| No One Knows.... |
| Ok, so in part this is true. We do not know the exact time or place that the Tarot was invented. That does not mean that we know nothing about the origins of the Tarot. We do know that playing cards came to Europe in about 1375. Before then there is no mention of cards in any writings, including in the books that describe all the forms of games that were played at the time. These cards were playing cards, not cards used for divination or meditation. The playing cards came from the Islamic world where card games were already quite common. Our first glimpse at what might be called early Tarot cards come from references to cards with allegorical pictures of animals in about 1420. The first set of Tarot Cards, called Triumph Cards, were probably created in Northern Italy. Beginning in 1442 we find references to triumps cards. In a later letter from the Duke of Milan there is a reference to both triumph cards and playing cards showing that there were 2 different decks of cards.The letter also establishes that both decks were gaming cards. There are no indications of either deck being used for instructional or esoteric reasons.These decks seem to have been lavish hand painted decks for the nobility. They were used to play a game that was similar to Bridge. It is sometime after this period that we see the Tarot move towards it's current use. It was devotees of the occult arts in France and England that saw the Tarot and found magical and mystical meanings in the cards. The Tarot was used in the 16th century as an inspiration to Poets. A poem from 1527 that is based on the Tarot, has the verses presented as they relate the person's fate. As early as the 1700's there are divinatory meanings assigned to the Tarot, but there are records as early as 1487 showing ordinary gaming cards being used in the same way. In the 1790's the Etteilla Deck was a Tarot deck whose design was modified specifically for divinatory and esoteric meaning. Following Etteilla there were others who began to use the Tarot for divination and spiritual growth. This includes S.L. MacGregor Mathers and A.E Waite. There is speculation that the Tarot come from the Rom Gypsies. This idea became popular in the 1900's because of several books that were written that had no basis in true history. There is no proof that the gypsies, who were known for palmistry and the use of normal gaming cards for divination, used the Tarot until the 20th century. There is also no proof that the Inquisition went after readers. There is alot of information from this time, including records of what the church reguarded as heresy, and the Tarot is never mentioned. Many people also believe that the Waite-Rider, (or Rider-Waite) cards are the original, or most authintic. This deck was not created until 1909. Waite was a member in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and it's influence can be seen in the cards, which was a departure from the earlier French Tradition in Tarot Cards. The Waite Deck was, for a long time, the most available deck in the U.S so it became the popular one, which led to the belief that it was the "Standard" design. There is no true "Standard Design". Waite's Celic Cross spread was not invented by him, but it also not an ancient Celtic method . |
| This is a brief overview. I know that I am skipping many different people and ideas. This is not a study page, only an information page. If you write to me I can provide more information if you need / want it. |
| Ok, so the Tarot did not come from Gypsies as secrets passed from generation to generation. The Tarot did not rise up from ancient tombs of Egypt's God / Kings. They were, originally, used as gaming cards. A form of amusment for the old nobility. Does this take away from the Tarot? Does it dissolve the meanings of the cards? No. Think about it. What was it that the old occultists saw in the pictures and images? What inspired the divinatory meanings? What is it that draws us into the cards so deeply that they are used for meditation? What inspired the poets to write about the cards? Why do so many see so much within the different decks? Knowing the history of the cards only adds to all they are. Knowing that they were made for a different purpose, yet they pulled some in another direction adds a mystique no myth can battle with. |