Tarot cards, a set of cards used in tarot games and fortune-telling, were invented in Italy in the 1430s by adding a fifth suit of 21 specially illustrated cards called trionfi to the existing four-suited pack. The origins of tarot cards are shrouded in mystery, with several theories attempting to unravel their beginnings. One popular belief is that tarot cards originated in ancient Egypt.
The earliest known tarot-like cards were created in Italy and were used to play a game called tarocchi, similar to bridge. As Tarot gained popularity in Italy, it gradually spread across Europe, finding its way to France, Germany, and other countries. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century further complicated the story of tarot cards.
Scientific research has shown that tarot cards were invented in northern Italy in the mid-15th century, confirming that there is no historical connection between tarot cards and Egypt. The idea that tarot came from Egypt and was transmitted to Europe by wandering Romani people can be attributed to a French author named Antoine Court de Gebelin.
Despite most tangible evidence pointing to tarot cards having originated in Europe, some theories suggest a connection between tarot symbolism and the origins of tarot cards. The ancestors of what we today know as Tarot cards can be traced back to around the late fourteenth century. Artists in Europe created the first tarot-like cards in the 1440s, and they were often modified by different regions as they spread throughout Europe.
📹 The Little Known History of Tarot
Throughout its history, tarot has has been associated with various ancient mystery schools and esoteric ideologies. However …
Is tarot French or Italian?
Tarot, first known as trionfi and later as tarocchi or tarocks, is a pack of playing cards used in Europe since the mid-15th century for card games like Tarocchini. It has evolved into a family of games including German Grosstarok and modern games such as French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen. In the late 18th century, French occultists made elaborate claims about their history and meaning, leading to the emergence of custom decks for divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy. There are two distinct types of tarot packs in circulation: those used for card games and those used for divination.
Tarot has four suits that vary by region: French suits are used in western, central, and eastern Europe, and Latin suits in southern Europe. Each suit has 14 cards: ten pip cards numbering from one (or Ace) to ten; and four face cards: King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave/Page. Additionally, the tarot has a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as the Fool. These tarot cards are still used throughout much of Europe to play conventional card games.
The use of tarot playing cards was once widespread across Europe except the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula. However, they later experienced a renaissance in some countries and regions. For example, French Tarot was largely confined to Provence in the 18th century but took off in the 1950s, becoming the second most popular card game in France. Tarock games like Königrufen have experienced significant growth in Austria, with international tournaments held with other nations.
What do Christians believe about tarot cards?
Many Christians object to tarot cards due to their association with divination and fortune-telling. However, some are using them for self-directed spiritual contemplation. Gil Stafford, a retired Episcopal priest, incorporates tarot cards alongside the Enneagram and Myers-Briggs. Brittany Muller, author of The Contemplative Tarot: A Christian Guide to the Cards, uses tarot cards with the Book of Common Prayer for visio divina. Carl McColman offers an online course on Meditations on the Tarot, a classic Christian mysticism text with an afterword by Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar.
Are tarot cards against Christianity?
The Bible warns against sorceries, divination, soothsaying, fortunetelling, mediums, and spiritists. Tarot cards can be used for divination and fortunetelling, but they can also be used for meditation or exploring archetypes. The modern Tarot began as tarocchi, sets of playing cards and learning devices, and fortunetelling was not involved. Early Biblical mentions against such practices include not eating pork, trimming beards, getting tattoos, cutting hair, eating oysters, going to church within 40 days of giving birth, working on the Sabbath, eating fat, touching a goat, or selling land permanently. Some scholars believe these rules were put in place to prevent women from having an active role in spiritual leadership.
In modern American churches, an attitude against astrology is common. Genesis 1:14 indicates that God’s people are meant to use heavenly bodies as signs, guides, and portents. The practice of astrology involves using stars as signs, as the three wise men used this practice to follow the Star in the East.
Do tarot cards predict the future?
Tarot can help make big decisions, but it cannot predict the future. Michelle Tea suggests beginners start with a three-card reading from the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck. Growing up, her family often relied on tarot for tough decisions, such as discussing a brother’s breakup or deciding whether to drop out of school. The deck’s iconic Rider-Waite-Smith cards can be used to guide readers through these situations.
Did tarot originate in Egypt?
