Do Tarot Cards Have The Same Meanings?

Tarot card meanings do not necessarily differ depending on the deck you use. While there are certain themes and archetypes commonly found in most tarot decks, there are over thousands of different decks available. The assumption that a Tarot deck collects and stores the psychic energy of the reader is based on the idea that when another person handles the deck, their energy scrambles.

There are three main types of Tarot decks: Rider-Waite-Smith, Tarot de Marseille, and the Thoth system. Each deck has its own unique meaning, and the type of deck can also affect the interpretation of the cards. Some decks may have similar cards or cards that look similar have different meanings.

Tarot cards all have the same meaning, regardless of the deck or style. Some decks specifically state that they are not the same, but this depends on your method of reading the cards. Some cards have meanings that stay the same regardless of the deck, such as the Major Arcana cards.

There are at least three different deck categories: tarot, oracle, and functional. Traditional decks are often more forgiving than tarot, and you may need to consult a Companion book for interpretation. Each Tarot card has a basic meaning, which typically doesn’t vary much from deck to deck.

While each deck may vary in style, all have some commonalities. Every tarot deck consists of 78 cards. If you’re a beginner tarot reader, it doesn’t matter what deck you start reading tarot with.

What is the most used tarot deck?

The Rider Waite Smith Tarot is a popular deck for tarot card reading, first published by the Rider Company in 1909. It was based on the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The deck has been published in numerous editions and inspired a wide array of variants and imitations. Over 100 million copies circulate across 20 countries.

The images in the deck are simple but feature abundant symbolism. Some imagery remains similar to earlier decks, but overall, the Waite-Smith card designs are substantially different from their predecessors. Christian imagery was removed from some cards and added to others, such as the “Papess” becoming the “High Priestess” and the “Lovers” card resembling naked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Minor Arcana is illustrated with allegorical scenes by Smith, unlike earlier decks.

Symbols and imagery in the deck were influenced by 19th-century magician and occultist Eliphas Levi and the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. To accommodate astrological correspondences taught by the Golden Dawn, Waite introduced several innovations to the deck, such as changing the order of the Strength and Justice cards to correspond with Leo and Libra, and based the Lovers card on Italian tarot decks.

What religion do tarot cards come from?

This literature review examines the relationship between Tarot cards and New Age religion, emphasizing their function in the contemporary study of the New Age movement.

Do all tarot card decks have the same meaning?

Tarot decks consist of 78 cards, with twenty-two being Major Arcana cards, which represent major life themes. These cards are not always externally visible or only internal, but can be a combination of both. They begin with 0, The Fool, and end with 21, The World.

The Major Arcana cards represent various aspects of life, such as beginnings, innocence, possibility, potential, freedom, initiation, risk, and more. They can be seen as manifestations, desires, sparks, dreams, imagination, capability, courage, intuition, inner wisdom, divine femininity, deliberation, balance, and more. They can also represent authority, discipline, ambition, organization, control, leadership, tradition, education, ritual, examination, adventure, humility, relationships, unity, duality, community, acceptance, partnership, heart opening, and more.

The Major Arcana cards can be categorized into various associations and keywords, such as The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, The Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, Sun, Judgment, and The World.

Francisco warns that the meanings of Major Arcana cards, like the Devil and Death, are malleable to the situation and other cards in the reading. For example, pulling the Death card in a reading does not necessarily signify someone will die, but rather a chapter of life may be coming to a close and a new beginning lies just around the corner.

How do I know which tarot deck to buy?

The representation of people in tarot cards is a topic of debate, with traditional decks like Rider Waite Smith often leaving little room for people of color (POC), queer people, and those with rebellious bodies. This lack of diversity can be beneficial for personal development and for those planning to read for others. While there are growing numbers of diverse decks, it is still not the norm to see a wide diversity of people in cards. Some readers prefer “people-free” tarot decks, such as those with animals or other beings as characters.

Asali’s Tarot, on the QTPOC list, is a good resource for those seeking decent POC and/or queer/genderqueer representation. The Little Red Tarot Shop offers collections of diverse tarot decks to explore. It is important to be aware of who is visually represented in your tarot deck to make an informed choice.

Are there different types of Tarot decks?

Tarot, first known as trionfi and later as tarocchi or tarocks, is a pack of playing cards used in Europe since the mid-15th century for card games like Tarocchini. It has evolved into a family of games including German Grosstarok and modern games such as French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen. In the late 18th century, French occultists made elaborate claims about their history and meaning, leading to the emergence of custom decks for divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy. There are two distinct types of tarot packs in circulation: those used for card games and those used for divination.

