There are several theories about the history of tarot cards though none of these are a certainty. The first time we hear about the tarot is in a sermon that dates back to around 1450 to 1470. The sermon was contained in the Steele Manuscript and was found in Italy. It lists the reasons why games of chance are not desirable. It details the tarot trump cards.
The oldest tarot cards that can still be seen today are the Tarocchi. These date back to around 1420 to 1450. According to scholars of the history of tarot the very oldest cards are hand-painted but there are thought to be older representations on printed wood block cards. It is not sure which cards were created first. By 1500, Tarot decks were more uniform in nature but decks still differed, just as they do today.
According to the history of tarot Antoine Court de Gebelin (1725-84) believed strongly in the mystical power of the tarot. He was a French linguist, cleric, and occultist. He believed the tarot originated in ancient Egypt and were used as tools of initiation into the priesthood. He believed that the Tarot's Major Arcana was the Book of Thoth. This was a book of knowledge held in hieroglyphic form in burned Egyptian temples and libraries.
Alliette, writing under the pseudonym Etteilla was responsible for the revision of the tarot to fit his idea of Egyptian mysticism. Around the 1850s Alphonse Louis Constant started to publish occult works which also referred to the tarot. He established a link between the tarot and cabala (or Qabalah). He believed that, according to the history of tarot, the god Thoth-Hermes made the first tarot deck.
Papus (Gerard Encausse, 1865-1916) was a French doctor, philosopher, and Theosophist also believed that the tarot was linked to ancient Egypt. They were thought to have been part of initiation tests. To protect the inscriptions in the pyramids the signs were transferred to cards. This is just one more version of the history of tarot.
According to the history of tarot it was also linked to the Order of the Golden Dawn in 1890 when a deck was made for its members using the Qabalah. Today’s tarot is a combination of images and symbols from many different cultures including the ancient Greeks and Romans to the Norse people, ancient people of India and Egypt and the royalty of Italy and France.
This meshing of art and culture has resulted in the 78 card deck that we are familiar with today. We do not really know how much of the myths about the history of tarot are true but we do know that it originated in ancient societies and was linked to occult practitioners. Today the cards are used by a variety of different practitioners most of which do not have links to occultism.
No matter what you choose to believe about the history of tarot cards it is its meaning in your present that is most important. The belief you have in the tarot will help to make it a valuable tool that can be used in everyday life to help guide you in your choices and make your life path clearer.
