Tarot

About Tarot:

There are a lot of myths surrounding Tarot that are completely untrue. They were not invented by the Egyptians and they are not thousands of years old. Tarot cards came into being around 1383 AD in Italy. The oldest deck from that time period is the Visconti-Sforza deck. The only surviving Visconti-Sforza decks are unfortunately incomplete and this renders the decks useless.

Although there is a great mystery surrounding the early development of Tarot, we do know that they were used by Italian Aristocracy in a card game called Tarocchi. It is highly likely that the French Aristocracy used the deck in a similar game called Tarot.

Most likely, Tarot cards were developed by Alchemists after European aristocrats tried to convince the Catholic Church to ban Alchemy around 1383. It was around that time that Tarocchi decks first appeared in European courts. This theory comes from the fact that the Major Arcana, a collection of 22 cards in the Tarot deck, maps out the process of spiritual purification. This coincides with the intent of Alchemy. Alchemists were looking for the Sorcerer’s (or Philosopher’s) Stone. Alchemists believed that the Sorcerer’s Stone was the secret ingredient or process that would shorten the process of purifying the human soul. This seems to be the reason that devout Christian aristocrats wanted it banned. The church, with all of its power, would no longer be the source of spiritual redemption.

An interesting twist is that the cards were used by the very Aristocrats that sought to have Alchemists banned in the first place. The game of Tarocchi was very popular in many royal European courts. It was played with decks that were illustrated by hand.

The first recorded mention of Tarot cards was by Antoine Court De Gebelin in his book, Le Monde primitif (The Primitive World),  that was published in 1781.The first use of Tarot cards for divination occurred in France two years later by a Parisian Cartomancer named Ettreilla. She is credited with inventing the first method of divination using the Tarot pack in the Livre de Thot” (Book of Thot”). The name Tarot is the French version of Tarocchi.

Tarot became very popular in the early 19th century in France after the French learned that Mlle. Leonormand of Paris used the Tarot deck to tell the fortunes of Empress Josephine.

The use of Tarot for divination in the English speaking world exploded with the publication of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck in 1910. This deck remained as the standard Tarot deck until modern Tarot decks began to appear in the 1970’s. US Game Systems, the biggest seller of Tarot decks, currently lists over 175 Tarot decks in their catalog.

Most of the modern Tarot decks employ the same Tarot structure that has been used for over two hundred years by Tarot Readers. Other deck designers have completely changed the structure in a way that makes them completely unrecognizable as Tarot decks.

The Tarot Deck that John Uses for Tarot Reading Sessions:

John Scarano has been practicing the art of Tarot Interpretation for over 50 years. He uses the Renaissance Tarot Deck by Brian Williams exclusively. He found the Rider-Waite deck to be too dark and riddled with Egyptian symbology.

John chose the Renaissance Deck after he discovered that the symbology employed in the deck was the result of 10 years of Tarot research that Brian performed in Europe. The proper use of Tarot symbology in the Renaissance Deck makes it a very powerful tool for divination.

About Tarot Sessions with John:

Tarot Sessions are conducted in a minimum of 30 minutes. They can be performed by John in-person or by Skype with Video. Sorry, but John cannot make a good connection with you by phone only. He needs the interaction that can only occur by video.

In an in-person reading, John clears the deck and shuffles it. When he has accomplished that he hands the deck to his client who will also shuffle the deck. When the client is done shuffling they return the deck to John who will lay a predetermined amount of cards out on the table in an order that is called a Spread.

In a Skype Video session John clears the Tarot deck and shuffles the deck for the client. When the client tells John to stop shuffling John holds the deck up to the camera and asks the client to determine the up position of the deck. This is the most important part of a Skype Video reading. The client has to determine the position of the deck. This sets up the upright and reversed positions of the cards in the reading. A reversed Tarot card is interpreted much differently than when it appears in an upright position.

John uses a 7-card Tarot Spread that was designed by him. He lays out 5 cards in a row from the top of the deck and then places a 6th and 7th card above them. The first 5 cards are the reading. The 6th card is for timing and the 7th card is interpreted for Advice on the 5-card reading.

The 7-card Spread is quick and accurate.

Your session will be recorded and a download link for your recording will be emailed to you.

For More Information or to Schedule a Tarot Reading with John:

Email: John Scarano

To Pay for an Astrology session and to set an appointment for a session afterward go to:  order-chart-interpretations/

Tarot sessions can be done in-person in Sherman Oaks, CA or by Skype, Facetime, or What’s App.

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