Tarot has four suits that vary by region: French suits are used in western, central, and eastern Europe, and Latin suits in southern Europe. Each suit has 14 cards: ten pip cards numbering from one (or Ace) to ten; and four face cards: King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave/Page. Additionally, the tarot has a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as the Fool. These tarot cards are still used throughout much of Europe to play conventional card games.

The use of tarot playing cards was once widespread across Europe except the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula. However, they later experienced a renaissance in some countries and regions. For example, French Tarot was largely confined to Provence in the 18th century but took off in the 1950s, becoming the second most popular card game in France. Tarock games like Königrufen have experienced significant growth in Austria, with international tournaments held with other nations.

Is tarot card reading true?

Early French occultists claimed that tarot cards had esoteric links to ancient Egypt, the Kabbalah, Indic Tantra, or the I Ching. However, scholarly research reveals that tarot cards were invented in Italy in the early 15th century for playing games, and there is no evidence of significant use of them for divination until the late 18th century. The belief in the divinatory meaning of the cards is closely associated with a belief in their occult properties, which was propagated by prominent Protestant Christian clerics and Freemasons.

From its uptake as an instrument of divination in 18th-century France, the tarot went on to be used in hermeneutic, magical, mystical, semiotic, and psychological practices. It was used by Romani people when telling fortunes and as a Jungian psychological apparatus for tapping into “absolute knowledge in the unconscious”, a tool for archetypal analysis, and even a tool for facilitating the Jungian process of individuation.

Are you supposed to read your own tarot cards?

Tarot card readings cannot provide direct answers to every question, but reading your own tarot can help check in with your intuition. Reading your own tarot doesn’t require a fancy spread or elaborate techniques, as most readers don’t do a full Celtic cross or altar setup. Online apps like Golden Thread Tarot can help you read your own tarot cards. If you’re wondering how to do a love tarot reading, you can make it up by deciding what you want to ask and pulling the cards. You don’t need to follow set spreads or follow spreads created by other readers.

Do tarot cards really work?

Tarot readings can be an empowering and insightful tool for self-discovery and future direction. A professional tarot reader can help you understand your goals and desires, providing insight into your situation and guiding you towards the best actions for your love life, career, or other questions. They can also reveal the motivations of others and predict potential outcomes of decisions. A good tarot reading can provide clarity and help heal anxiety.

However, it is crucial to prepare thoroughly for your first reading to fully benefit from the experience. A good tarot reading can provide valuable insights into your future and help you make informed decisions.

Which is the strongest tarot card?

The Fool is a card in tarot games, not part of the Major Arcana. In most games, the Fool is independent of both plain suit cards and trump cards, and does not belong to either category. Tarot decks originally made for game playing do not assign a number to the Fool indicating its rank in the suit of trumps. The Fool is one of the most valuable cards in almost all tarot games.

In tarot games originating from Italy and France, the Fool has a unique role, sometimes called “the Excuse”. In these games, the player excuses the player from following suit or playing a trump. At the end of the trick, the player takes back the Fool and adds it to their trick pile, giving the trick’s winner the least valuable card from that same pile. If there are no cards to give in exchange, the Fool is worth one point less and an extra point is given to the trick-taker.

In a minor variant option of French tarot, a player dealt trump 1 but with no other trumps or the Fool can make trump 1 behave the same as the Fool. In official tournament rules, a player in this situation must declare their hand and force a redeal.

What tarot deck should I get first?

The objective of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills required to read traditional-style tarot cards effectively, regardless of the type of deck in use.

What is the most popular tarot deck?

The Rider Waite Smith Tarot is a popular deck for tarot card reading, first published by the Rider Company in 1909. It was based on the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The deck has been published in numerous editions and inspired a wide array of variants and imitations. Over 100 million copies circulate across 20 countries.

The images in the deck are simple but feature abundant symbolism. Some imagery remains similar to earlier decks, but overall, the Waite-Smith card designs are substantially different from their predecessors. Christian imagery was removed from some cards and added to others, such as the “Papess” becoming the “High Priestess” and the “Lovers” card resembling naked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Minor Arcana is illustrated with allegorical scenes by Smith, unlike earlier decks.

Symbols and imagery in the deck were influenced by 19th-century magician and occultist Eliphas Levi and the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. To accommodate astrological correspondences taught by the Golden Dawn, Waite introduced several innovations to the deck, such as changing the order of the Strength and Justice cards to correspond with Leo and Libra, and based the Lovers card on Italian tarot decks.