introduction to a walk through the tarot

What links renaissance Italy with French occultism and secret magical societies in England?

The answer is tarot – that mysterious deck of cards with a long and complex history.

This post explores where tarot came from. It’s also background information for the walk through the tarot videos where the tarot fool sets off of a journey through the cards to discover what they might mean and how the might help him.

Lets begin with the cards.

Tarot deck

The 78 cards in a tarot deck are divided into the minor arcana and the major arcana, from the latin arcanus/arcanum meaning secret or hidden.

The minor arcana has 56 cards divided into suits like modern day playing cards.

Each suit has an ace and cards numbered 2-10, alongside a king, queen, knight and a knave or page.

The other 22 cards make up the major arcana.

Here we find archetypal characters and events, familiar in medieval times. The images communicated ancient stories from myth and legend, including Greek and Roman deities. Representing cultural and social life in the 15^th century, their stories would have been well known and instanty recognisable.

The tarot we know today originated in renaissance Italy in the 1400’s. The minor arcana suits were used to play games like Trifone, Tarocchini and Tarocco.  The major arcana were the trump cards which gave the player an advantage and helped them win the game.

Over the centuries, tarot transformed from card games into something very different.

Lets explore how these changes happened

Tarot history 

Card games have always been popular. They are believed to have originated in China in the 9^th century and spread to Europe via Asia with different cultures developing their own unique decks.

The first tarot cards were commissioned in the mid-1400’s by Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan. None of these have survived but the Duke’s daughter Bianca Maria Visconti married Francesco Sforza (who inherited the title Duke of Milan). Francesco commissioned his own tarot deck, created with gold leaf and the brilliant blue of lapis lazuli, a symbol of his status and wealth.

Many of these cards have survived. They’re now named after the collector or museum where they can be seen, such as the Pierpont Morgan Bergamo deck, after the collector Pierpont Morgan and the Morgan Library and Museum which has 35 cards, another 26 being in the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Italy.

There’s also the Visconti di Modrone tarot, named  after the Modrone family who owned them, and The Cary-Yale tarot after Melbert B. Cary Jr and Yale museum where the cards are on display.

Modern recreations of these decks are collectively known as the Visconti-Sforza tarot.

The artist who hand painted these cards is thought to be Bonifacio Bembo, who was also commissioned to paint portraits of Francesco Sforza and his wife Bianca.

Those with less disposable income turned to mass produced versions of tarot where the images were printed onto wooden blocks. The blocks haven’t survived but some of the printed sheets have been found such as the Rosenwald tarot and the Budapest tarot.

These images were more basic than expensive hand painted decks.

Many of the sheets were discarded and then reused to fill or stuff a book’s leather cover so most of them were discovered by accident.

In 15^th century Italy common symbols for the minor arcana suits were coins, cups, clubs and swords. As the cards travelled to countries like Switzerland, Germany and France, different cultures applied their own symbols, including acorns, leaves, bells, tiles and staves. Because wealthy families could afford to commission their own decks they may have chosen symbols with personal meaning.

As the cards spread across Europe, different countries like Switzerland and Germany produced their own decks and by the 1600’s tarot had arrived in France. This is where it began to change into something quite different.

To start with, the cards remained a game. Collectively they are known as the Marseilles Style decks. One of the earliest is the Nicolas Rolichon tarot from the late 1630’s. The Jean Noblet tarot dates to around 1650. François Chosson of Marseille produced a deck in 1736, Jean Payen in 1743 and Nicolas Conver of Marseille in 1760.

Tarot might have continued as a card game but as the times changed, so ideas and beliefs changed too.

The 18^th century was the time of the enlightenment where science, rationalism and logic began to replace tradition and superstition. Even established religion was being questioned. There was emphasis on the scientific method, a new approach to knowledge and understanding the world through subjects like physics, chemistry, and biology, with growing emphasis on observation, experimentation, and rational analysis.

The blend of new and old science came together in subjects like alchemy. For centuries, alchemists had worked in their laboratories searching for techniques to turn base metal into gold and to create the elixir of life which would grant immortality (or the everlasting life promised by the church).

