A short history of Tarot

I thought it might be nice to share some cozy tarot history on this rainy day.

Tarot cards are the descendants of early playing cards. The earliest mention of playing cards in Europe is in 1387. Later, in the mid 15th century, tarot was born as a playing card game.

In fact, some tarot readers still use regular playing cards for readings.

The oldest surviving tarot cards are from roughly 15 decks of the Visconti-Sforza Tarot. This deck was painted in the mid-15th century for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan in Italy.

The earliest evidence that tarot cards were used for divination is around 1750. The Marseille Tarot became the most popular divination deck in the 1780’s.

For readings I use the Rider - Waite - Colman deck which was first published in 1909. This wonderful deck is full of mythos and deep cosmic meaning. Rider refers to the publisher, Waite refers to A.E. Waite (an academian and mystic) and Smith refers to the artist Pamela Colman Smith.

I love the complexity of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Each card is incredibly thoughtful, incorporating numerology, astrology, mythology, alchemy and so much more. Even the colors that Smith chose have significance.

The major arcana represents the path to enlightenment. The word arcana means “secret”. Major arcana cards help navigate major life events, while minor arcana cards reflect every day life.

No matter which deck you choose, you’ll be tapping into a rich history of cartomancy and divination.