A Brief History of Tarot
Tarot cards of today are varied; available in beautiful designs, interpretations many of which follow the most well-known deck, the Rider-Waite-Smith symbology; however there are many that have unique themes. What most people agree on is there are 22 Major arcana cards which represent major life or karmic lessons and 56 minor arcana cards which represent the day to day life cycles and its people.
The history of tarot cards dates back to the early 1440s in Italy, although some dispute this and believe it was elsewhere in Europe. The cards sometimes referred to as Tarrochi were more closely resembling traditional playing cards with four suits and the face cards. Over time the cards were used for divination and cartomancy.
The most well-known and widely used deck today, the Rider-Waite-Smith deck now published by U.S. Games Systems inc was born by Arthur Edward Waite in 1909. Waite, a member of the mysterious Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn commissioned another member Pamela Colman-Smith to paint his deck from how he envisioned it and this wonderful tool of empowerment was thrust into the universe like never before.
