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Tarot origin and development

The Tarot is a picture book whose origin remains uncertain to this day. The oldest games known to us, are of Italian origin and date from the 15th century. These are adorable Tarot cards, some of which stand at the cradle of the classic Tarot de Marseille. The French model, which later became the Tarot standard, only appeared a little later, but the form is older and suggests that it is a reproduction of the earlier models that did not reach us before. The first traces of Tarot cards in Western Europe, can be traced back to the 14th century. The famous French Tarot games are showing many characters from the late Middle Ages.

Egyptian Tarot

Although it is likely that the Tarot was used for divination in the first instance, at a later stage, the cards were mainly used as a simple card game or game with which money could be earned. It was at this time (1781) that Antoine Court de Gébelin - a Parisian Protestant pastor who was part of the emerging Freemasonry - published 'Le Monde Primitif'. He claimed that the Major Arcana Tarot cards were depictions of a secret book from ancient Egypt: the Book of Thoth. But one has to look closely to recognize Egyptian symbols, both in form as in content. With some background knowledge and intuition, Justice, the High Priest, and the Sphinx can be recognized. The general mind at this period of time was pre-occupied by a great fascination for the occult. Archaeology was also on the rise and revealed many Egyptian mysteries. It was at this time of new discoveries and inventions that the Tarot emerged from the shadows.

Evolution of the Tarot

After Gébelin's death in 1784, the Parisian wig maker Jean Baptiste Alliette, took over the torch under the pseudonym Etteilla. He is the author of a Tarot bearing his name (Etteilla Tarot) and he claimed to reproduce ancient Egyptian statues. This Tarot became very popular and led to the widespread perpetuation of the Egyptian Tarot right up to the present day. At a later stage, Alphonse Louis Constant, the famous occultist known as Eliphas Levi, took over. Born in Paris in 1810, he became a member of the Rosicrucians. He was the first author to draw a parallel between the 22 Major Arcana and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. We have to put this "discovery" in perspective; although we can clearly see that there are similarities, it is impossible to let all mysteries coincide with their Hebrew equivalent. In 1889 Oswald Wirth, a Swiss occultist and disciple of the Marquis Stanislas de Guaita, published his own Tarot. This Tarot was very close to the Italian and French Tarot, with some Egyptian allusions and a clear Hebrew reference. That same year, the Kabalistic Tarot, made under the pseudonym of Gérard Encausse, appeared. In 1909 it was followed by a divine Tarot, with seventy-eight Egyptian-inspired cards. Over the centuries, ordinary playing cards have also been used as a predictive or advisory card game. The gypsies in particular, used these cards to predict future and relationships.

Tarot accessibility

At the same time, Mac Gregor Mathers wrote a book about Tarot cards in England, while founding the Hermetic order of the Golden Dawn together with his friends. These included Aleister Crowley, Arthur Edward Waite and the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. The Golden Dawn formed the basis of a movement that mixes the concepts of Kabbalah, Astrology and Egyptian Tarot. As a member of the Golden Dawn, Arthur E. Waite created a Tarot, inspired by the French models: the Rider-Waite Tarot. For the first time, the Minor Arcana was made accessible to everyone. It became the so-called Anglo-Saxon model, which is still popular today. While the occultist movement settled in the United States, Crowley for his part, published his own tarot: The Book of Thoth. Both models would inspire future generations of the new world.

Too much abundance

At present, many have come to the conclusion that the Tarot can be made at will, with potentially destructive consequences. As a result, the Tarot not only loses a great deal of symbolic value and archetypal significance. Also underlying esoteric knowledge gets lost easily. Nowadays, we encounter an abundance of the most capricious tarot cards: Celtic cards, Indian cards, witchcraft cards, love cards, angel cards, psychological tarot cards, fairy cards, astrological cards and many other tarot oracles. Some of these card decks are certainly worth the effort, but one must be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. Real tarot cards are characterized by their universal and archetypal character. Its information is obtained in an extrasensory manner and passed on by people with a high level of consciousness.

Horoscope Tarot Spreads

This Tarot page is just one of many tarot pages you can consult at Horoscope Tarot. You will find Tarotreadings where only one card can be drawn (such as tarot daily cards), as well as extensive tarot card spreads, where three to eight cards can be drawn. You can get answers to a multitude of questions in many ways. However, you may need or prefer a live Tarot consultation. In that case, you will get more in-depth information about the cards and the personal meaning that applies to you. It's all possible soon at Horoscope Tarot in the course of 2018. So, stay in touch!

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