Tarot is a deck of 78 cards and a system of symbolic reading. It does not foretell the future: it offers a way of looking at the situation you bring to the table. The three-card spread is the simplest way in, and understanding it is enough to get the most out of any reading, on paper or on screen.
Where tarot comes from
The first decks appear in northern Italy in the mid-15th century, commissioned by families such as the Visconti and the Sforza, and they were used to play tarocchi, a trick-taking game. For three hundred years nobody credited them with any powers: they were luxury playing cards. Their use for divination was born in late 18th-century France, when Antoine Court de Gébelin claimed the deck hid Egyptian wisdom and Etteilla published the first reading method.
From that period comes the Tarot de Marseille, the deck that fixed the classic design. In 1909 the occultist Arthur Edward Waite and the illustrator Pamela Colman Smith published the Rider-Waite deck, the first with drawn scenes on all 56 minor cards, and since then it has been the most widely used deck in the world and the one most modern decks follow.
The 78 arcana
The deck is divided into two groups. The 22 major arcana run from the Fool to the World and represent the great stages and forces of life: the Empress, the Wheel of Fortune, the Tower, the Moon. When they appear in a spread, they speak of what matters most.
The 56 minor arcana are divided into four suits, wands, cups, swords and pentacles, with fourteen cards each: ace to ten and four court cards, page, knight, queen and king. They speak of everyday life: work, affection, conflict, money. Each suit has its element and its tone, and knowing them helps you read quickly: wands are action, cups emotion, swords thought and pentacles the material world.
The three-card spread
It is the oldest and the most useful. You shuffle while thinking of the question, draw three cards and lay them from left to right. The classic reading takes them as past, present and future: what brought you here, where you stand and where the situation is heading. Another very common reading is situation, obstacle and advice. Both work; what matters is deciding which one you are using before you draw, not after.
Reversed cards, those that come out upside down, qualify the meaning: they do not turn it into its opposite, they slow it down or turn it inward. A reversed Star is not bad luck; it is a hope that is hard to see.
How to ask
A good question is specific and open. "Does he love me?" closes the reading into a yes or no that three cards cannot give; "what do I need to understand about this relationship?" opens three cards full of nuance. Avoid asking the same thing several times in a row hoping for a different answer: the second spread only reflects your anxiety about the first.
Tarot online
On Esoterium the full 78-card deck is shuffled and a three-card spread is drawn. You choose the theme, type your question, the cards are revealed on the cloth and you can tap each one to see its meaning, its keywords and its astrological correspondence. It is the most convenient way to learn: every spread teaches you three cards.
Frequently asked questions
Does tarot predict the future? No. It arranges what you already know and puts it in front of you in other words. The decisions remain yours.
Can I read tarot for myself? Yes, and it is the best way to learn. The hard part is not drawing the cards, it is not fooling yourself when reading them.
Which deck does the online version use? A complete 78-card deck with Rider-Waite symbolism, the most widespread and best documented.