The tarot pack depends for it's effect and credibility on associating itself with the mysteries of antiquity. We are told that the cards come from the religions of old Egypt, and that they derive their power from that source. This is not true, even if many packs contain symbols drawn from there. Tarot cards first appeared after the invention of printing press.

The tarot pack most familiar to us is the Rider set, which was produced in 1890's London by the occult group, the Order of the Golden Dawn, led by AE Waite.. By examining the symbols they included on each card, which were drawn from the British occult tradition rather than the Egyptian, we can obtain a view of the elements of their secret lore.

The Waite occult group was a short-lived one, which drew together Celtic mystics; deranged satanists, and the dreadful Madame Blavatsky. It's influences included the Masons, the Rosy Cross. and Cabalism. The cards were painted by a Ms Smith from the Caribbean, who was familiar with voodoo. For this reason Waite's cards contain references to all these traditions.

The Rider cards consist of the Minor Arcana, which is roughly equivalent to the ordinary 4-suit playing pack; together with a Major Arcana of 22 extra cards.

The Minor Arcana suits (Swords; Pentacles, Cups and Wands) represent the spheres of conflict, fortune, society and natural growth. The meanings are graduated in a numerological way. Note that numerology itself is derived from goddess lore- the lucky 3 for example is that of the Triple Goddess.

The twenty-two cards of the major arcana include 15 cards containing occult lore, one of which is a repeat; and 7 which are there to confuse the issue. These seven contain concepts derived from late Christian thinking. and can be distinguished from the others by their art style as well as their content .
The repeated cards are numbered 0 and 1. They are The Magician and The Fool, which both represent the high druid or ollave, the Celtic successor to the Goddess's confidante Hermes. As the Magician he is shown in possession of the four suit- symbols. As the Fool, he strides blithely to a clifftop, carrying a bag on a stick, while being barked at by a dog. The meaning of the dog, according to other sources, is "guard the secret". The stick is the same as that carried by Hermes and by the hero Hercules. His hat is the same as Hermes'. In his hand is a white rose, of which it might be said: "This is the symbol of my office, won in long struggle and defended against all challengers" His bag is the druid's bag, and contains the secret which must be guarded. This ancient secret, which millennia ago belonged only to an elect few, is now known by everyone. But before I disclose it, here is a reference to the druid's secret bag from the poet W B Yeats, who, incidentally, knew the members of the Golden Dawn:
 

This all but gives it away, the bag, which in Sappho's day was a crane-skin bag, contains little more than the alphabet (the secret of writing) and a disc marked with the seasons of the year.

Of the remainder of the significant 13 cards, one of particular interest is The High Priestess, a portrayal of Sappho seated before a pair of columns marked B and J. These letters stand for the Hebrew 'boaz' and 'jachim' which are the names of the trees which in the calendrical circle of tree-months, mark the important moment in the goddess year. The simplest interpretation of this symbolism is that the columns mark the gateway to the afterlife. The background is painted with pomegranates which were chosen as a goddess symbol by the ancients because the fruit contains red, white and black, and because it remains fresh for long periods, suggesting immortality.