The Pictorial Key to the Tarot Author:Arthur Edmund Waite Tarot is sometimes called "the book of divination of the gypsies". They come in the form of a 78-card deck and have been used for hundreds of years to reveal hidden truths and foresee the future of the person receiving the card reading. — The deck is made up of two parts– 56 pictorial cards which are surprisingly similar to a regular deck of play... more »ing cards, called the minor arcana. 22 additional cards called the major arcana with names such as the Fool, the Devil, the Hermit, the Lovers, the Hanged man and Death.
The reader of the tarot cards lays them out in special combinations called spreads. It becomes possible for the reader to see a detailed, pictorial representation of the situation for which their client has come to them. In a traditional 10-card spread called the "Celtic Cross", a reader can look at the positions of the cards and determine what past actions have contributed, current events influencing the client and future possibilities.
Originally published in 1910, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by Arthur Edmund Waite is a reference guide to the 78-card deck. It provides detailed descriptions of each card, giving both regular and reversed meaning.« less