The popular belief that tarot originated in ancient Egypt is, in fact, a myth. Tarot decks were utilized for card games for centuries prior to the late 1700s, when French pastor Antoine Court de Gebelin became the first documented professional tarot reader. He employed the cards for divination purposes.
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.
Where did the tarot originate?
Tarot cards originated in Italy in the 1430s, with the oldest complete deck being the Sola Busca Deck, originating in the 1490s. The deck added a fifth suit, called the trionfi, or triumphs, which had 21 ornate illustrations and one additional card called il matto, or the fool. These ornate cards were used to play a game called tarocchi in Italy, which was later changed to tarot when it became popular in France. The tarot deck is the oldest-surviving complete tarot deck.
Was tarot invented in Italy?
Tarot decks were invented in Italy in the 1430s, adding a fifth suit of 21 specially illustrated cards called trionfi (“triumphs”) and an odd card called il matto (“the fool”). These cards bore Italian suitmarks and belonged to an experimental period of card design when queens were often added to the series of court cards previously consisting of only a king and two male figures. In standard cards, the four figures were subsequently reduced to three again by suppressing the queen, except in French cards, which suppressed the cavalier (knight).
The trionfi each bore a different allegorical illustration instead of a common suitmark, possibly representing characters in medieval reenactments of Roman triumphal processions. They were originally unnumbered, so it was necessary to remember their order. When added to the pack, trionfi functioned as a suit superior in power to the other four, acting as a suit of triumphs or “trumps”.
Where was tarot born?
Tarot cards, originating in Italy, have been used in card games throughout Europe. The decks have been modified by different regions and the rules of the games have remained consistent. There are various Tarot games played in Italy, France, Germany, and Switzerland, with slight differences in rules. Although not widely popular in English-speaking regions, they are still widely played in Italy and France.
French Tarot, one of the most popular games, uses the full 78-card deck, including 14 cards of each suit, 21 trumps, and the fool. The goal is to earn the most points by capturing cards in a series of tricks, usually by playing a higher card than the rest of the players.
Did tarot cards originate in Africa?
The provenance of the tarot deck has been a topic of scholarly interest for two centuries, with the consensus being that it originated in the Renaissance court of northern Italy. However, the precise connection with Egypt remains elusive.
Do tarot cards go against the Bible?
The Bible offers counsel against the practice of sorcery, divination, soothsaying, fortunetelling, and the use of mediums and spiritists. While tarot cards may be employed for the purposes of divination and fortunetelling, it is meditation and archetype exploration that offer a more suitable avenue for such pursuits.
📹 The history of Tarot and it’s origins
Thanks for watching today’s video and here’s some more reading you can do as well as resources.
From this short lecture I think Tarot was born as a sort of individual game. Initially, some who possessed such decks; they were pretty bored one day, and decided to play cards with themselves. Just like the modern Solitary game. Then, they realized that the images in each card were of unique perspective in which such a meaning could be inferred. They began shuffling the decks until such a full house hand appeared, and then they started to create such a symbolism for such a hand. Afterwards, each deck’s card appeared to have a mystical significance in which a hermetic study was required to read every full hand throw. Nowadays, the Tarot has become a game that we bet on ourselves. Each card represents choices and possibilities as well as doubts and obstacles we either enhance or overcome in order to reach our final evolution stage which is finding God in ourselves.
The images of the major arcana came from already existing symbols, which have different histories, most from Greco-Roman sources, some Biblical, the largest sub-group is the virtues, of which all seven are present. Temperance = Temperance Love= Love/Charity Justice = Justice Strength = Fortitude Popess = Faith Hermit = Prudence/Wisdom The Star/s = Hope
Leonardo da Vinci said “The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions ” Plato shared with us wisdom he learnt from Egypt, wisdom that was a death sentence in Greece, Rome (Christianity) ..Pythagoras, Socrates and later Hypatia of Alexandria. Plato in his dialogue “The Republic ” tells the parable of ” The Cave ” Plato starts by telling us of prisoners being held in a underground den, let us examine this den via the geometry of Bernhard Riemann and Felix Klein..Klein bottle..3rd and 4th dimensions. Plato tells us that the prisoners are bound up unable to move their heads, let us examine this bondage via the psychology of Erich Fromm..socialisation of consciousness..aware-unaware. Plato tells us that the prisoners mistake shadows for substance, let us examine this mistake via the philosophy of Thales, Hume and Kant..synthetic a priori judgement..not thing in itself. Plato tells us that one of the prisoners is released, let us examine this release via the wisdom of T Lobsang Rampa..stilling the mind and conscious astral travel..leaving the cave/body. Plato tells us that the prisoners will reject this release, let us examine this rejection via the psychology of Stockholm Syndrome..Plato quotes Homer..forgive them for they know not what they say. Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds. Mathew 23 13 31.
