CHAPTER IX
THE TAROT OR DIVINATION CARDS
AFTER
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fascinating methods of
an ordinary pack, most
the powers of the ancient
testing the various
" telUng " the cards with
people will be anxious to test
Tarocchi cards, as these were originally used solely for this
purpose and not for gambling games.
We
have already explained the peculiar arrangement
which contains seventy-eight cards, and we
have suggested that a pack could easily be prepared at
home. The pack is technically composed of two uneven
sections
there were four suits, containing fourteen cards
each, and this portion of the pack was known as the Minor
or Lesser Arcana.
In addition there were twenty-two
of the pack,
—
other cards,
these were
all single,
known
and without
suits or
sequence
as the Major or Greater Arcana,
and have
never been used for any other purpose than divination.
The Major Arcana consists of twenty-one numbered cards
and one unnumbered, and for practical purposes this
series of simple numbers would be sufficient.
If a pack
can be purchased, the cards will probably be found
numbered, in addition to having special designs upon
them.
It is a curious fact that the Hebrew alphabet contains
twenty-two letters, and it is claimed that there is a connection between the two. This may be the case, but the
presence of an unnumbered card raises a difficulty should
fe^
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