History of Tarot cards. How Tarot Cards Came to Be

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Now almost everyone knows about the existence of Tarot cards. The history of this deck is very mysterious and confusing. Not everyone can firmly answer the question of where they came from. Also, no one knows for sure who was their creator. These symbols are able to describe almost all events in our world. This makes tarot cards an ideal tool in the hands of divinators. To date, there are several options for how the mystical deck appeared.

Versions

The history of the origin of Tarot cards is ambiguous. There are many versions of their creation. Each has both supporters and opponents. There are many assumptions, but five main versions stand out among them.

• Italian. It is considered the most reliable.
• Egyptian. It lies in the fact that the cards are secret knowledge that was encrypted by the priests of ancient Egypt.
• Gypsy. According to the supporters of this hypothesis, everything related to cards and divination is based on the knowledge of gypsy nomadic tribes.
• The Atlantean hypothesis. It consists inthat the magic deck was created in Atlantis. The inhabitants of a vanished civilization encrypted the knowledge about the world collected over many years in maps.
• Kabbalistic. This version says that Jews were involved in the emergence of Tarot cards, and their structure is interconnected with the basis of Kabbalistic science (the Sephiroth Tree).

Italian version

Based on multiple studies, it has been established that Tarot appeared in Italy in the 15th century. In 1450, the famous Visconti-Sforza deck appeared. It was created by these two illustrious families. This deck consisted of 78 sheets. The images on them were done very beautifully. It was this deck that became the prototype for modern Tarot. At first, these cards were used only for playing.

In 1465, another deck appeared, which was compiled by Tarocchi Montaigny. It consisted of 50 sheets. These cards were based on the cabalistic division of the Universe (550 Gates of Binah). Some symbols of modern Tarot are taken from this deck. The name "tarot" stuck behind the cards. It was originally used to separate them from regular playing cards.

Egyptian theory

For the first time about this version in 1781, the French scientist Antoine Cour de Geblen spoke. The eminent Frenchman suggested that this deck is a ciphered symbols that convey important secret knowledge of the past. They are hidden in pictograms that contain a deep philosophical and magical meaning. The French scientist believed that there is a speciala sanctuary located in ancient Egypt.

It was on its walls that 22 pictograms were found, which became the basis for creating the major arcana of the Tarot deck. The history of this country has been studied quite well. Many researchers of ancient civilizations completely disagree with the French scientist, since they have never been able to stumble upon such a mysterious and unusual sanctuary, although there have been quite a few excavations of ancient buildings in Egypt.

Gypsy version

Most of the inhabitants of our planet associate any fortune-telling with representatives of this nomadic people. Perhaps that is why some scholars are inclined to believe that the history of Tarot cards is directly related to the gypsies.

According to an ancient legend, one day higher powers turned their gaze to our planet. They saw that many people do not honor nature, do not experience the most important feeling - love. Then they realized that if all knowledge about the Universe is left available to every person, then this world will simply disappear, destroying itself.

To save the planet, it was decided to encrypt all secret knowledge and give the solution to 78 images to only one people who continued to love and honor the laws of nature. As they constantly roam the world, this knowledge will be available to all worthy citizens. The mission of the nomads was to help people and show them the right path.

For quite a long time, this theory of the history of the emergence of Tarot cards existed separately, but over time it merged with the Egyptian version. It turned out that the roots of the gypsies lie at the origins of this civilization, lost to us. But over time, scientists managed to find out that the ancestors of the gypsies lived in ancient India, which again cast the Egyptian theory into the background.

But the gypsy version was supported by information that in Europe these mystical cards became popular precisely thanks to the nomadic people. Appearing in towns and villages, they not only performed tricks and entertained residents, but could also predict the future using strange picture cards.

Secrets of Atlantis

According to the legends, once there was a rich and developed civilization on the territory of the island-state of Atlantis. Many believe that huge giants lived there. Each of them had supernatural powers. They were smarter and more skillful than ordinary people. But one day there was a very strong earthquake, as a result of which the entire island was submerged.

There is a hypothesis that before death the inhabitants of the great Atlantis managed to transfer their knowledge, philosophy and experience to other civilizations. This is one of the theories about the history of the appearance of Tarot cards. Many people believe in it, since the legendary island was theoretically located exactly in the place where the Bermuda Triangle is now located (according to one of the hypotheses). Scientists have found many magical objects at the bottom of the area, including a huge pyramid, which is many times the size of similar Egyptian structures.

Kabbalistic version

In ancient times, Judaism (religious movementnation of Jews) contained a special esoteric teaching. They called him Kabbalah. Many adhere to the version that the history of Tarot cards originates from there. It is assumed that all Kabbalistic knowledge of past times is encrypted in magic cards, however, very briefly.

