Tarot Continued....

In the middle of the 19th century the Tarot had a surge of popularity,with the writers of the day using the mystery of the Tarot as a basis for poems, stories and plays. A popularity in fact that has not receded. These days the Tarot is enjoying more popularity than it has ever done. Perhaps modern day man is learning that the old ways and psychic awareness, are rather more down to earth than the world in which we live now. Just one more thing on the 78 cards of the Tarot. Shortly after the printing press came into being, the French decided that one could play games with them. In doing so they decided to omit a few cards. First they dispensed with one complete suit ! These consisted of 22 picture cards called the Major Arcana, otherwise known as the suit of Trumps.....so when you've played card cards and ever wondered why there is such a thing as a Trump card in certain games, that's because originally there was another suit.....the suit of Trumps. This left four suits consisting of 56 cards known as the Minor Arcana. The French then dispensed with one card from each of the four suits, called the Knight, which of course left them with four suits consisting of 52 cards.....hence your modern day playing deck. Bet you didn't know that did you ?