Add to this mix a new interest in Egyptology, the mysteries of the pyramids and the enigmatic sphinx , as well as hieroglyphic writing which wouldn’t be deciphered until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799.

Increased interest in occult matters promoted more esoteric ways of understanding life and this was the point where tarot began to change.

Meet Antoine Court de Gébelin (1725-1784), writer and linguist with an interest the use of symbols for communication. For de Gebelin, the 22 cards of the major arcana held a special fascination. He believed they held secrets not yet uncovered. With no evidence to support his claims, de Gebelin reinterpreted them as an ancient system of esoteric wisdom and teaching.

In 1781 he published The Primitive World in 9 volumes. Volume 8 focused on tarot, referred to as Tarreaux. De Gebelin claimed Egyptian priests had distilled the ancient Book of Thoth into the images. Without any tangible proof, the link between tarot and ancient Egypt entered the public domain.

Volume 8 also contained a chapter by Louis-Raphael-Lucrece de Fayolle, known as Comte de Mellet (1727-1804). The Comte described a mystical connection between the 22 cards of the major arcana with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, linking tarot to the Jewish mystical system of kaballah, also known as the tree of life with its roots in the earth and branches stretching up to heaven.

So we have de Gebelin connecting the tarot to ancient Egypt and the Comte linking it to the kabbalah, but there was a third change from this time, one which has remained influential to this day. Tarot was also associated with cartomancy, the prediction or the telling of fortunes using cards.

Meet Jean-Baptiste Alliette (1738-1791), another French occultist with a side interest in tarot. Writing as Etteilla (Alliette spelt backwards) he published his first book about cartomacy in 1770, 11 years before de Gebelin’s Primitive World. Etteilla provided a structured method for interpreting the cards using a piquet deck of 32 cards and 13 years later he published a second book on the same subject but this time specifically about tarot.

Etteilla linked  tarot with astrology and the 12 signs of the zodiac, as well as the four elements of earth fire air and water. Etteilla was one of the first to give interpretations for each card in both upright and reversed positions and he went on to design his own decks using his own unique ideas and designs.

Lets jump to the 19^th century and Eliphas Levi (1810-1875), a ceremonial magician. Levi wrote books about the history and practice of magic. Not the conjuring kind but transcendental magic, high magic and magical ritual and ceremony. Levi claimed magic was more science than superstition and he had an interest in tarot which he also saw as a symbolic representation of the kaballah.

Levi believed studying tarot images would open the unconscious mind, reveal hidden truths, connect visible and invisible worlds and lead to spiritual enlightenment.

We’ve come a long way from renaissance Italy and card games like tarrochi!

Levi didn’t create his own tarot deck but 20 years later in 1885 a Swiss occultist, Oswald Wirth (1860-1943) wrote a book called The Tarot of the Magicians and in 1888, Wirth created his own Egyptian themed tarot, leaving heavily on the work of de Gebelin, and Etteilla.

Another influence came from Jean-Baptiste Pitois (1811–1877), also known as Paul Christian. He wrote The History and Practice of Magic,  published in France in 1870, in which he introduced the names major and minor arcana.

The works and ideas of the French occultists were a major influence on later esoteric orders. By the time the cards arrived in England, they were adopted by secret societies like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn which dealt with magical and esoteric belief systems.

The tarot used for a walk through the tarot series dates from this time. First published in 1909, it was designed by Arthur Edward Waite and illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith,  both members of the Golden Dawn. Waite introduced changes which reflected his own unique philosophical beliefs including an interest in Christian mysticism.

Alongside the Thoth tarot deck by the maverick magician Aleister Crowley,  the Waite/Coleman Smith tarot remained one of the most popular decks in the 20^th century. Many contemporary tarot designs have followed the Waite/Coleman Smith images such as the Robin Wood and Morgan Greer tarot but today there are 100’s of different tarot decks to choose from. Many of these had specific themes like the cat and the dog tarot, the housewives tarot and the modern witch tarot. See Aeclectic tarot  for examples.

