There are many different types of specialized tarot cards and packs but all contain the key cards that can be used to predict the future. People fear them as there is an unknown element to having one’s future told. You need to be able to judge if the practitioner, usually someone with psychic abilities, is experienced at reading and fortune telling. One telltale sign might be if the card pack was brand new as this would indicate that the owner / user had used them very infrequently.

The best psychics will have familiarity with the cards because they must be closely linked to their cards and have them completely within their control. They should have them shuffled really thoroughly and some of the cards should be randomly inverted within the pack. The pack should be protected and bound, if possible, in silk wrapping and most import of all nobody else should use / read the cards as this would interfere with the psychic source.

Black silk wrapping is preferred and then placement in a wooden box. Using both the silk and box would be best to enhance the psychic power. Only when the psychic feels completely at one with their cards and can sense the psychic power present in the cards can they accomplish readings of any merit. A regular deck of cards contains 52 cards but the tarot deck has an extra 22 cards known as the Major Arcana. These are in addition to the Minor Arcana which effectively are the tarot versions of Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades and are the minor cards of the pack.

Fear of the Major Arcana

These 22 cards do not belong to any suit but are individually named such as ‘the Fool’, ‘the Hermit’, The Devil’, ‘Death’ and so forth. Death is an interesting tarot card because so many people fear death and if during a psychic session they were to select this card they would be panicked by it.

Tarot meaning of The Death card

‘Behold a pale horse and the name that sat on him was death’ is a quotation from the Bible and some tarot pack show a skeleton riding a white horse. The death card never signifies death during a reading but instead will signify a major change of some sort. If this card is inverted when dealt it can mean the loss of a friendship or an enforced change. The meaning of the death card is dependent upon the cards that were dealt alongside it. The influence of these supporting cards will further clarify the meaning.

Simple Tarot Card layout

By far the simplest layout is the 3 card layout which places 3 cards directly between the psychic and the person receiving the reading. The 3 cards signify the Past, the Present and the Future. Meanings will be attached to the cards but any inverted card will usually have the opposite meaning. If for example the future card was ‘The Sun’ this could signify a warm country holiday with happiness in the air. An inverted sun however might signify some hiccup along the way to the dream holiday.

Complex Tarot Card layout

A more complex layout involves 13 cards. 12 of the cards are placed in a circle like the numerals on a clock face with the 13^th card in the middle. This middle card has a sometimes general or overriding influence on all of the other 12 cards. The 12 cards can represent the months of the year which will be known as the Calendar layout. This layout will also be used for the horoscope layout representing portions of your life. In these layouts the 1^st card is at nine o’clock, the 2^nd at eight o’clock, the 3^rd at 7 o’clock and so on in anti-clockwise fashion until the last card (12^th at ten o’clock)

The 1^st card concerns your personality

The 2^nd card concerns your financial aspect

The 3^rd card concerns your siblings or travel

The 4^th card concerns your childhood

The 5^th card concerns your fun loving side

The 6^th card concerns your health and employment

The 7^th card concerns your relationships or partnerships

The 8^th card concerns your sexuality

The 9^th card concerns your religious beliefs or philosophy of life

The 10^th card concerns your direction in life

The 11^th card concerns your friends

The 12^th card concerns your secrets

Tarot Card History

Tarot cards first appeared in Europe in the early part of 14th century, their first appearance being in Italy and then later spreading to Germany and France. Today’s playing cards are a watered down version of the original tarot pack. Modern packs have 52 cards plus 2 jokers but the Tarot pack had 78 cards. Tarot cards are believed to have a spiritual significance and can serve as a means of predicting one's fortune.