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Tarot Cards
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 | Tarot is an ancient form of divination - however, no one knows when or where it really started! Examples of tarot cards can be found from the seventeenth century but it is possible that their origins go back as far as the ancient civilisation of the Egyptian pharoahs.
The tarot consists of 78 cards - 22 of these are known as the Major Arcana (a name meaning 'the greater mysteries')... and these depict symbolically our journey through life - physically, emotionally and spiritually.
The remaining 56 cards are divided into four suits similar to regular playing cards, representing the four elements of classical and medieval times. These are numbered from 1 to 10, with four 'court' cards in each suit.
The deck I usually use is the Rider Waite one, conceived in the early twentieth century by Arthur Edward Waite and painted to his instructions by Pamela Colman Smith.
She was a deeply mystical artist with esoteric insight, and the cards reflect her inspired imagination and her unique understanding of the imaginal world.
Waite and Colman Smith both belonged to the Order of the Golden Dawn, a magical order devoted to the study and knowledge of the western mystery tradition with its links to theosophy, alchemy, astrology, kabbalah, and the Grail legends.
The cards depict archetypal images reflecting these traditions - universal images which are shared and understood by all the human race regardless of geographical location or situation in time.
They are the images that appear to us in dreams or are present in the myths and fantasies and which 'speak' to us on a deep level. The cards speak of our 'inner' story as much as the outer one, and through their symbolism we can gain insight and guidance. | 
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