The history of the Tarot is speculative
at best. In fact, no one-not even the most acclaimed Tarot scholars-seem
to agree on its origins
or historical value. One of the most popular theories is that the
Tarot came to Europe by way of a nomadic group of Egyptians known
as "Gypsies." And even though there isn't sufficient
evidence to support this notion, its supporters insist that the
Tarot was not only based on an ancient book of personal development
called The Book of Thoth, but that the mysteries of its wisdom
were hidden within the illustrations of the Major Arcana.
A more widely accepted theory, however, is that the system originated
in Italy, was born of a regular deck of playing cards, and began
as nothing more than a parlor game designed to entertain early
fifteenth-century Italian nobility. And though it's not nearly
as romantic or apealing, this seems a bit more plausible. Why?
For one thing, the earliest names attributed to the system, carte
da trionfi and tarrochi, were Italian, and there was no recorded
term in any other language to describe the deck for more than a
century. For another, the original trump cards did not depict Egyptian
figures. Instead, they held illustrations of European court nobility.
And that being the case, it only makes sense that the system originated
in Europe rather than Egypt.
Perhaps more interesting than the actual origins of the Tarot,
though, are the facts surrounding the playing cards it was born
of. Designed by the Spanish Muslims in the early 1300s, these playing
cards hit Europe sometime between 1375 and 1378. And though the
decks did, indeed, incorporate four suits, the hearts, clubs, diamonds,
and spades that we know today didn't exist until the French revised
them in the late 1470s. Instead, the original suits were nearly
identical to those we use in current Tarot decks: sticks or staves,
swords, cups, and coins. It's also interesting to note that the
suit-related court cards-a king and two others that are lesser
in value- were all masculine in nature. When the Tarot came into
being, however, all that changed. A set of queens appeared, as
did the Fool and the trump cards. It's important to understand
that the additions had nothing to do with divination, though. They
were simply necessary components for playing the original game-a
game with trumps that was played much like bridge.
If that's the case, how did we come to use the Tarot as a spiritual
device? How could a simple parlor game evolve into such an important
tool? Since regular playing cards had been associated with fortunetelling
since 1487, there's no reason to think that the Tarot escaped the
seer's eye. However, it wasn't until some 350 years later that
precise divinatory meanings were associated with the cards, and
the illustrations were modified to reflect this. In fact, the Tarot
wasn't even considered valuable to occult study until the early
1780s. It was at that point that the system took its place as an
integral part of the philosophy and began its development into
the powerful spiritual tool we know today.
(Some more info on the history of tarot here)
Authors
Details: From the Book "Everyday Tarot
Magic: Meditation & Spells" by: Dorothy Morrison
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