Fun Holidays - World Tarot Day

Frenchwoman Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand was one of the most famous fortunetellers of the 19th century The fortune teller, whose services even Napoleon turned to, used palmistry and numerology, crystal balls and Tarot cards Their first deck, named after the legendary owner, appeared in 1853 However, according to historical sources, Tarot began to be used both in meditative practices and for predicting the future in Europe and America at the end of the 18th century The assortment of modern soothsayers includes not only the Lenormand deck Fortune tellers use the Tarot of Papus, Eltina, Rider-Waite, Thoth, Osho Zen, Madame Endora and other types of cards One of the professionals, American Dan Elder, decided to draw public attention to this ancient tool for predicting the future in an unusual way In 2003, the fortune teller established World Tarot Day, which is celebrated annually on May 25 Florence is considered to be the birthplace of the cards originally used for the game The first two Tarot decks were presented in 1440 as a gift to the famous military leader and patron of the arts, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta His "trionfi" consisted of 78 cards of the major and minor arcana The latter differed in one of four suits In the Tarot they are called wands, swords, cups and pentacles Researchers compare these suits with traditional card suits, believing that Tarots of the late Middle Ages are the predecessors of modern playing decks The Tarocci deck is considered to be the oldest deck that has survived to this day Created in the middle of the 15th century for Duke Filippo Mario Visconti and his son-in-law Francesco Sforza, the 22 major arcana were made in the Renaissance style and hand-painted with gilding Tarocci are considered the prototype of modern 78-sheet decks This number of cards is contained in the Osho Zen meditative Tarot, created in 1995 by followers of the teachings of an Indian guru, and Manara, drawn in 2000 by the Italian artist Maurilio Manara for love predictions, and in Vargo, Simbolon and Crowley The variety of designs and symbols used influences the divinatory aspect and determines the meaning of the cards A lot in their interpretation depends on the operator - a professional tarot reader However, this multifaceted and universal tool is available for fortune telling not only to specialists The creator of World Tarot Day believes that the deck can be used by anyone for meditation and intuitive enlightenment without intermediaries That's why World Tarot Day's motto is: "The light you seek can be found in your own lantern"