What is Tarot?
Tarot is a system of divination using a deck of 78 cards, divided into the 22 Major Arcana and the 56 Minor Arcana. This site uses the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, first published in 1909 by Arthur Edward Waite with illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith — the most widely used tarot deck in the world. Readings are interpreted by AI grounded in the Waite tradition, drawing on the symbolism documented in Waite's The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911).
The Tradition of Tarot
Tarot originated in 15th-century Italy as a card game before evolving into a system of divination in 18th-century France. The Rider-Waite-Smith deck (1909) standardised the imagery that most readers use today: the Fool's journey through the Major Arcana, the four suits of the Minor Arcana (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles), and the rich esoteric symbolism drawn from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Waite deck is distinguished by its fully-illustrated Minor Arcana — every card tells a story, not just the Major.
How Tarot Readings Work Here
Choose from three spreads: a single card for a focused answer, a three-card spread for past-present-future dynamics, or the ten-card Celtic Cross for a complete picture. Each card can appear upright or reversed, with distinct meanings in each orientation. Readings are interpreted using AI grounded in the actual symbolism of the Waite tradition — not generic meanings, but the layered imagery that Smith illustrated and Waite documented. The interpretation names what the cards show, calibrates its tone to your question, and offers grounded counsel rather than false reassurance.
The Vizcroft Method
For a deeper reading, The Vizcroft Method uses all 78 cards in a three-register synthesis drawing on Waite's English Method, the Celtic Cross positional logic, and the three-register reading principle. It is the subject of The Complete Tarot Method by Alex Vizcroft, published by Vizcroft Publishing.
Explore Related Traditions
- All divination tools — Fal-e Hafez, I Ching, Runes, Geomancy, and more
- Tarot — method deep-dive in the Cosmic Library
- Celtic and British traditions — the cultural context of the modern tarot
- The Vizcroft Method — full 78-card three-register reading
- Hafez compared with Tarot — dual-oracle reading
Maintained by Alex Vizcroft, author of The Complete Tarot Method (Vizcroft Publishing). Draw a card · Return to the homepage for the Daily Cosmic Briefing