Sunday, September 28, 2008 Bookmark Now! | Email to a friend  

What are the origins of tarot?

Tarot's origins are perhaps as misunderstood as the mystical symbols on the cards themselves. The promotional images and text on some of these divination decks claim ancient Egyptian origins or gypsy ancestry. But most serious sources say the roots of these symbolic cards can be traced to traditional playing cards.
The predecessors of the playing cards we use today first migrated to Europe from Islamic countries around the 14th century. The suits used on these early cards were coins, cups, swords, and sticks. These suits are still used in the tarot deck but were changed to hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades by French cardmakers in the 15th century. The earliest deck of tarot cards was a hand-painted set created around 1440 for the Duke of Milan. They were used for a game similar to bridge and to create amusing poetry.

It wasn't until the 1700s that tarot cards became strongly connected to fortune telling or the occult. The writings of Antoine Court de Gebelin in 1781 were hugely influential on the image of the tarot deck. An amateur scholar, Gebelin suggested that the pictures on the tarot deck were related to occult Egyptian hieroglyphics. While the Rosetta Stone later proved him wrong, the idea stuck, and other occult writers and tarot-card artists expanded on Gebelin's Egyptian interpretation.

Tarot divination gained in popularity during the 19th century, probably spurred on by a growing interest in all types of spiritualism. The Waite-Smith tarot deck, created in 1909, is often considered the "standard" deck, although the symbols are more a product of the late Victorian age than the Italian Renaissance (much less ancient Egypt). These days, you can find a tarot deck in any style or theme conceivable. We'll leave the mystical interpretations up to you.

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Sunday, September 21, 2008 Bookmark Now! | Email to a friend  

Why are German Shepherds used as police dogs?

The German Shepherd fact page on Yahoo! Pets notes that these dogs have long been valued for their strength and intelligence, two important factors in any type of guide dog.

The first German Shepherd breeding club was established in 1899, so it's a relatively recent breed. The dog was originally intended as a herder, but was quickly promoted as a guide and police dog by its breeding club, the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (VS). This group bred the dog assiduously, promoting "utility and intelligence," and trained it for "tracking, obedience, and protection." These traits helped convince the German government to use the dog for military purposes and make them ideal companions for police officers today.

The two world wars cemented the dog's reputation as a police or military breed, and the FAQ in the Yahoo! German Shepherd category notes that the German army used these canines during both wars. American soldiers returning home from Europe were primarily responsible for the breed's popularity in the States. Perhaps the most famous German Shepherd of them all, Rin Tin Tin, was brought to America from Germany after World War I by an American soldier.

Source: Ask.yahoo.com

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