Do Playing Cards Have Tarot Roots?

Tarot cards, also known as Tarocks or tarocchi, have a distinct and later origin than regular playing cards. They were initially designed for gameplay and divination purposes in the 15th century in Europe. The first cards extant in Europe, the tarrochi, were used only for playing games, yet now the modern Tarot is used nearly exclusively for divination purposes.

The origins of Tarot can be traced back to ancient Asia, specifically 9th century China during the Tang Dynasty. These early cards, made from materials like wood, bone, and paper, showcased various types of cards. Tarot is one of the earliest card games into which the concept of trumps was introduced, with images often depicting people at work. The first cards to be truly identified as tarot, with a fifth suit of trumps, were created in northern Italy around the 1420s.

The oldest cards still in existence are the 271 cards from approximately 15 years ago. Although the origin of cards is indeterminable, it seems most likely that the early Tarot was an antecedent to the simpler decks of playing. Tarot cards, also known locally as Tarocks or tarocchi, are an old genre of playing card that is still popular in France, central and Eastern Europe.

Tarot decks are believed to have originated in Italy and spread through much of Europe, with the earliest reference to playing cards or dominoes occurring in Chinese literature of the 10th century. Regardless of when the card games were developed, poker cards used today in casinos can be most closely tied back to Tarot cards.

Did tarot start as a card game?

Tarot cards were invented in northern Italy around 1420 for playing cards, leading to the first of two major innovations in trick-taking games since they arrived in Europe: the concept of trumps and the idea of bidding. Trump cards, initially called trionfi, first appeared with the advent of tarot cards, which had a separate, permanent trump suit comprising a number of picture cards. The first known example of such cards was ordered by the Duke of Milan around 1420 and included 16 trumps with images of Greek and Roman gods. A basic description of such cards first appeared in the manuscript of Martiano da Tortona, written before 1425. The games are known in many variations, mostly cultural and regional.

Tarot games originated in Italy and spread to most parts of Europe, with notable exceptions being the British Isles, the Iberian peninsula, and the Balkans. The earliest detailed description of rules for a tarot game in any language were published by the Abbé de Marolles in Nevers in 1637.

What does tarot originate from?

In English-speaking countries, cartomantic tarot cards are available for novelty and divination. Early French occultists claimed tarot cards had esoteric links to ancient Egypt, Kabbalah, the Indic Tantra, or I Ching. However, scholarly research shows that tarot cards were invented in northern Italy in the mid-15th century and no significant use of tarot cards for divination until the late 18th century. Historians describe western views of the Tarot pack as a “successful propaganda campaign”.

The earliest evidence of a tarot deck used for cartomancy comes from an anonymous manuscript from around 1750. The popularization of esoteric tarot started with Antoine Court and Jean-Baptiste Alliette (Etteilla) in Paris during the 1780s, using the Tarot of Marseilles. French tarot players abandoned the Marseilles tarot in favor of the Tarot Nouveau around 1900, and the Marseilles pattern is now mostly used by cartomancers. Etteilla was the first to produce a bespoke tarot deck specifically designed for occult purposes around 1789, containing themes related to ancient Egypt.

Who first read tarot cards?

Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy where practitioners use tarot cards to gain insight into the past, present, or future. The first to assign divinatory meanings to tarot cards was cartomancer Jean-Baptiste Alliette (also known as Etteilla) in 1783. A traditional tarot deck consists of 78 cards, divided into the Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. French-suited playing cards can also be used. The first written references to tarot packs occurred between 1440 and 1450 in northern Italy, where additional cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the common four-suit pack.

These new packs were called carte da trionfi, triumph packs, and the additional cards known simply as trionfi, which became “trumps” in English. One of the earliest references to tarot triumphs is given c. 1450–1470 by a Dominican preacher in a sermon against dice, playing cards, and ‘triumphs’. References to the tarot as a social plague or exempt from bans that affected other games continue throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, but there are no indications that the cards were used for anything but games.

Is tarot card reading true?

Early French occultists claimed that tarot cards had esoteric links to ancient Egypt, the Kabbalah, Indic Tantra, or the I Ching. However, scholarly research reveals that tarot cards were invented in Italy in the early 15th century for playing games, and there is no evidence of significant use of them for divination until the late 18th century. The belief in the divinatory meaning of the cards is closely associated with a belief in their occult properties, which was propagated by prominent Protestant Christian clerics and Freemasons.

From its uptake as an instrument of divination in 18th-century France, the tarot went on to be used in hermeneutic, magical, mystical, semiotic, and psychological practices. It was used by Romani people when telling fortunes and as a Jungian psychological apparatus for tapping into “absolute knowledge in the unconscious”, a tool for archetypal analysis, and even a tool for facilitating the Jungian process of individuation.

What is the origin of playing cards?

The game of cards, invented by the Chinese prior to 1000 A. D., reached Europe around 1360. Its origins can be traced back to the Mamluk Empire of Egypt, which demonstrates the intricate relationship between words, shapes, and concepts.

What inspired playing cards?

The origin of playing cards is a contentious topic, with some scholars suggesting they were developed in China during the Tang Dynasty, while others believe they were developed alongside tile games like dominos or mahjong. Some speculate that playing cards served as “play money” for gambling games before being integrated into the games themselves. The earliest confirmed record of playing cards was found in a 1377 manuscript by German monk Johannes.

The popularity of playing cards continued to grow in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, with European cards introducing the idea of using four suits: Swords, Clubs, Cups, and Coins. These suits may have origins in Tarot cards and can still be found on Italian and Spanish playing cards today.

Are playing cards based on tarot cards?

In 1938, George Coffin wrote an article in Games Digest titled “Taro: Ancestor of Whist”, explaining the struggle he faced while researching divination cards, which were originally used for games. He found someone from Italy to talk to and learned not only about il tarocchi cards still used for games but how to play a game with them that was not too different from Whist.

Playing cards have four suits: Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, each made up of numbers 1 (ace) to 10, then the “Court” cards of the Jack, Queen, and King. Tarot cards in the Minor Arcana also have their four suits with ace to ten as well, then the Page, the Cavalier, the Queen, and the King. S. R. Kaplan in Tarot Cards for Fun and Fortune Telling states that the ordinary pack of playing cards is a direct descendent from the fourteenth century tarot deck.

The exact origin of tarot cards is often debated, but there is plenty of written evidence dating the use of tarot cards from well before the 15th century. Historians generally refer to the 1440s and the Italian cities of Venice, Milan, Florence, and Urbino when providing a starting point. The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards, believed to be the earliest surviving tarot cards, date back around 1442 and are believed to be the strongest historical analytical evidence.

The original game, now usually referred to as ill tarocchi, involved bidding, melding of points, and taking of tricks. Although tarot games have varied through the centuries and are still played in some parts of Europe, the rules always vary depending on who is playing.

What religion do tarot cards come from?

This literature review examines the relationship between Tarot cards and New Age religion, emphasizing their function in the contemporary study of the New Age movement.

What religion is Tarot cards from?

This literature review examines the interconnection between Tarot cards and New Age religion, with a particular emphasis on their function within the context of the twenty-first-century New Age movement and their utilization by practitioners. It elucidates the religious import of Tarot cards and delineates the various methods through which they can be employed.

Is playing cards haram?

While card games are not typically regarded as sinful, any item used for gambling is considered haram, regardless of the player’s intention.