The History of Tarot Reading

Tarot card reading invariably conjures up visions of 'that' old gypsy women sitting in front of her crystal ball in a misty room full of weird things. The word 'Tarot' itself has that aura of mystery around it since no one knows exactly where or when Tarot reading originated. Most of the recorded history of the tarot cards comes from Italy, although historians are sure of its existence much before that. Tarot may have been derived from ancient Egyptian tablets (since the concept of Egyptian hieroglyphics and some Tarot symbols are same-silent figures that speak only by their appearance and representation) or from the Chaldeans' secret texts. Some believe that the Tarot was brought to Europe by the Knights Templar after the Crusades while others believe it is the gypsies who would indulge in Tarot reading, while they travelled through the continent in the Middle Ages. Historians have found evidence that the 78 card Tarot decks were used while Tarot reading to tell f...