Rites of divination
A tarot reading
A reading in which a seated reader lays cards and interprets them for a question, from Italian card games to modern spreads.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
Tarot cards began in Italy in the fifteenth century as playing cards for a game called tarocchi. The use of the cards for fortune-telling began in the eighteenth century in France, and the modern deck of 78 cards, with 22 trumps called the Major Arcana, came from the occult revival of the nineteenth century. A reading is a conversation between a reader and a client.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Tarot deckObjectSeventy-eight cards in four suits and trumps.
- ClothObjectWhere cards are laid.
- The questionWordPosed by the client.
- Spread layoutToolPositions carry meanings.
- Reader's interpretationGestureLinks the cards to the question.
- Object
- Word
- Tool
- Gesture
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Gather The reader and client sit and the question is agreed. Step 2: Cast The deck is shuffled and cut. Step 3: Circle Cards are laid in a spread. Step 4: Read The reader turns and interprets each card. Step 5: Speak Client and reader talk over what the cards suggest. Step 6: Close The cards are gathered and put away.
Decks and spreads
Marseille decks and the Rider-Waite-Smith deck of 1909 are the best known. A spread, such as the three-card or the Celtic cross, assigns a meaning to each position. Readers vary between predictive and reflective styles.
History
The claim that tarot comes from ancient Egypt came from Antoine Court de Gébelin in 1781, and is not supported. Historians trace the cards to Italian games, and the occult use to Etteilla and later writers such as Eliphas Lévi.
Use and caution
Therapists sometimes use tarot as a prompt for reflection. Sceptics describe cold reading. Readers selling guarantees on love, money or health, or claiming to remove curses for fees, deserve caution.
What it is for
- Insight into a question
- Reflection
- Prediction
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Rider-Waite tarot deck (The most common modern deck.).
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tarot: World Web Playing Card Museum, Public domain, source
- Cartomancy: Alma Erdmann, Public domain, source