The tarot is a type of oracle card containing 78 cards used for divination. They are organized in a prescribed format consisting of two components: The Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana.
The Major Arcana is a series of 22 cards considered to be the core or foundation for the deck. Each card is filled with archetypal significance following a story line sometimes called the Hero’s Journey. The story of humanity’s spiritual evolution into enlightenment beginning with the “Fool” and ending with the “World”. The cards in Major Arcana are considered to be trump often yielding greater significance than the Minor Arcana.
The Minor Arcana is a series of 56 cards comprised of four suits. Typically, Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Each are numbered from Ace to 10 with 4 court cards—King, Queen, Knight, and Jack. These are similar to our modern day deck of playing cards with the omission of the knight. The suits correspond to the elements as follows:
| Wands | Cups | Swords | Penacles |
| Fire | Water | Air | Earth |
| South | West | North | East |
| Creativity, Passion, Willpower, Energy | Feelings, Emotions, Intuition, Relationships | Words, Thoughts, Intellect, Communication | Material World, Nature, Career, Money, Stability |
It helps to understand tarot as a language. It involves an intricate interplay between our knowledge of universal symbols and the intuitive understanding of each reader. Reading tarot is interpreting the significance of each card and telling a story. It is a reflection of your Inner World. When you learn the significance of each card, you are able to weave a story with the guidance of your Higher Self. Each card represents archetypal experiences that we all have as human beings. When you pick any card from the deck, it essentially represents an event, state of being, or person that we encounter throughout our lives.
Tarot can become a great tool for helping ease anxiety as well as discovering hidden truths about ourselves. While the cards may suggest potential outcomes, we must remember we all have free will. We make decisions, whether conscious or subconscious, every day which can affect the outcome of our lives. These choices will take you on paths that may or may not correspond with the outcome in the reading. These readings are offered as guidance not as a prediction of your future.