Introduction

The Tarot was originally devised as a simple set of playing cards with elaborate images designed for the upper classes in Italy in around the 1400s. It is unclear when they began being used for divination purposes however it is believed that they came to be connected to the occult in around the 1700s.
The Tarot was brought back into popularity with the spiritualist movement in the early 1900s. Rider-Waite claimed to re-discover the divination properties of the decks and spreads and brought them back into popular consciousness.

Most of the Tarot readers today work within the Rider-Waite framework.

The website http:www.tarotpedia.com has more information on this interesting topic including background information on the various decks and how they have been used historically.

The website http://trionfi.com also provides excellent background material on the history of the Tarot.

Understanding how the Tarot cards work

The Tarot cards are not inherently magic. They do not have any special powers or properties that separate them from a simple deck of playing cards. What makes the cards unique is how we are using them - not what they are.  You could just as easily use other forms of divination to project your intuitive conscious upon.  I have a friend who uses dice and I have also books on how to use regular playing cards for divination. All of these methods are valid. What I feel makes the Tarot easier is that the number of cards, ready availability of meanings and so on, make it a viable tool to work with to develop your own intuition.

It is important when you are starting out to have a frame of reference in terms of how you understand the purpose and value of divination. Put simply - it is important to understand what the future is and what you are able to predict. This harks back to the age-old question - are our lives fated or do we have free will?  Thus, it is necessary for you to have some understanding of this debate prior to learning to read the cards. (eg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destiny)

Generally, you will have to develop your own way of understanding future events and how they are able to be predicted in order to develop your ability to read. This will involve asking yourself key questions about your own beliefs about this topic.

Some of the questions you might need to ask yourself are:

1. Do I believe that it is possible to predict the future?

2. How much of our future can be predicted?

3. Is it right to know that future?

4. Will knowing the future therefore change the desired outcome?

These questions could be answered very differently by different people. Many of the variation in responses could even be governed by our cultural and social upbringing. For instance, you may believe that God has a path for us, and therefore, much of our lives can be predicted. You may not believe in God or that the future can be predicted, but rather, that our own inner-psyches can be examined through the Tarot and its projections. If you believe in reincarnation or karma you could say that many future events can be predicted as they arose as a result of our past actions.  Paradoxically, you may hold all of these beliefs and still not feel that the future may be predicted.  Therefore, it is important to understand and think about how you would view these questions, and trust me, if you ever pull out a Tarot deck in a room full of people, you will get asked!!

It is likely that you already have a set of beliefs that are motivating you to learn the Tarot in some way. I feel that before you learn, it would be valuable to reflect on these beliefs.  Many a person are deterred by the Tarot because they have certain beliefs about the future and so, they would rather not know their future at all or become frightened when certain cards appear in their readings.  Rather than get scared of the cards and what they might tell you, it is much better to think about what they mean and how, in your belief structure, you could work with the information that comes to you.

I also personally feel that it is important to ask yourself reflective questions about your tarot reading journey as a whole. For instance:

1. What do I hope to gain from learning how to read the Tarot?

2. Is there a particular situation or conflict that is underscoring my desire to learn the Tarot?
And so on.

For instance, you want to know about a particular love situation, and learning the Tarot might be a way of you knowing as much as you want about it. This is arguably not the best reason for picking up the deck, as you will become more confused rather than less confused when you start doing readings for such an emotionally charged situation.

So I feel that in order to become a good reader, it is therefore important to understand where you are coming from and to be honest about it. This will help you learn the cards more effectively and become a person that is able to read the cards and read them well.