White-Smith Tarot. The set contains 78 high-quality Tarot Cards, including 22 Major Arcana Cards, 56 Minor Arcana Cards,
How things have changed in the modern world
Tarot Cards today
Though different cultures have all managed to create unique sets of playing cards, adaptations have allowed readings to be done using a variety of decks. Today we can choose from various Tarot card decks with andmany much different symbolism and meaning. We slowly moved away from the classical interpretation of the Rider-Waite Tarot. Other famous tarot decks are Thoth Tarot Deck by Aleister Cro andl thereal Vision Tarot Deck by Matt Hughes. He has taken the traditional Ride-Waite deck and mixed it with inspiration from the Art Nouveau movement.
NormallyUsually when you buy new Tarot Cards, they come with a Guidebook to help you to understand the meaning and symbolism of the cards. This is how most people teach themselves Tarot Card Reading. Even I started this way till I learned more about my inborn Psychic Abilities and learned to work with my intuition. Today I don’t need a guidebook to interpret the cards for my clients. And this should be your primary goal when learning how to read the Tarot for it, it is about using your inborn ability to understand the meaning of the cards. Otherwise you repeat what someone said in a book which will help you at the beginning to understand things, but in the end, it’s not what you want.
It can take many years of learning, experimenting, and practically doing the cards to feel fully confident in what you do. Start, have fun, play around, and if you do read for others, make sure that you don’t pretend to predict the future, as this is not what the cards do.
Where are you on your Tarot Card Journey?
The original Tarot
The Tarot decks include 22 major cards that do not have an equivalent in a standard deck. The remaining cards resemble your traditional poker cards in that each suit represents something significant. Clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades each equate to one of the elements that make up the world. They are earth, air, fire, and water.
Of course, there are also the numbers on the cards that carry meaning. This is particularly true with the face cards. What causes many problems, and likewise many to doubt its relevance, is the dispute over the meaning of cards in identical decks. Engaging people for an accurate reading can be difficult out according to how and if they are aware of these differences. One possible answer is the way the interpreter will draw them. Could it be the cards will be played in the right way, no matter how you interpret them? Many cartomancers believe that this is that the cards will be played correctly in the case, and thus the reason why disputes over interpretation aren’t a big deal to them.
Oracle Cards are not classical Tarot Cards, which is why it doesn’t matter.
When discussed, the argument over what is and is not cartomancy can become heated. Though they may agree that various methods are forms of divination, many from the older schools of thought refuse to bestow the title of cartomancy on any reading that does not involve a standard deck. The same goes when it comes to Readings when using Oracle Cards. Some people say that Oracle cards are not Tarot Cards which is somehow true. However, they still serve a purpose, and you should use them if you feel drawn to them. Don’t get bugged by people with a different view.
In my psychic development, we were also trained and forced to do Readings for other people without any cards. So there were, no tools for us to use, and we solely relied on our abilities and intuition. This way of doing Readings should be a goal for everyone interested in providing as a service. Later, you can still add the cards to your toolbox for doing readings, but doing them without the cards is much better.
You will need to learn to make your interpretation. It then doesn’t matter what deck of cards you are using. The Tarot deck is much different from the regular decks of cards you and I may be familiar with. For starters, it has more cards. They are also divided up differently.
Use the cards that feel right for you.
A Tarot Card Reading can only be as good as Reader’s relationship with the cards. So if you use Oracle Cards for personal insights or to do Readings for others, and It’s connected to those cards, why not?
Its widely accepted now that you can use any type o card deck for your Readings as long as they are accurate, helpful, and insightful. It is about guiding yourself and people along their spiritual journey called life, so which tool you want to use for that is totally up to you. Oracle cards can have many different symbols and sand signs featuring unique artwork or photography and can be as powerful as classical Tarot Cards. A wide range from Unicorns, power animals, fairies, and anything else you can think of. Diversityreading diversity and uniqueness make all the difference in card Readings. No two Tarot Card Readers are the same. We are all different, so we have different card decks that speak to us in a manner that is our own way. Building this ability to be authentic and do what resonates with you is a very empowering way to live.
How to keep the cards free of other people’s energy?
There are many superstitions about the cards themselves that are used for cartomancy. One of the most widely held beliefs is that the deck, which is used for readings, should never be used for anything else. And I have to say that this is exactlyprecisely how I have always treated my cards The act of playing with the cards can ruin the fine edge of their accuracy. Some purists even say that no one except the owner of the cards should ever lay a finger on them. I find this point reall important as you already know how quickly those items can be polluted by other peoples people’senergyand just affect them. When I don’t use my cards,I put them in a safe place. The moment I use them for a Readin I, tell my client that they are not allowed to touch them as I don’t want any other energy surrounding them. However, I do have friends who happily hand out and share their cards with anyone. In the end need to do what feels best for you. If that means that you must protect from the aura of other people so that the connection between the cards and the medium is undisturbed and clear, or you let others use them.
