How Tarot cards give meaning to the unknown

Shaunte Felicity Ong

Tarot cards are a well-known tool for fortune-telling and making sense of one’s past, present, and future in whatever aspect of life they may be. 

Whether you believe in the alignment of stars, the message of the 78-card deck, or even if you do not believe altogether, the charming accuracy of Tarot cards to lived reality is both chilling and strangely admirable.

A brief history of Tarot

Tracing back its roots, Tarot has its origins set in India, Egypt, and China and Korea when playing cards began to be produced in the 12th century. It reached Europe three centuries later when maritime trade peaked in Venice. 

Before Tarot interpreted the fates of people’s lives by the 18th century, it was created strictly for the purpose of playing and entertainment. The intricate hand-painted illustrations would entertain Italians during the Renaissance period, enjoying a trump game where higher-ranked cards would beat those that are lower.

By the 18th century, Tarot cards moved beyond their original purpose, and decks were created for the purpose of divination, to seek wisdom on future events through intuitive means that are sometimes supernatural. The cards became more than a work of art as their images began to serve as symbols to help readers interpret the life of a person.

During the same period, Tarot also entered mysticism, an approach to achieve an understanding of the divine and hidden truths. Believers of the occult arts adapted the use of Tarot into their systems by linking the imagery to astrology, alchemy, and spiritual development.

As time progressed, many of the cards have been redesigned, with their respective meanings changed to adapt to current times.

Minor Arcana

Each deck is composed of 78 cards divided into two: the Minor Arcana and Major Arcana.

The Minor Arcana is composed of 56 cards that express how its patterns manifest in our daily lives. Divided into four elements, a simple reading may be done through the suit symbol method.

Each of the cards are divided into the categories called Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles, where each has a corresponding element. 

The suit of Wands represents fire, relating to one’s career, ambitions, creativity, and higher purpose. Meanwhile, Cups represent water, standing for relationships, emotions, family, and love. Swords represent air, signifying our mind, ego, conflict, and sense of self. Finally, the Pentacles is the element of earth, meaning money, wealth, objects, and everything relating to the physical world.

By combining the meaning of the suits with the scene depicted in a Minor Arcana card, we are able to decipher or interpret what the card wishes to convey. 

Major Arcana

The remaining 22 cards are delegated to the Major Arcana, where each card contains an underlying spiritual and psychological shifts and patterns relating to our daily experience. Although they are significantly more complex to read compared to the Minor Arcana, it is simply a telling of the divine becoming the material, hence, it is an expression of emanation.

Each card represents a core meaning, such as 0 The Fool standing for nothingness. Despite its literal meaning, it cannot be taken so plainly, as it may be interpreted as taking a leap of faith or simply having a fresh start without any baggage from the past. In a similar manner, XIII – Death is never really meant to mean actual death, but rather closure—like the death of a lived past or the death of your old self as you transition to a new chapter. Interestingly, card VI, despite being labeled as Lovers, is not solely about romance. It signifies harmony and your fundamental choices in life.

The key to unlocking what the cards wish to say is looking deep into the artwork and interpreting it just like looking at any other painting in a museum. Having been equipped with core meanings and representations of symbols, Tarot readings can become easy to understand and a fun way to ask for guidance in all of life’s questions.

Never purely fiction

Today, Tarot has become an important part of pop culture and psychological reflection. Many well-known celebrities and artists have repeatedly drawn attention for reading Tarot to their peers and co-stars, like Ariana Grande, who was recently the center of attention for reading a Queer Tarot deck to her castmates in the musical film Wicked. Admirably, even therapists are known for using Tarot cards for mindfulness, and not the typical use for predicting one’s future.

While people are often divided when it comes to believing in Tarot readings, there is no single right answer.

It is impossible to dismiss Tarot as purely fictitious, despite supernatural claims remaining unproven. Its rich history, artistry, and symbolism have become so enduring, more than the lives that Tarot has surpassed. It gave the mundane life a significance written within its outlines, making it stand beyond fiction. 

Whether it is used for divination, self-reflection, or a remembrance of tradition, Tarot will continue to hold its meaning, not as a tool of foretelling futures, but in revealing life’s inner and deeper truths.