Surely you are not clairvoyant, neither are we, but this does not mean that you have not heard enough about the Tarot in your daily life. Throughout many centuries, these illustrated cards have accompanied and captivated—almost hopelessly—humanity.
This has led to the fact that, today, the Tarot, more than being a card game to pass the time, is a complex symbolic language that allows to articulate its divinatory facet with the destiny and realities of its consultant.
For this reason, and whatever the Tarot that interests you (money tarotyes and no, work, moles, etc.) is a fascinating experience to immerse yourself in its curious history.
Let’s not wait any longer and find out what its origin was!
First of all… Etymology of the Tarot!
To understand the evolution of Tarot cards, it is essential to know where this term comes from. The term Tarot is derived from the Italian word Tarocco and its plural, Tarocchi. The root of this word is Taroch, which is understood as foolishness or madness.
This last term was used until the 16th century. With the Italian Renaissance comes a set of 70 cards inspired by theater festivals. This game was known as Trionfi. From there, the game was called tarocho in Italy and Taraux in France, where it would eventually evolve into Tarot.
Many people consider that the name could, in turn, come from Egypt. Some relate it to the Phoenician goddess Ashtarot, the Mesopotamian Ishtar or the Hindu Tara. All of them find equivalence in the Egyptian goddess Hator. In the Egyptian temple dedicated to her, the zodiac was discovered, so the word Tarot could mean the relationship between heaven and divinity.
With this first step in its evolution, this type of cartomancy became more and more popular and became in one of the most used esoteric methods to consult and interpret facts, dreams and perceptions.
The charming and mysterious history of the Tarot, full of uncertainty!
The first thing you should know about the history of the Tarot is that no one knows the real origin of the cards. However, it is believed that this dates back to the first decades of the 13th century. At this time, the merchants of the Mediterranean were in charge of traveling the silk route. In their travels through China, Africa and Persia they were able to find and transport the Mamluk, the first deck of cards known in the West.
This deck of Islamic origin was organized into four suits (swords, clubs, coins and cups). However, a few years later —with the arrival of the fifteenth century— Europe incorporated a fifth stick. This was known as the trumps. These cards differed from previous suits because they were adorned with magnificent drawings of all kinds of scenes. With few variations, these figures are almost the same as today make up the 22 major arcana of the Tarot.
Thanks to the appearance of the wins, the game known as Tarocco— consolidates in Italy, Germany and France.
1. The first tarot deck and the path it took to become what it is today
The first complete Tarot deck of which there are records corresponds to the Visconti-Sforza Tarot. This Tarot, of immense beauty, was made by hand, nothing more and nothing less, than commissioned by the Duke of Milan.
In this luxurious Tarot, appeared figures of great importance, What The magician, the hanged either The Empress, accompanied by most of the figures that make up the major arcana.
Over time, the Tarot deck in Italy was arranged in 78 cards. 22 of them wins. They were numbered from 1 to 21, complemented by the letter Crazy, without number. The remaining 56 cards are divided into four suits (listed above). These cups go from 1 to 10 and are complemented by corresponding figures (King, Queen, Knight and Page).
2. The Tarot de Marseille and the secrets of humanity
Already at the end of the fifteenth century and after the formation of the Italian Tarot deck, France made some modifications that gave rise to the Marseillais Tarot. Within these modifications, it is worth highlighting the numbering in Roman numerals at the top of the card and the name of the card at the bottom, in French.
It is believed, and according to the testimony of one of the descendants of a Tarot printer from Marseille, that the Tarot de Marseille keeps some of the most sacred secrets of humanity in the cards.
This means that the Tarot would protect the ancient knowledgenoting the appearance of symbols such as The Pope and the Last Judgment, as well as some references to the Jewish Kabbalah and the Muslim tradition.
French occultism and the indissoluble relationship between the Tarot and the world of magic
It was until the eighteenth century when the mystical condition of the Tarot was revalued. In 1789, Jean-Baptiste Alliette published a deck of 78 cards, regarding it as a divination tool. Alliete claimed that it contained traces of the virtues of the Egyptian god of wisdom: Thoth.
Hand in hand with this consideration, other analogies were also born, such as the one that links the Tarot with astrology and the Kabbalah.
All of them led to new interpretations in which this card game acquired magical and divinatory properties. Properties that are still in force today.
By way of conclusion, it is worth emphasizing that, despite the multiple discussions about the interpretation of the fascinating origin of these cards, the importance of the interest and the investigations that surround them intensify the relevance of the Tarot in modern society, so eager to to face life with courage and, of course, wisdom.