The Fool card from the Rider-Waite tarot deck.

Author: Craig Malone

Whenever you say tarot cards, you would in most cases find it means the Rider Waite tarot deck. This is because this is one of the most commonly used types of card decks.

The history of using tarot cards may take you to ancient times, however the tarot cards as they are known today can be traced to the year 1910 when Arthur Edward Waite designed these with the help of a very talented illustrator named Pamela Colman Smith.

While Waite was British, Smith was American at that time. Waite, who was a renowned publisher, also printed an excellent guide to help with the interpretation of this tarot deck titled, The Key to the Tarot. This book has often been re-run and used by a slightly modified title, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot.

This is a wonderful book for any tarot enthusiast because it assists you in every step while using tarot cards for a reading. Waite made a few changes when he designed this new set of cards.

The Justice and Strength cards were interchanged so Justice read as card 11 while Strength reads as card 8.

All the Minor Arcana cards, which previously only had their numbers and suit symbols inscribed on them, had pictures added by Waite and Smith creating a more interesting and in many ways, easier-to-read tarot deck.

You will find that this particular deck is not only the most popular found today, but also one that is most eloquent in readings. Owing to the beautiful scenes and symbols that Rider Waite and Pamela Smith introduced, each card becomes a miniature book for the diviner, who is able to read the symbols as they become apparent during a reading.

The tarot deck, with the help of the key, can encourage any amateur to want to learn more about this occult art. Each card has scenery, background and many symbols, which at first glance look child-like simple. On closer perusal, the details would literally unfold before your eyes the story of your subject.

Using tarot cards for divination by novices became apparently easier after this deck was issued. This is why this is one of the most popular versions of tarot cards used today throughout the world.

A good number of the symbols that you would find on these cards are the result of the inspiration the authors drew from Eliphas Levi, who was during those time an extremely famous and successful occultist and magician.

Fascinated by the signs this occult personality used and convinced that using tarot cards need more visual stimulation for a proper interpretation, Waite tried to make his tarot deck speak out eloquently with the help of color, scenes and symbols.

Owing to the popularity of the Waite tarot cards, many clones have found their way in this type of divination. Some of the better-known versions include the Gilded tarot, the Aquarian tarot, the Universal Waite tarot, the Nigel Jackson tarot and the Golden tarot among others. Do not be fooled by the imitations. Use the original Rider Waite tarot deck.

About the Author:

CM is a writer for SpiritNow.com. Visit SpiritNow.com today, the online home of America’s Top Psychic, Sylvia Browne. Read Sylvia’s 2009 psychic predictions and the best spirituality content on the Internet on SpiritNow.com. Looking for a love psychic or psychic reading for free, visit SpiritNow.com today.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Rider Waite Tarot Deck

Le Bateleur (The Magician) from the Marseilles deck.

Author: Malc Moore

The first description of tarot decks appeared as early as the beginning of the 15th century when Martiano da Tortona mentioned some card games that resembled a lot to tarot. The symbols on these early illustrations were Greek deities while the suits matched four types of birds, a pattern totally different from the basic Italian decks.

These forefathers of the tarot deck counted only sixteen cards, but they surely enjoyed great popularity. Later, other decks are described by Italian documents throughout the 15th century. Given the heraldic, social, poetical and philosophical interpretations of the cards, modern researchers are surely impressed by the vividness of the symbolism and the ideology behind it.

The oldest tarot deck preserved to our times were designed according to the specifications of the Visconti family. The sixty-six cards are presently on public display at the Yale University Library in New Haven.

Le Bateleur (The Magician) from the Oswald Wirth deck

Another well-known deck was painted by Bonifacio Bembo according to the instructions of Maria Visconti. They are preserved with the exception of two who were either lost or never existed. These latter tarot decks are known as Visconti-Sforza and their design is very popular nowadays too.

Lots of modern reproductions combine batons, swords, coins and cups with trump cards as the clear image of traditional iconography of the old times.

An analysis of the first-made tarot decks indicates a reduced number given the painstaking effort required for their design. Tarot decks have survived from Marseilles, Egypt or Switzerland and in time they came to be associated with magic and mysticism. Occultism and magic fans were the first to embrace and widely use the cards for all sorts of symbolic interpretations that have survived to our modern world too.

The Magician from the Rider-Waite deck

The tarot deck cannot be given a clear origin, yet, some scientists revealed that the etymology of the word tarot is Egyptian, meaning the royal road. According to tradition, Gypsies are said to have spread the tradition of card reading in the first place, but we don’t know for sure when tarot decks started to gain mass attention.

What we know for sure is that Eliphas Levi introduced the tarot in the English speaking world, initially for aristocrats and then among the middle classes.

About the Author:

For more about psychic tarot and tarot decks, check out our website at www.psychics4you.co.uk

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Different Tarot Decks Designs