The other 56 cards make up the Minor Arcana. They form four suits of cards, just like you would have in an ordinary deck of cards but the Clubs, Hearts, Spades and Diamonds are replaced with Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles (sometimes called Coins). Each suit consists of cards numbered 1 (Ace) to 10, and then four court cards, Page, Knight, Queen and King. The Minor Arcana represents human conditions and situation.

Tarot cards have been linked to ancient Egypt, the wisdom of the Kabala, the French court, Roma, and many other places and people. There is evidence that Tarot cards were used in 14th century Italy, but most likely not as a divination tool. Most recently Tarot has become very popular due to the New Age movement.

Each of the four suits has its own characteristics, correspondences and energies which are influenced by Astrology and the four elements - Earth, Air, Fire and Water as set out here:

          

 

Many people these days seem to want to become involved with Tarot either by learning to read the cards themselves or by receiving readings. Lessons on how to read Tarot cards are even being given in night school classes. I have a friend who learned in this way himself. It is no longer thought to be 'the work of the devil' but is becoming highly respected.

Although some people believe Tarot has nothing to do with God, or spirits, they are wrong. It is spirit which plants the messages into the mind of the reader. Many people who start off by reading Tarot cards find that after a while they no longer need to look at the cards to 'see' what the message is...spirit gives them the message and they are able to relay this to the sitter. This is not to say that the reader does not get anything from the cards her/himself...they do. The reader learns what the colours on the cards mean, what different symbols mean...they DO learn to 'read' the cards...but spirit gives them the true meaning for each particular sitter.
 

    

Get out your deck and give it a good shuffle while concentrating on the cards. Once you feel the deck is well shuffled, it's time to ask it some questions. First, ask the deck what its personality is, and then draw a card out of the deck. Note down which card it is in a book. Next, ask it what it will teach you. Again, note the card and look up the meaning. Finally, ask it what your relationship will be, again noting down the card.

If any card happens to pop out while you are shuffling, that card will give you a good indication of what your deck's personality is. You can then skip over the first question and ask the other two.

Explore your cards. Take a good look at all the pictures. Make notes on any symbolism you don't understand. Make notes if any cards seem to speak to you.

Take any of the cards you are particularly drawn to, and examine it very well. Think about the emotions present, its mood, what you think the card might mean. You could even try making up a story about it. When you are done, look up the meaning and see how close you were. This is a useful exercise to help you get comfortable with all the cards, and is especially useful with cards that you might not like at first sight.


 

When you decide to buy yourself a Tarot deck, it is best to go to a store with a very large selection of Tarot decks. There are online stores selling Tarot cards but unless you actually know what these cards are like then it's best not to buy them. When you want to buy a deck you do not choose it...the deck chooses you! There are many different decks, all different colours and with different themes to them, Native American, Faeries, Dragons, Mystic...but it is the wrong thing to do to decide you want a certain deck and buy it. When you are in the shop run your eyes over the many different decks and 'feel' which one is reaching out to you...which one is calling you....you will be surprised to find that one will! That deck is the one you should buy.

There are many different people producing Tarot cards and they are not all good cards. The ones to look out for are ones that feature the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) symbolism. Some good choices for beginners are:
 

Standard RWS
Original Rider-Waite Pack
Universal Waite Tarot

and any of the Doreen Virtue decks available.

Be aware that there are a few other systems of Tarot symbolism that are available. These include the Thoth Tarot of Alistair Crowley and the decks based on it, the Tarot de Marseilles, the Grand Etteilla Tarot, and the Visconti Sforza Tarot. Most have Major Arcana cards similar to the RWS system (which is only natural, since the RWS system grew out of most of these decks), but they generally have non-pictorial Minor Arcana, different numbering of the Major Arcana, and have acquired slightly or significantly different meanings for many of the cards. When starting out with the Tarot I would suggest avoiding these systems, at least for now. However they are all very interesting, especially to students of magick or Thelema in the case of the Thoth and Etteilla decks, and students of history in the case of the other decks.

There are also RWS-inspired decks which diverge to some extent from traditional symbolism or meanings. These include feminist decks like Daughters of the Moon Tarot, Mother peace Tarot, and the Barbara Walker Tarot; as well as theme decks, like the Arthurian decks Hallow quest Tarot (also known as Arthurian Tarot) and The Legend Tarot, or the Ancient Egyptian inspired decks like The Ancient Egyptian Tarot and the shiny Nefertari's Tarots. These are all wonderful decks, but because of the changes in symbolism they can be more difficult to learn with.


    

All Tarot cards come with a booklet inside the box which gives the basic meaning for all the cards. It is a good idea, in the beginning, to look through the booklet and to get a basic idea as to what the cards mean, but then the booklet should be thrown away! Yes, that's right...throw it away! A booklet, or a book on Tarot reading cannot tell you  what to say in a reading...only by looking at the cards themselves can you know what the cards are really saying.

The best Tarot readers I have come across have NEVER used the booklet which has come with their cards or any other book! Intuition as well as the help of spirit guides is all you need to give somebody a good Tarot reading.