MEDI 236: History of Tarot

There are a lot of myths and legends surrounding Tarot. One of the most common myths is that Gypsies invented them, some others still site their place of inception to be Morocco or Egypt. However no one knows for definite where they came from or how they came to be.  The first mentions of the cards are under a slightly different name in the 14th century however these were used in games and as educational tools for the rich and not as the divination tools they are known as today.

Historically its widely believed that the cards first developed in Italy as playing cards based on grand parades and were then adopted as a divination tool in France. This theory was proposed and most prolifically written about by Decker, Dummett et al, 1996, "A Wicked Pack of Cards: The Origins of the Occult Tarot" There is then no mention of the cards for around three hundred years, until the late 1700's. At this point it is believed that Antoine Court de Gébelin a reported Occultist and Freemason saw the card game of 'Tarocchi' being played, he was said to see great symbolism in the cards that he attributed to the Ancient  Egyptians. 

Very soon the idea of the cards being symbolic and having great meaning spread, hence Tarot as a divination tool is born!  It was also then linked to the Gypsies who absorbed parts from different cultures, which were then amalgamated and the new over-culture then disseminated wherever they went (Like a pre-internet, internet like communication system), furthering the spread of Tarots popularity and also the spread of its myths.

The popularity of Tarot steadily grew into the 19th century when another Occultist by the pseudonym of  Eliphas Levi linked the cards to the Hebrew Mystic faith of Kabalah and the 'Tree of Life'. Earlier De Gébelin had linked the cards to Kabalah since there are 22 major or 'trump' cards and also 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet but it was Eliphas Levi that expanded on this.

The next set of people to champion the Tarot Deck were the 'Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn' in the late 1800's; these along with Aleister Crowley and Arthur Edward Waite are notable for having the most influence on modern Tarot Decks and practices. Crowley is considered an important part in the Neo-Pagan movement.  Thus we are, in modern times left with most Tarot Decks being copies of either Waite's or Crowley's. However nowadays there are so many Decks with such a wide variety of artwork that they seem to have a life of their own and are now being constantly reinvented and linked to new symbols or spiritualism and used by a wider range of people from a wider range of belief.

To summarise, although Tarot has constantly evolved over the ages it is still in a state of flux especially as Paganism is thrust more and more into the public eye and cultures merge through use of the melting pot that is the internet. Therefore Tarot is and will continue to develop and grow as a divination tool for the foreseeable future.