Many people have explored the origins of Tarot, but I would like to share my insights to help you understand its history, if you're interested. Over the past hundred years, Tarot has been used as a card game and for fortune-telling. However, only in the past couple of decades has Tarot been recognized as a tool to amplify one's inner voice of intuition.
Initially, Tarot was simply a regular deck of playing cards. It was not intended to provide personal insight, divination, or fortune-telling. The earliest Tarot decks varied in the number of cards. They were created, for the most part, for entertainment and occasionally for education.
But where do the cards come from? The origin of the Tarot has yet to be discovered. Some say the Tarot may have originated in China, India, Persia, Saudi Arabia, Europe, or Egypt. However, no one has proven this. Some of these connections have been encouraged to deepen the cards' mystery and sales.
Regular playing cards are known to have existed in China and the Middle East as early as the 10th century. However, these cards were very different from cards found later in Europe and weren't considered Tarot cards. Furthermore, "Tarot" is likely derived from the Italian word for cards, "Tarocchi." This word appears in Italy in the 15th century, when many believe the game of Tarot originated as it is used today. They were known as "Taraux" in France around the same time.
At first, a Tarot deck contained only 22 illustrated cards. These images varied depending on the region where they were created and the hand-painting method used. For example, older cards designed in the area that now comprises Germany were illustrated with scenes of kings, queens, and animals. Artists left the images on the cards to their discretion, based on what they favored or considered popular at the time. For example, in 1424, the Greek Emperor visited Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan (Italy), to request assistance against the Ottomans. During his visit, he offered to commission a deck of cards. The Greeks chose sixteen gods as images. The duke's wife soon gave birth to a daughter, Bianca Maria Visconti, who, years later, was involved in the production of "Carte da Trionfi", which was much later referred to as "Tarot" decks.
Other decks from around the world featured scenes from religious or Greek mythology. Some even included images of daily tasks, such as carving meat. Later, images of the Empress and the Emperor, the High Priestess (a female figure of authority), and the Hierophant (a male figure of authority) emerged. Still, people used these cards mainly for card games rather than metaphysical purposes.
As time passed, images changed, and the Church increasingly scrutinized card-playing. Gambling was outlawed. Any images that appeared to be religious in any way were removed. The Church replaced these card images with others because it deemed them blasphemous. In 1432, the Church denounced card-playing as "the work of the devil." And again, in the 1570s, the Church outlawed card playing (gambling) and theatre because both were seen as worshipping false gods. However, Tarot was not banned, as it had become a recreational mainstay in upper-class society by this time.
Eventually, another fifty-six cards were added to the deck as "Suits". Only when the suits were added did the original 22 cards come to be known as the Major Arcana, considered archetypal. Each of the twenty-two cards represents an archetype that conveys an important lesson one is learning or needs to learn to become whole.
Each of the four suits, known as the Minor Arcana, contains fourteen cards labeled Ace, King, Queen, Knight, Page, and nine additional cards numbered from 2 to 10. The Suits comprise Wands, Swords, Cups, and Coins (some say Pentacles). The suits represent facets of everyday life, such as human passions and desires (Wands), thoughts and conflicts (Swords), emotions and feelings (Cups), and material and financial concerns (Coins). Initially, the minor cards numbered 1-10 contained no images other than a certain number of Wands, Swords, Cups, or Coins.
The suits can be played like modern-day cards, except that, unlike modern playing cards, they include a Knight that must be removed. The Tarot page becomes Jack, and the Tarot Fool can pose as the Joker. In a regular card game, the Wands represent Clubs, the Swords represent Spades, the Cups represent Diamonds, and the Coins represent Hearts. Looking at it this way, one can easily read one's fortune with a deck of regular playing cards, as long as one knows the meanings of Tarot cards.
Tarot gained popularity as a divination tool in the late 1700s, largely because of Antoine Court de Gebelin's book, in which he claimed the cards' images contained secret messages about civilization. And who doesn't love a good mystery? He also suggested that the secrets were handed down from Egyptian priests in images to keep them safe from those who sought religious dominance. Many others caught up in this enthusiasm for the Egyptian connection, including the authors of The Golden Dawn, of whom Arthur Waite was a member. The idea that Tarot was somehow associated with forbidden knowledge was used to market Tarot books, decks, and readings. This type of marketing only reinforced the acceptance of Egyptian origins and the idea that Tarot spread to the rest of the world by "gypsies". Again, this has never been proven. So that you know, Arthur Waite reversed the placements of the Strength and Justice cards of the Major Arcana.
There are hundreds of Tarot decks to choose from today. All modern-day Tarot decks are said to have descended from the ancient French Tarot of Marseilles, created in 1760 by Nicholas Conver.
In 1910, the Rider-Waite tarot deck (see photo above), the most popular deck in the English-speaking world, was published and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith (who received no credit and died penniless). This deck is often recommended for beginners. Its illustrations are universally easier to understand than those of other decks and are widely used in study materials, books, and television shows.
Also, see The Chronological History of Tarot.
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