Divination

Divination comes from the Latin divinatio, linked to divus, divine. It has been practised in almost every culture: Babylonian omen lists, Greek oracles, the Chinese I Ching, dream books and reading tea leaves. Card divination, or cartomancy, is a late arrival, recorded from the 18th century. Tarot was a game for over three centuries before it became a divination tool. Today readers turn to tarot both to look ahead and to reflect, reading the cards as a picture of where a situation stands and where it is heading. See how to read tarot.