There are 5 celebrities who have a strong connection to tarot card usage for occult purposes. These celebrities are as follows: Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lopez, George Clooney, Taylor Swift, and Sarah-Jessica Parker. Brad Pitt , George Clooney, and Sarah-Jessica Parker are famous movie stars. Taylor Swift is a famous singer and musician. Jennifer Lopez is a famous singer, actress, and dancer.
Tarot cards originally were a form of highly advanced playing cards that have nothing to do with divination nor other occultism as knowing personal secrets on people and things Tarot cards, like regular playing cards, were just for fun and games, Cartomancy, or fortune telling telling with cards, would come centuries later, which shall be explained later on. In Europe, Tarot cards are still played today simply as games with no occult associations.
First came regular playing cards, which are believed by historians to first have originated in China, well over a thousand years ago, during the Tang Dynasty. Playing cards were invented by the use of wood block printing on heavy, thick paper that was individually cut to a uniform size.The Chinese put certain images on their cards-goblets (cups) {probably because the Chinese drank a lot of tea}, gold coins,swords,and pole sticks.
The playing cards of China did not enter Europe by way of China, but came through Asia to Europe by gypsies, Christian Crusaders in the Middle East, and traders; merchants especially by Arabians, a very large group of businessmen who introduced Chinese playing cards to Europe were Egyptians from the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1250 to 1517 A.D. Tarot card people have falsely said that Tarot cards goes back to ancient Egypt . Actually, tarot cards were first invented in northern Italy by Italians in the year 1440 and there is some sort of evidence to that activity.
When regular playing cards from China came into Europe, the year 1370 and these cards arrived in the Italian seaports and the Spanish seaports. With a short time, seaports in Switzerland and Germany began to receive imports of Chinese playing cards. The cards were originally hand painted and only the very wealthy people could afford them. In 1370, Germany first developed wood block printing, and then Italy several decades later. In 1370, Egyptian Mumluk merchants had an Arabic version of the Chinese playing cards that being introduced to Europe. There were Arabic designs on the Chinese playing cards. But, then the cards began to become Europeanized by having 4 suites(hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades) put on them and having images of King, Queen, and Jacks( a soldier, page, valete, or knave).
In 1440, playing cards were inexpensive, but not real cheap and many people were able to buy these cards. A century or so later, there were simple, uneducated, superstitious people who thought on whims that playing cards just might be able to reveal the future. Such people were concerned with drawing cards because they considered some cards as ” good cards”’ (high value cards that made them feel important and successful) and “bad cards” (low cards that made them feel insignificant and as underachievers). Centuries later, a big black ace of spades card was considered highly misfortunate by many individuals to receive in a “hand” of cards, Other people considered such a card as good luck. Modern science has shown that there is no evidence to believe in regular playing cards or tarot cards as means of divination or as to reveal hidden traits or actions of people. Tarot cards began as a fancy, new form of playing cards with much more imagery and colors than regular playing cards and cost considerably more than regular playing cards at the time, but with the invention of tarot cards in 1440, the price was affordable to general people in Europe.
The oldest proof of a card deck used for divination comes from an anonymous manuscript from around 1750 which documents the rudimentary divination interpretations of the tarot cards of the Italian Bolognese Taroco. Tarot card cartomancy began to become popularized under two occultists: Antoine Court de Gebelin and Jean -Baptiste Alliette (Etteilla) in Paris, France in the 1780’s using the Marseilles French tarot cards. Etteilla was the first person to issue a tarot card deck that was specifically created for occult activities. As years went by, the French Marseille tarot card form was replaced by a new tarot system called Tarot Nouveau around 1900. In 1909, A. E. Waite published the Rider-Waite deck and the accompanying book “The Pictorial Key to Tarot” that has become the most common; most popular form of Tarot in Anglo American style of tarot.
Tarot cards consist of two main divisions. The first group is 57 cars that form the major arcana. These cards are the Fool(Joker), Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant. Lovers. Chariot. Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Hanged Man, Devil, Temperance, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Judgment, and the World. There are also 4 suits of cards, which are as follows: batons or wands, Pentacles(talismans or coins), Cups, and Swords.
With the second part of the Tarots are 56 cards called the minor arcana that includes the Ace of Wands, Pentacles, Cups, and Swords. For each one of these images, there are also suites of the number 2-10, and of a page, knight, king, and queen.
In Tarot card folklore, to read the cards a person first asks or thinks of a question about the future, people dealings, affairs, etc. Then, the cards are well shuffled and 7 cards (a hand) is pulled up. The symbolism on each card determines the interpretation. Basically, the illustration on the card indicates its significance, and basically the imagery is self-explanatory. For instance, a fool card; a joker card indicates a person who is foolish, a buffoon, or a clown. Cards showing a Magician- a person involved in illusions or supernatural effects, High Priestess- a female occultist, Empress- very important female or female of high legal authority, Emperor-the same thing but in a male sense, Hierophant-Christian authority or the personification of the Christian Church, Lovers-individuals in physical love, Chariot-transportation, Strength-might; endurance, Hermit-a loner, Wheel of Fortune-fate; life, Justice-court system or righteous, Hanged Man-an execution, Devil-evil individual, Temperance-Willpower, fortitude; soberness, Tower, something very involved, Star-aspiration; something far out of reach, Moon-the night time; maybe romance; sun-physical ,power; strength; sunshine-happiness, or personal enlightenment, Judgment-discretion, and the World-the earth; travel to different countries.
In regards to the tarot card suites-an ace indicates a person who is a master of some sort of art or craft, batons-authority, wans-magical influences-pentacles or pentagrams-amulets, coins-money, cups-drinking; vessels to drink tea, coffee, water; swords-weapons; long knives, swords themselves, a image of a Page-a servant or someone in training as to things as bravery, violence, righteousness, etc., Knight-honorable person, protector, or legal authority. King-highest male authority, and Queen-highest female authority.
Numbers-may indicate the number of days. months, or years when something shall occur. Numbers may pertain to the number of people or the number of something needed or desired. Or, the numbers might not have any special significance to the tarot card user.
