Tarot is a centuries-old system of card divination that combines symbolism and intuition to offer insights into the past, present, and future. Tarot readings are done through a 78-card deck which are drawn and then interpreted by the practitioner in order to answer the seeker's questions or concerns.

During a tarot reading, the practitioner will shuffle and draw your cards based on your questions, topics or situations. Based on the cards and the order in which they have been chosen, the practitioner will channel spirit in order to offer you guidance, messages, and answers through their narratives. Tarot readings can be used for insight, clarity, direction and certainty. Their meanings can bring about a sense of peace, drive and wholeness, and can be carried out on their own or alongside other esoteric or holistic practices.

Invented in the 15th century in Northern Italy, the first tarot cards were originally based on the northern cities of Venice, Milan, Florence, and Urbino. Used for parlour games, the deck consisted four different suit, which then became five later in the century. Italian artists began painting additional cards, creating heavily illustrated 'trionfi' (triumphs) and 'il matto' (the fool) pieces.

In the 18th century, Etteilla (Jean-Baptiste Alliette) became the first person to publish tarot specifically for divination, and created spreads, meanings, and reversals regarding astrology and the elements.

In the 19th century, Tarot became deeply entwined with Western mysticism. Eliphas Lévi, a French poet and writer linked tarot to Kabbalah, the Hebrew alphabet, and the Tree of Life. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a society deeply based on Rosicrucianism and inspired by Freemasonry, also systematised tarot meanings and integrated astrology, alchemy, ceremonial magic.

In the 20th century, Carl Jung saw tarot archetypes as expressions of the collective unconscious. He used tarot for shadow work, inner dialogue, and therapy-adjacent self-inquiry, and saw the cards as mirrors rather than predictions.

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