It consists of a set of letters used to predict past, present and future. The pack consists of 78 playing cards or called arcane secrets.

These are divided into 22 arcana, which represent universal principles and allow the individual to know as a whole and 56 minors arcane used to know the specific situations of life of the person using.

History

The origins of the tarot are very confusing. The cards come from spiritual masters, which kept its wisdom in the symbolic images of the letters.

Possibly, the origins of the tarot date back to fifteenth century in Italy, but long scholars are struggling to prove their provenance, which has given rise to various theories.

Court of Gébelin in the eighteenth century, the tarot linked with the evolution suffered by the book Thot. Eliphas Lévi and Gerard Encause in the nineteenth century linked the 22 Arcana with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the twentieth century, the emergence of tarot was related to the Medieval Cathars and culture Occitan.

Types tarot

There are two types of tarot depending on the purpose. On one side is the adivinatory tarot and, secondly, the tarot game. They differ in the type of deck they use.

Thus, sticks of tarot adivinatorio correspond to the four suits of the deck SpanishHowever, the tarot game are those of the French deck. These are divided into diamonds, hearts, spades and clubs.

They can also be differentiated according to the drawings of tarot cards and the person who made them. Examples include the Tarot Spanish Marseille (1736), Marseille (1760) Tarot, Tarot Egyptian Papus (1909) or Tarot Dali (1984).

Steps in the ritual

There is no established way to shuffle the cards and throw. There are many systems to do so dependent tarotista. The ritual of tarot includes:

·  Barajar: it is the first step forward. The person using mixture letters focusing on what you want to ask.

·  Cut: involves separating the deck of cards. It depends on each tarotista because it leaves some touching the deck and others not, some do with the left hand and others with the right.

·  Distribute: after shuffle and cut the cards are placed on the table as the circulation chosen. They tend to be upside down and the person who can lift or consultation indicating wants lifted.

·  Interpreting the last step is the interpretation of the letters. Each has a different

Spreads

The printings, also known as spreads, or lances distributions are ways that exist to place the letters and read them.

The best known is the simple roll in which all letters are placed into three groups numbered 1 through 3 and from left to right. These relate to past, present and future respectively. This can be done only with the 22 Arcana, but is less accurate.

There are other types of runs as the traditional. Based on this emerging variants and systems of each tarotista.

Other types of runs are:

·  Answers to yes or no.

·  Spreads in V.

·  Cruz.

Interpretation of Arcana

There are 22 major arcane and match figures or archetypes, such as The Death and The Devil. They talk about ideas metaphysical and transcendent. They are the letters of greater symbolic content of the deck.

The Fool is the only card that has no number. The rest of the arcane form three bundles (groups) of 7 letters. Thus, the first seven are linked to the mental and spiritual development of mankind, following the customs and morals, and the last, the achievements materials.

Interpretation of arcane minors

They are divided into four suits of the deck that correspond to traditional gold, crowns, swords and clubs. They include, in addition to the 40 letters conventional, 8, 9 and 10 of each pole and four queens. These arcane minors reveal situations closer to everyday life.

The suits of the deck talking about issues of life and relate to the Aristotelian four elements: earth, water, air and fire. Each suit is related to one of the areas of human life:

·  Bastos: work.

·  Oros: economics.

·  Swords processes intellectuals and justice.

·  Caps: affections and family.

Combinations

The combinations are almost endless. The most important are formed by the same kind of arcane. The meaning of the letters changes depending on whether they are normal or inverted position. Among them:

Sun + Moon +  Torre = predominance of evil powers.

Priestess + Star Tower = death.

Priestess +  Luna = motherhood.

Devil +  Hermit = discovery of a deception or a lie.