Tarot today

Lets take a closer look at the minor and major arcana in the 21^st century

The links between tarot and a modern pack of playing cards are still visible. The tarot suites of swords, pentacles, wands and cups align with spades, diamonds, clubs and hearts, alongside the link to natural elements.

• Swords or spades represent air.
• Wands or Clubs are fire
• Diamonds or pentacles for earth.
• Cups for water.

The tarot suites also connect to different aspects of the personality or character.

• Swords/spades represent the intellect and skills for making decisions.
• Pentacles/diamonds are physical wealth, ambition and careers.
• Wands /clubs are work and the creative energy it takes to make change happen.
• Cups/hearts symbolise emotions and relationships as well as spiritual intuition.

There’s connections to numerology.

• 1’s represent new beginnings, ideas and decisions
• 2’s are related to union and harmony
• 3’s to creativity and growth
• 4’s stability and structure
• 5’s conflict, struggle and damage potential
• 6’s support, balance and hope
• 7’s knowledge, solutions and magic
• 8’s infinity, transformation, endurance and resilience
• 9’s profusion, climax, momentum
• 10’s endings and closure

The court cards represent different personalities, depending on the suit.

Kings and queens are mature people with wisdom and experience.  Knights and pages can be male or female, they are young adults with enthusiasm and ambition but still with lessons to learn, while the younger page represents the child with curiosity and eagerness to try new experiences.

Lastly, the suits are linked to astrology.

• Cups connect with water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces)
• Wands connect with fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)
• Swords connect with air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)
• Pentacles are earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn)

The images of the major arcana have long histories.

Each card represents a wealth of stories from myth and legend and we’ve seen how they’ve been linked to ancient Egypt and the kabbala. They’ve been aligned with the planets and astrological signs, known as the primary correspondents.

• The Fool: air
• The Magician: Mercury
• High Priestess: Moon
• The Empress: Venus
• The Emperor: Aries (fire sign)
• The Hierophant: Taurus (earth element)
• The Lovers: Gemini (air sign)
• The Chariot: Cancer
• Strength: Leo (fire sign)
• The Hermit: Virgo (earth element)
• Wheel of Fortune: Jupiter
• Justice: Libra (air sign)
• The Hanged Man: Water and neptune
• Death: Scorpio water sign)
• Temperance: Sagittarius (fire sign)
• The Devil: Capricorn (earth element)
• The Tower: Mars
• The Star: Aquarius (air sign)
• The Moon: Pisces (water sign)
• The Sun: Sun
• Judgement: Fire and Pluto
• The World: Earth (element) / Saturn

Today tarot remains associated with prediction or fortune telling but, thanks to the French occultists and the works of Arthur Edward Waite,  it can also be used from a psychological perspective where the 22 cards of the major arcana represent the individual path through life.

The video series a walk through the tarot involves card zero the fool who sets off on a journey where he meets each of the cards in the major arcana. For the walk through the tarot the cards are laid out in 3 rows of seven.

Each row represents the different stages of life as well as the tripartite personality

Row 1 represents individual consciousness. It begins with the magician and high priestess, the dual aspect of each individual or the fool’s body and soul, while the empress, emperor, hierophant, lovers and chariot personify the structures of the external  world he lives in.

Row 2 moves inwards to the unconscious layer of individual personality. Beginning with strength which shows the fool he has within him the determination to succeed, it’s followed by the hermit, wheel of fortune, justice, hanged man, death and temperance. As the fool continues his journey he learns what he needs to do in order to discover his inner self.

Row 3 contains the remaining 7 cards. This is the subconscious layer of personality. Here, the fool gains inner wisdom as he comes face to face with the devil, tower, star, moon and sun, followed by judgement and finally card 21 the world, the equivalent of Jung’s theory of individuation and Maslow’s self-actualisation.

Conclusion

Tarot has travelled along way in the past 700 years, from a card playing game from the 1400’s to a spiritual journey for the 21^st century. To discover more about each of the cards join the fool for a walk through the tarot blog posts. They begin here with the fool https://suewatling.com/tarot-card-0-the-fool/ and look out for the video series which will accompany these.

I look forward to seeing you there.