History of Tarot
Figuring out where tarot first came from is a bit tricky. There are historians who will swear they came from the Romani first, or the Egyptians, others who believe the Italians invented it. People have been using various things to “tell the future” since the dawn of time. A break in the clouds indicated that hunting would be good that day. If you can peel an apple in one string, the peeling will fall to reveal a hidden truth. Things like that and so much more. But we are talking specifically about the Tarot.
Tarot started as a simple set of playing cards…or rather, not so simple since most of them were hand painted. These would be used for the many reasons people use cards, and then…someone started using them tell a future. There is an appeal to the idea that a random draw of the deck will give insight that might otherwise be lacking. Some of those readers were highly intuitive and could predict vaguely enough that the skill caught on. Now a days, you can find a tarot deck in any theme or style you choose to do so. (and yes, I will be writing about that in a later post.)
Those first decks did not have what is known as the Major Arcana, the “Face” cards generally known by name and numbering 22. Regular playing cards, what we think of now anyway, were what was used. Ace through 10 and Jack/Queen/King. Tarot decks are still used in Europe for regular card games.
During the rise Christianity, there was an accompanying increase of interest in all forms of the occult. From table turning to tarot reading. Interested households had a special deck of cards that they would claim were only for recreational use, while using them on the side as a divination tool. Now you can purchase almost any deck online or in your local bookstore. I would suggest however, if you are interested in the tarot and want your own deck, please patronize your local “new age” store. Most of these are owned by small business owners and they need all of our support.
Our current cards are a dream to read. Chock full of rich symbolism…and usually accompanied by a little book to assist you in interpretations. Think of how it must have been for those using a deck of playing cards. Turning over an 8 of diamonds doesn’t have the same psychological effect of turning over an 8 of staffs and seeing (usually) 8 brightly colored staffs flying past to indicate a message or messenger coming soon.
The next post will concentrate on some of the most popular decks.
I have some links below that may lead to further interest in the history of tarot. Use the links at your own discretion, I am neither endorsing or recommending these links.
https://www.learnreligions.com/a-brief-history-of-tarot-2562770
https://www.tarot.com/tarot/history-of-tarot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot – not that I am saying Wikipedia is the best resource, but if you follow the references, you will get a LOT of historical information.
Cinna Luna's Tarot Readings 