Let's start with a little explanation of what Tarot cards are meant to do. I will be dealing with pictorial cards only, not regular playing decks. Regular playing decks CAN be used, but quite honestly, that's not "my field."

The Tarot is a sort of sacred machine, devised to answer your question by freezing (here's where the picture part comes in) it in time, so that you can decipher it. By studying the picture, a flash of intuition can come to you, revealing a meaning that possibly was hidden from you, only a moment before. So, using the cards to get in touch with your feelings, is one of its most important uses.

While studying the picture on the cards, allow your mind to "free associate." Through free association, your conscious mind is communicating with your Higher Self - the source of your inner voice. This communication is done via symbols - the pictures - as that's the language our subconscious mind understands best.

Because the pictures are so important, you need to take great care when purchasing your first deck. Look over several decks - you can see examples of the artwork even on a wrapped deck. There should be either a card drawn on the box, or a small opening allowing the back of a card to be seen.

Study these decks and allow your mind to wander. Which deck are you drawn to? Which picture seems to be telling you something? The perfect deck for you, is the one who's picture "pulls" you the most, allowing your imagination to soar.

These are the first twenty-two cards in the deck, starting with the number "0", The Fool, and going up to the number "21," The World. These 22 cards represent the secret spiritual principles of life, or the "arcane." I'm sure we can all relate to the journey's we take through out life. We start off as The Fool, an innocent and trusting person, poised on the threshold of the cycle of growth. With growth, comes experience. We then eventually arrive at The World. View The World as our graduation, the culmination of a major period in our life.

Each card in the Major Arcana, represents major stages of growth and learning ... once we've gone through them all, we're ready to start again on our soul's quest for experience and self-knowledge.

These cards are actually the origin of our modern day, "regular" playing card deck. The four suits - Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds, are the offspring of the Tarot's traditional four suits - Wands, Swords, Cups and Pentacles. The Fool, in the Tarot deck, is represented by The Joker in a "regular" card deck.

The Minor Arcana is connects to our everyday, earthly reality as human beings, and isn't as concerned with spiritual realities like the Major Arcana.

Within the circle of the half-Moon, sits an Owl. The Owl represents perception, all-seeing. Owl also represents wisdom, for its ability to see in the dark ... to take it one step further, Owl is the messenger of our subconscious.