Tarot

The tarot (/ˈtæroʊ/; first known as trionfi and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of playing cards (most commonly numbering 78), used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot. From the late 18th century until the present time the tarot has also found use by mystics and occultists for divination.

Like the common deck of playing cards, the tarot has four suits (which vary by region, being the French suits in Northern Europe, the Latin suits in Southern Europe, and the German suits in Central Europe). Each of these suits has pip cards numbering from one (or Ace) to ten and four face cards (King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave) for a total of 14 cards. In addition, the tarot has a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as the Fool. Depending on the game, the Fool may act as the top trump or may be played to avoid following suit.

François Rabelais gives tarau as the name of one of the games played by Gargantua in his Gargantua and Pantagruel; this is likely the earliest attestation of the French form of the name. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play card games. In English-speaking countries, where these games are largely unplayed, tarot cards are now used primarily for divinatory purposes. Occultists call the trump cards and the Fool "the major arcana" while the ten pip and four court cards in each suit are called minor arcana. The cards are traced by some occult writers to ancient Egypt or the Kabbalah but there is no documented evidence of such origins or of the usage of tarot for divination before the 18th century.

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.

Tarot (album)

Tarot is the sixth full-length album by the Spanish power metal band Dark Moor. The songs of the album are all named after the Major Arcana deck in the Tarot card game. The first single extracted from the album was "The Chariot". Manda Ophius of the Dutch symphonic metal band Nemesea is the guest female vocalist on Tarot.The final track, "the Moon", samples Ludwig van Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" and "Moonlight Sonata". The bonus track, "Mozart's March" is based on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Rondo A'la Turca". It was also performed live in Granada, Spain, Piorno Rock, back in 2002, five years before it was even released.

Track listing

Personnel

Return (2011 film)

Return is a 2011 independent film about an American reservist, wife and mother returning home from her tour of duty in the Middle East. The film was written and directed by Liza Johnson, and stars Linda Cardellini, Michael Shannon and John Slattery. It is Johnson's first feature-length film, and received good reviews at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight.

Synopsis

Kelli, returning from her military tour of duty in the Middle East, has high hopes for resuming her old life in her midwestern hometown. Her hopes are gradually dashed as her relationships with her family and friends suffer; they have moved on, and she cannot adjust. She is unable to provide the attention her children need, she quits her dull factory job, she discovers her husband Mike's infidelity, drinks with her friends, then is stopped by the police while driving under the influence. During her court-ordered therapy session, she meets Bud, a charming war veteran. She undergoes a gradual breakdown, but persists in her efforts to reestablish her life.

Returning

In retail, a return is the process of a customer taking previously purchased merchandise back to the retailer, and in turn receiving a refund in the original form of payment, exchange for another item (identical or different), or a store credit.

Many retailers will accept returns provided that the customer has a receipt as a proof of purchase, and that certain other conditions, which depend on the retailer's policies, are met. These may include the merchandise being in a certain condition (usually resellable if not defective), no more than a certain amount of time having passed since the purchase, and sometimes that identification be provided (though usually only if a receipt is not provided). In some cases, only exchanges or store credit are offered, again usually only without a receipt, or after an initial refund period has passed. Some retailers charge a restocking fee for non-defective returned merchandise, but typically only if the packaging has been opened.

While retailers are not usually required to accept returns, laws in many places require retailers to post their return policy in a place where it would be visible to the customer prior to purchase.

Wide Awake (2007 film)

Wide Awake (Hangul: 리턴; RR: Riteon; also known as Return) is a 2007 South Korean film.

Plot

In 1980s South Korea, a young boy is traumatised after experiencing anesthesia awareness during heart surgery, and no-one believes his story afterwards. Twenty-five years later, the doctors and nurses who operated on him begin to die under mysterious circumstances. Dr. Ryu Jae-woo, a surgeon married to Hee-jin, believes that the boy he remembers from his childhood is responsible for the deaths. The leading suspects are Lee Myeong-suk, who has been stalking Dr. Ryu, and the seemingly unhinged Uk-hwan. Hypnosis specialist Oh Chi-hoon also seems to know something about these deaths.

Cast

Release

Wide Awake was released in South Korea on 8 August 2007, and its opening weekend was ranked fourth at the box office with 238,819 admissions. The film went on to receive a total of 677,939 admissions nationwide, with a gross (as of 16 September 2007) of US$4,569,126.