Man, I love your straightforward unbiased skeptical approach. Would you consider doing a article on the origins and history of the Ouija Board, or a quasi Timeline/Family Tree of 18th-20th Century Occultism (with figures such as Levi, Waite, Hall, Pike, Cayce, Crowley, Blavatsky, Mary Baker Eddy, Alice Bailey, etc…) 👍🏽💡
Another really good article! You know Tarot, in a way, is an example of a self fulfilling prophecy! Originally it wasn’t related to Kabbalah at all but as the article goes on you can see how Occultists forced it to be Kabbalistic, the most extreme case is Case who claims that Kabbalah originates from the Tarot lmao Also I didn’t expect JoJo getting mentioned but that was pretty cool! And hey since you mentioned the Rosicrucians in this you could do a article on that topic during December 🙂
The major arcana represent the sun on its quest during a solar year. The Fool, or O (the symbol for the sun) is about to take his first step on his journey. The Magician – I, displays the infinity symbol, or rather the analemma of the sun above his head or hidden within the shape of his hat. This infinity symbol is also the way in which the cards should be arranged with The World – XXI being the central point or crossroads
Mostly right, but you cannot say that 70 cards were in the original Visconti-Sforza Decks from 1440 – 1460, because a complete deck has never been discovered/confirmed. The Fool was in the original VS Decks from the 1440s, so much earlier than 1500. Court de Gébelin said that the word Tarot meant “Royal Road” not royal wisdom. He just made that up though. The Fool card in French is Le Mat not La Mat as you seem to be saying. Soldiers and Merchants (no evidence of Gypsies) didn’t bring the TAROT DECK from the Middle-East to Europe, they brought playing card decks. These were 52-card decks similar to modern playing card decks. As you say the Tarot Deck was created in 1440 in Italy, so originated in Europe not brought to Europe. The TH sound in the word Thoth is pronounced the same at the beginning and the end of the word. So it’s not Hoth, but Thoth, as written. There’s no real evidence of any link with Tarot and Gypsies, Tarot and Ancient Egypt, Tarot and the Rosicrucians etc. despite numerous claims from occultists over the last 230 years. Arthur Waite’s Tarot Deck was published by the Rider Company in 1909, not by Waite himself. Hence the common name for deck – Rider Waite. You mentioned Bram Stoker’s book Dracula. That book was also published by Rider in 1897.
People have always been superstitious about ‘Luck’, so your assertion that in early days there were no “occult associations” is rather unlikely. I don’t think many people would ever have drawn a card depicting ‘Death’ or ‘the Devil’ without concern. The pictures used are of course not arbitrary if drawn from well known allegorical (or actual) stories of the day. While the tarot as an occult tool has been formalised and added to over the years, it does not mean that it was not predated by similar hybrid divinatory/gambling traditions – notably to the ‘Lots’ that were much used inearlier centuries in places like Egypt and the Holy Land. Roman soldiers memorably played ‘Lots’ at the foot of Christ’s Cross with the winners claiming his clothing and belongings. It’s also worth mentioning that paper/card was not widely available in medieval Europe but papyrus was available in Egypt.
I don’t know how the cards are getting informations. I am thinking is it spirits? is it connecting to the brain, is it getting informations in our head. I don’t know how it can say anything, because it is getting something somewhere. A long time ago a fortune teller says I will attend baptismal. I did not attend but I had been asked to be a god mother after a week. So how on earth did the card know about it?
I feel stupid because this stupid manmade game i almost allowed to destroy my life i feel all tarot readers need to be honest and express that this is just a game. So many people are sucked into this and actually believe their lives are being read through a game. We are playing with peoples lives and its not funny.