The tarot is a symbolic code that depicts universal and natural laws and principles that are shared by all the world’s great religio-spiritual traditions, spanning across all races and religions. The tarot is both a non-denominational and multi-denominational system that can enhance and clarify your understanding of whatever religion or spiritual path you follow.

An Historical Perspective
​While the idea of tarot cards dates back to the late 14th century and had French and Italian origins, it wasn't until the year 1790 that tarot as we know it today became popularized among societies in Europe. Artists in Europe created the first cards, which were used for games, and featured four different suits. These suits were similar to what we still use today – staves or wands, discs or coins, cups, and swords. After a decade or two of using these, in the mid-1400s, Italian artists began painting additional cards, heavily illustrated, to add into the existing suits.

​In both France and Italy, the original purpose of Tarot was as played as a game, not as a divinatory tool. Using these cards as a divination tool became popular in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. At that time, it was in its more primitive reading state, and has come a long way to developing into the way we use tarot today. By the eighteenth century, people had begun understanding them on a deeper level and began to assign specific meanings to each card, and shortly afterwards, they began to offer suggestions as to how they could be laid out for divinatory purposes.

In 1781, a French Freemason (and former Protestant minister) named Antoine Court de Gebelin published a complex analysis of the Tarot, in which he revealed that the symbolism in the tarot was in fact derived from the esoteric secrets of Egyptian priests. 

The Rider-Waite Tarot deck, which was first published in 1909, which was a collaboration between and Pamela Coleman Smith (artist) and Arthur Waite. Smith was the first artist to start incorporating human figures into the detailed artwork on the decks of cards. The result is the iconic deck that every tarot reader knows today. The imagery is heavy on Kabbalistic symbolism, and because of this, is typically used as the default deck in nearly all instructional books on Tarot. Today, many people refer to this deck as the Waite-Smith deck, in acknowledgement of Smith’s enduring artwork.

Now, over a hundred years since the release of the Rider-Waite deck, tarot cards are available in a huge variety of styles and symbolistic depictions. In general, many of these follow the format and style of Rider-Waite, although each adapts the cards to suit their own motif. Tarot is available for anyone who wishes to take the time to learn and interpret it, based on the definitions of divinity laid out centuries ago.

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What is the purpose of a tarot reading? 
The purpose of a tarot reading is to help you see your past and present thoughts, words, and behaviors more objectively. This sort of understanding can make you more aware of the potential results of your present thoughts, words, and behaviors. Remember that what you think, say, and do today helps to create tomorrow.
One of the tarot’s main objectives is to do no harm. The tarot aims to assist you in taking responsibility for yourself, not in laying the blame elsewhere.

Who should read my cards? 
When having a tarot reading done, it is vitally important to make sure your practitioner is well trained in interpreting the meanings of the cards. If in the hands of an unstable individual, meanings can be skewed and interpreted incorrectly, providing inaccurate guidance. 

Anyone can study tarot and become efficient and proficient at reading their own cards. Reading your own cards, or having a reading done by a professional, can be beneficial on a daily basis or in helping you to step back and take a look at past and present and help you determine a course of action for the immediate future.