This is in continuation to the previous articles:
Your-Future-is-in-tje-cards-(Part-I)

Cards, she says, are the best means in this frantically paced complicated life of the 21 century. She has studied other systems of divination such as I Ching, numerology, crystal gazing, etc. and finds Tarot most appropriate for solving today�s problems. �Tarot can change your life. It is not just a tool for divining or foretelling. Its real purpose is meditation, getting in touch with one�s own consciousness, inner healing and counseling those in need,� says Sonal. �Not only does Tarot make life easier by providing the clearest picture you can have of yourself and of those around you, including their hidden thoughts and motives, it also shows you the options you have and tells you the strategies for achieving your goals. In fact, Tarot increases creative abilities, constructive visualization, and the sense of beauty and colors. Learning Tarot opens the inner eye and connects you to the world that lies hidden behind this mundane one.�

Speaking about the Origin of Tarot as an for the masses Sonal gives a very extensive estimation; �Like any other art or science, this too has developed with time�.

In Egypt, it has taken pictorial form. Though, this art has a fragmented history that intrigues historians and scholars alike. Most of the tarot readers think that card lifting by parrots and reading tarot are thoroughly separate things. It may be, because in the technique of parrots there are written cards with certain results, but in tarots there are only pictures on the cards. In written cards, a certain result is destined; which is written clearly that this is going to happen or not. Whether in the method of tarots, a picture reveals so many things and it depends on many other situations.

 �Some schools bAtlantida. Mostly Indian Tarot readers believe that originally it may be from India. They tell reasons that reveal this fact, but as we talk of systematic study. Tarot is some three thousand years old art, which is started from Egypt. In the beginning astrologers were telling the future through making pictures. As it was not practical, soon they turned to cards. At first they invented cards and then decorated the cards with several pictures. The meaning hidden behind the cards, discovered in long time span. It is based on observation, study and experiences of astrologers she adds But Sonal like to stick to the most accepted belief of Tarot being originated from Italy. As she includes, �Exact sources of Tarot are not completely known, the most commonly-held belief and earliest available reliable information is that Tarot originated as a game in 15th century Italy, by adding to a normal deck of cards 21 trump cards, a fool, and 4 queens of each suit. Some early Tarot decks of North Italian origin, which date to the early to mid-15th century, have remained. These were called carte da trionfi or �cards of the triumphs�.

 Soon afterwards, the cards came to be known as Tarocchi.� Though it can�t be told that when the tarot was first used for divination. As early as 1540, a book entitled The Oracles of Francesco Marco line do Forli shows a simple method of divining from the coin suit of a regular playing card deck. Manuscripts from1735 �The Square of Sevens� and 1750 �Pratesi Cartomancer� show rudimentary divinatory meanings for the cards. In 1765, Giacomo Casanova wrote in his diary that his Russian mistress frequently used a deck of playing cards for divination.

And she swiftly tells the Tarot�s tale of Struggle. �Like any other art it too has suffered with anticipation believe its origins could be in Anc of orthodox people. They called it an art of devil. It can be understood through the history of the development in design of cards. The designs of the 22 cards in the Major Arcana can be traced back as far as 1440, when the first known deck appeared in Italy. The 3 decks called the Visconti Trumps are generally regarded as the �forefathers� of the decks that are widely available today. It is believed that they were originally created as a game for Nobles. It is not until centuries later that the cards reemerged, this time as a tool of divination. In the latter half of the 15th century, the card makers in Marseilles, France began to standardize the Trumps. Before this organized production, those who played the Trumps could dictate which they wanted to include, and which they wanted substituted or eliminated. Certain cards- Death, the Devil, and the Tower in particular; were considered offensive by the more conservative Nobles. These images caused religious leaders to attempt to ban the Trumps�, - she adds with a warm smile.

She recalls the first detailed ient Egypt, A reference to the Trumps of the Tarot that resides in the form of a sermon. �This sermon, given by a Franciscan Friar in Italy later half of 15th century, contends that the Trumps were invented and named by the Devil. It condemns the use of the cards, and generally credits them with the triumph of the Devil. According to the friar, the Devil wins through the loss of the souls of those who play what was then, quite probably, nothing more than a simple game�.

Sonal goes into history to give details of the Renaissance period of Tarot. The Theosophical Society, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Rosicrucian, the Church of Light, and the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.) all secured the Tarot�s position in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the United States of America, the Tarot became popular and more readily available in the 1960�s, when a period of exploration in spirituality began. Arthur Edward Waite is credited with the renaissance of the Tarot in the Twentieth Century. He commissioned artist Pamela Coleman Smith to create what he called the �rectified� Tarot.

She sounds happy with the growth of Tarot in the recent years, �Well, Today�s Tarot card designs reflect specific trends in religion, culture, philosophy and sexuality. There are literally hundreds of interpretations, and more are being conceived as this is being written. The diversity of the styles allows Tarot Readers to choose a deck that suits their personalities, the subject of the reading, the person receiving the reading, or any other variable as they so choose. Certain decks have a serious tone, some have a dream-like quality, whether some are full of cartoon images. The true beauty lies in the Tarot�s ability to retain its �soul� through each metamorphosis and incarnation. It is, on many levels, ncient India or even in lost ca mirror of those who work with it, and allows them to make each reading a truly personal experience.

As she draws a comprehensive and absolute picture of Tarot, you can observe a crystal like lucid radiance in her clear eyes. Eyes that draws attention without any effort and guides the soul in the dims of life,- �Though, most of the Indian people still doubt the potential of tarot. It is because of their full faith in astrology. There are some rational reasons behind their belief. The first of all is that this is tested through times, whether the word �Tarot� is new for us. So, how can we believe easily on it? Secondly, it has a scientific basis about its study, analysis and conclusions. It takes the logics from astronomy and Indians are the first in this field. Again, a learned astrologer or palmist can draw the picture of complete life, but Tarot reader? Tarot readers claim that it is possible through their art. They tell the past, present and future; all three aspects of a person�s life. Ontinent Though they accept, it doesn�t have scientific basis like astrology, calculation of stars and planets, mahadasha-antardasha etc. It is an art, completely God gifted. No one can learn it and nobody can teach. If you seek that potential, then you can only develop it through study and practice.