When three friends and I attended the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire this past Sunday, we had no specific plans for the day. After a couple of hours of wandering through various shops, it seemed like lively fun to stop for a palm reading. Being students, we weren’t about to shell out $20 for a full tarot reading, or $40 for what was advertised as “The Queens Special” which included enticing mystical readings. What we opted for was a $10 palm reading, even though I had been dying to witness an actual tarot card experience.
Much to my merriment, when our first party member asked for a palm reading, she was offered a half-tarot reading at the same price. It was explained to us that palm readings assure you of your character traits, where tarot readings can help you find out your future, which is what most people actually want from their psychic experiences.
The first friend to go through the tarot reading didn’t particularly enjoy the experience. She had actually told me not to bother, but I had set my mind to finally have my tarot read.
I sat down at a small table covered with pentacle-patterned tie-dye cloth, across from an older woman in plain clothing. She wore a dark purple dress and an odd fabric head covering, her long grey hair neatly kept behind her ears. What made me certain of the experience was how kind she seemed. I felt immediately trusting of her.
She handed me the deck of tarot cards and told me to shuffle them. I did, and even tried a few card tricks, to no avail - tarot cards are commonly larger than a normal deck of cards, and more slippery. After I shuffled, she told me to cut the deck into three piles. Then, she asked me to chose a pile and hand it to her - I had to physically hold the cards to help her get a reading, she told me.
I chose the middle pile, and she swept the rest of the cards to the side, picking up my cut of the deck. During the ten minute reading she gave me, I was entranced. The first words out of her mouth were a question about my personality trait - she asked if I had a temper (which, of course, I do) and said that she could tell it right away from my cards.
For fear of ruining the magic of my reading, I won't go into the details of what she told me. But this woman felt like an old friend by the end of it, someone I would love to confide in. That's the reality of tarot - it may just be a made up reading based on acute observations, but it feels real and comforting whether proven fake or true.
There are two theories over the origin of tarot cards. Tarot cards are a deck of cards comprised of symbols and figures that correspond to different meanings. For example, one card mentioned in my reading was the Queen of Pentacles, which symbolizes finances or money. The pictures represented on the cards differ depending on the deck used, but they were once thought to be traced back to Egyptian hyroglyphics. The deck was thought to be created by Thoth, the God of inspired (written) knowledge, as a law way to save Egyptian writing. However, this theory has no support.
The second theory is based off of supported fact. In 1440, similar cards were created for a game called a Triumph that spread across European countries like wildfire. In 1530, it was called "tarocchi" by the Italians, which was a variation of the French word "tarot." In 1781, the occult found and used tarot cards as a connection to more than just a game. They began using them for divination, and tarot has since then been integrated into culture as a fortune telling device associated with gypsies or witches.
In the United States, tarot readings became popular during the 1960's, a period of exploration in spirituality for Americans. However, Americans accepted the Waite-Smith tarot, a newer form of cards that were very much changed from the original form. Tarot is assumed to have began in Italy, Germany, France, and Spain, and the Waite-Smith method of tarot differed greatly from traditional tarot, with different pictures, symbolism, and language printed on the deck.
Though today we associate tarot with witches and gypsies, it is logically estimated that tarot readers were not in America during the actual time of witches - the Salem witch trial era. The people who originally came to America were Puritans and their harsh laws implemented in society prevented any form of paganism in America. The Salem witch trials began with the unexplained seizures of young girls, which were blamed on older women and men of the community; that was without any form of actual magic! Bringing a pack of tarot cards to America during colonial times was not a smart move.
Tarot has been a fascinating part of life in many places of the world, especially for those like myself who are interested in the "supernatural." After the tarot reading, I felt reassured of a few things. She even answered questions I hadn't asked, giving me valuable life advice to use. I would recommend going to get a tarot reading if you are someone with an open mind who is looking for a new form of guidance. However, I will admit that this experience is not for those who are skeptical or biased against "witchcraft" and modern day magic - you have to be accepting of not knowing how tarot really works, otherwise you get nothing from the experience.
Much to my merriment, when our first party member asked for a palm reading, she was offered a half-tarot reading at the same price. It was explained to us that palm readings assure you of your character traits, where tarot readings can help you find out your future, which is what most people actually want from their psychic experiences.
The first friend to go through the tarot reading didn’t particularly enjoy the experience. She had actually told me not to bother, but I had set my mind to finally have my tarot read.
I sat down at a small table covered with pentacle-patterned tie-dye cloth, across from an older woman in plain clothing. She wore a dark purple dress and an odd fabric head covering, her long grey hair neatly kept behind her ears. What made me certain of the experience was how kind she seemed. I felt immediately trusting of her.
She handed me the deck of tarot cards and told me to shuffle them. I did, and even tried a few card tricks, to no avail - tarot cards are commonly larger than a normal deck of cards, and more slippery. After I shuffled, she told me to cut the deck into three piles. Then, she asked me to chose a pile and hand it to her - I had to physically hold the cards to help her get a reading, she told me.
I chose the middle pile, and she swept the rest of the cards to the side, picking up my cut of the deck. During the ten minute reading she gave me, I was entranced. The first words out of her mouth were a question about my personality trait - she asked if I had a temper (which, of course, I do) and said that she could tell it right away from my cards.
For fear of ruining the magic of my reading, I won't go into the details of what she told me. But this woman felt like an old friend by the end of it, someone I would love to confide in. That's the reality of tarot - it may just be a made up reading based on acute observations, but it feels real and comforting whether proven fake or true.
There are two theories over the origin of tarot cards. Tarot cards are a deck of cards comprised of symbols and figures that correspond to different meanings. For example, one card mentioned in my reading was the Queen of Pentacles, which symbolizes finances or money. The pictures represented on the cards differ depending on the deck used, but they were once thought to be traced back to Egyptian hyroglyphics. The deck was thought to be created by Thoth, the God of inspired (written) knowledge, as a law way to save Egyptian writing. However, this theory has no support.
The second theory is based off of supported fact. In 1440, similar cards were created for a game called a Triumph that spread across European countries like wildfire. In 1530, it was called "tarocchi" by the Italians, which was a variation of the French word "tarot." In 1781, the occult found and used tarot cards as a connection to more than just a game. They began using them for divination, and tarot has since then been integrated into culture as a fortune telling device associated with gypsies or witches.
In the United States, tarot readings became popular during the 1960's, a period of exploration in spirituality for Americans. However, Americans accepted the Waite-Smith tarot, a newer form of cards that were very much changed from the original form. Tarot is assumed to have began in Italy, Germany, France, and Spain, and the Waite-Smith method of tarot differed greatly from traditional tarot, with different pictures, symbolism, and language printed on the deck.
Though today we associate tarot with witches and gypsies, it is logically estimated that tarot readers were not in America during the actual time of witches - the Salem witch trial era. The people who originally came to America were Puritans and their harsh laws implemented in society prevented any form of paganism in America. The Salem witch trials began with the unexplained seizures of young girls, which were blamed on older women and men of the community; that was without any form of actual magic! Bringing a pack of tarot cards to America during colonial times was not a smart move.
Tarot has been a fascinating part of life in many places of the world, especially for those like myself who are interested in the "supernatural." After the tarot reading, I felt reassured of a few things. She even answered questions I hadn't asked, giving me valuable life advice to use. I would recommend going to get a tarot reading if you are someone with an open mind who is looking for a new form of guidance. However, I will admit that this experience is not for those who are skeptical or biased against "witchcraft" and modern day magic - you have to be accepting of not knowing how tarot really works, otherwise you get nothing from the experience.