In Kabbalah, the Universe was depicted under the guise of the Tree of Sephiroth. Many mystics, studying the deck, come to the conclusion that it is from there that the Tarot cards originate. There are many confirmations of this version. One of them is the incredible similarity between the arcana and the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. That is why many are sure that the history of the creation of Tarot cards began with Kabbalah and Judaism.

Images of arcana

Old decks of these magic cards have come down to us a lot. However, even the most daring theorists and scientists find it difficult to say which of them appeared first. In addition, you need to take into account the fact that not all pictures and knowledge about this magical tool could survive to this day.

There are 22 Major Arcana in each deck. Each of them contains an image (archetype) of a wave that is understandable and clear to both clairvoyants of past years and modern fortune-tellers. For hundreds of years, the appearance of Tarot cards has changed, but the history and deep meaning of each card has always remained unchanged.

Examples

As an example, you can use the story of the origin of the ninth lasso - "The Hermit". Since ancient times, it symbolized the spiritual path to the inner wisdom of the individual, showed that a person must comprehend why he appeared on this earth, what hispurpose. Hermitage is a departure from the world in order to find oneself. As before, so now it is a very recognizable and understandable image.

Not much would have changed if Buddha, the Slavic Tree God, the scarab beetle (Egyptian symbol of wisdom and secret knowledge) or a hermit were depicted on this card. Therefore, it does not matter at all what was depicted in the pictures, because everything depended on the era, country and people's beliefs.

It is significant in the history of tarot cards that the arcana had the same secret meaning. The images on the cards have always been recognizable and understandable to any person.

School of Marseille spreads

In order to fully present the history of the emergence of Tarot cards and divination on them, it is worth studying the most basic schools. Most of the decks that appeared from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century are a modified version of the Marseille tarot cards. It was them that Court de Gebelin depicted in his book.

There is still no information about who created this deck. But there is evidence that different versions of these cards had their popularity in France in the seventeenth century. The Marseille version of the magic instrument is distinguished by its simplicity. There are no Kabbalistic or astrological correspondences on the cards. However, it will not be very easy for beginners with such a deck, because in it the minor arcana do not have any images at all.

Levi School

As the history of Tarot cards says, the founder of this tradition in France was Eliaphas Levi, who possessed occultknowledge. In the 19th century, this occultist for the first time correlated the 22 arcana of the Tarot with Hebrew letters (they were combined with alchemical, mystical and astrological symbols). This made it possible to consider Tarot not only as cards for playing and divination, but also as a powerful magical tool.

According to Levy's teachings, cards could already be used not only by certain talented individuals, but by everyone. Their functionality has expanded. Now with the help of the deck it was possible to work out absolutely any question. Later, Papus, a famous magician and Rosicrucian, took up the study of maps. It was he who supplemented the pictures on the magical instrument with astrological symbols.

English school

These magical cards were first studied in England only in the nineteenth century. The influential occultist Samuel Mathers took up this issue. But the Ryder-Waite school became especially popular. The deck he created can be safely considered one of the most common in our time. How did Waite's Tarot cards appear?

The translator and occultist Arthur, together with the artist Pamela Smith, began creating images for the minor arcana in 1909. They tried to make the deck as clear and simple as possible. Therefore, it was so loved by beginners studying this magical instrument. The publishing of new maps was done by a man named Ryder. Hence the name of the most common Tarot deck in the world. According to many historians, it was Waite who made the revolutionary discovery. He practically opened access to the secret knowledge of the Order of the Golden Dawn forof all mankind.

Aleister Crowley School

Only the black magician and tarot reader Allister Crowley managed to combine the knowledge of the order, Kabbalah and astrology together. His school has always kept aloof from other teachings. The first Thoth deck appeared in 1938. The Satanist himself thought over the symbolism and concept of the images. And the Egyptologist Frieda Harris embodied his ideas into reality.

For the first time before the public, Tarot cards of Thoth appeared in 1943. They were mystical, unusual and very beautiful. Knowledgeable people were amazed at the depth of the symbolism of these cards. Today it is the second most popular deck among esotericists and fortune tellers.

Conclusion

There are bad stories with tarot cards. They warn that you can not work with the deck without the appropriate knowledge. If you do not find a connection with this magical tool, you can attract troubles and misfortunes. Tarot allows you to look into the supernatural world, to gain a connection with higher powers. In the wrong hands, this is a very dangerous thing.

Many esotericists believe that these cards are alive. They choose who to help and who not. If you don't want to get into trouble, don't try to color your everyday life with irresponsible fortune-telling.