Learn to read tarot

The first tarot decks, the tarocchi, were painted for the courts of northern Italy in the 15th century to play a trick-taking card game. The trump cards, our Major Arcana, were moral and Christian allegories that everyone recognized.

Using the cards for divination came three centuries later: in 1781 Antoine Court de Gébelin linked them to an ancient wisdom, and soon after Etteilla published the first deck designed for reading. Since then, every school has added its own symbols.

Arcanum XIII speaks of endings and transformation: something closes so that something else can begin. In a spread it usually points to a cycle that has done its job, a habit asking to be released or a stage of life being renewed.

That is why at Garden of Arcana we never make predictions about health or death: we read the card for what it is, a symbol of change.

Breathe in through your nose for a count of 4, hold for a count of 7 and breathe out slowly through your mouth for a count of 8. Repeat four times.

One minute is enough to come to your spread with a calm mind and a clear question. If you feel dizzy, go back to breathing normally.