The history of Tarot Cards………..

Some say tarot cards originated in ancient Egypt, others say Gypsies were the first to use them. Whichever, Tarot cards are commonly used for prophesying and have become a popular hobby particularly in the West.  They are to be found everywhere..from dimly lit fortune telling shops and booths to adolescent sleep over parties.  The true history of Tarot cards is as mystic and controversial as the cards themselves…

The "Visconti Trumps (Tarot)" appeared in 1440 as a card game favoured by the Italian Noble classes.  The twenty two cards of the Tarot (called Major Arcana) are believed to be based on these cards.  The Visconti Trumps were not used for the purpose of prophecy, they were created merely as a game for passing the time.

In the late 15th Century, the Trump cards re-appeared as a newly standardised deck and were highly controversial as many nobles at the time were offended by the introduction of such cards as The Devil, Death and The Tower.  Religious leaders warned against using the cards and claimed that the Devil himself created the Trump cards.  Although at this time, the cards were still only used for playing card games, conservative leaders of the time were convinced that playing with the Trump cards could cost you your soul.

The Trump cards seemed to all but disappear until the late 1700s, when, for the first time, they were used for divination.  Antoine Court de Gebelin, someone at the forefront of the Tarot card rebirth, claimed the cards were of Egyptian descent (being specifically designed by the Egyptian God, Thoth).  At this time, many secret societies embraced the Egyptian occult and began producing their own Tarot cards. 

The belief that the origins of the Tarot were Egyptian continued until the late 1850s when it became popular to link Tarot cards with gypsies and fortune telling.

The Tarot cards used today are highly artistic and symbolic in nature.  The is due to to the revisions done at the turn of the 20th century by Smith and Ryder-Waite, which allows the ‘reader’ to extract meanings from the clear symbols on the cards themselves.

Today, there are many hundreds of different decks of cards, each incorporating more modern values in religion, sexuality and human nature…in fact Tarot cards have now become a medium for beautiful works of art and are reminders of the importance of symbolism to the human spirit across time and space.

So, the question is… Do you believe or not?

I do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tarot cards used today are highly artistic