The ancient and mystic pack of cards called the Tarot never fails to evoke the curiosity of the uninitiated. “What are the Tarot cards?” “What makes them so different from our own playing cards?” “Can they really foretell the future?” “Can anyone learn how to read them?” This book is devoted to answering these and many other questions and to give the reader a knowledge of the Tarot—its history, its links to other occult sciences, and the way it is used to shed light upon the past, the present, and the future. Everyone agrees that modern playing cards are directly descended from one part of the Tarot—the resemblances between parent and child are too striking to be accidental. In both we find cards numbered one to ten, followed by pictures or “court” cards. And just as the Joker is unnumbered and
has no assigned place in our deck, the Fool in the Tarot is also without a number of its own or a preordained position—yet both are ever present in their respective packs.