Divinatory, esoteric and occult tarot

Tarot reading is a subset of Cartomancy, which is the practice of using cards to gain insight into the past, current and future situations by posing a question to the cards. Variations on the reasons for such belief range from believing on guidance by a spiritual force, to belief that the cards are but instruments used to tap either into a collective unconscious or into their own creative, brainstorming subconscious. The divinatory meanings of the cards commonly used today are derived mostly from cartomancer Jean-Baptiste Alliette (also known as Etteilla) and Mlle Marie-Anne Adelaide Lenormand (1776-1843). The belief in the divinatory meaning of the cards is closely associated with a belief in their occult, divine, and mystical properties: a belief constructed in the 18th century by prominent Protestant clerics and freemasons.

Major and Minor Arcana

Tarot decks of seventy-eight cards have fourteen cards per suit plus the twenty-two trumps or only the twenty-two trump cards. The trumps and suits were part of a trump style game with many historical and national variations. It was Ellic Howe, writing under the name Ély Star coined the terms 'major arcana' and 'minor arcana' In modern times suit cards are Pentacles, Swords, Cups, and Wands. Trumps are cards like the Fool, The Magician, et al. Since the introduction of the cartomantic and occult tarot there have been ongoing attempts to "get it right." Subsequently the names of both have been played with over time.