The other day I was listening to a podcast where two guys were discussing Tarot cards. They were speaking about the origins of the Tarot and were also discussing whether there’s really any magic to them at all. One of the most popular theories is that Tarot cards were created by ancient Egyptians, while another version claims that it was created by European monks. That being said, the history of the Tarot is not as romantic as the legend surrounding it. Tarot cards were first created by a couple of Frenchmen who wanted to add some variety to regular card games. They simply added 22 cards to the regular 52-card deck, increasing the amount of cards and expanding the number of variations for different games.

How Tarot cards came to be perceived as magical is unclear to this day, but there’s one thing for sure, a lot of people believe in its magical power. Nevertheless, when researching their history, explorers didn’t find any real evidence of the existence of any mythical figure or any actual individual having been the first to call the Tarot magic and explain its properties. From this it may be concluded that it was the Tarot readers themselves and their clients who played a key role in the mystical reputation of the Tarot.

Still, there was one person who played a significant role in the increasing popularity of Tarot, namely the famous occultist Aleister Crowley. Together with the artist Lady Frieda Harris, he designed one of the most popular Tarot decks. Frieda spent the better part of five years, from 1938 to 1943, creating the deck, producing images in a gorgeous Art Deco design that matched Aleister's interpretations. The two wanted to create cards that would provide guidance and accuracy in readings and apparently achieved their goal since the Crowley Thoth Tarot deck became so popular that it's still produced to this day. The word “Thoth” is a name of Egyptian god of the moon, sacred texts, mathematics, the sciences, and magic. Thoth was heavily tied with Egyptian spirituality and Kabbalah, and Crowley also wrote The Book of Thoth, where he explained how to read the meaning of his Tarot deck. 

There are different ways of reading and interpreting the cards, as well as teaching Tarot reading. An experienced forecaster and a novice usually use the Tarot together, practicing sharing information with recipients and learning to convey the meaning of the cards appropriately. A novice can also gain a lot of experience by observing the actual forecasting process carried out by a reader. It’s also believed that a newbie shouldn’t purchase their own first deck because that can attract negative forces.