Celebrating the art of the tarot
Facsimile edition of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck originally printed from plates that were destroyed during the bombing of London during World War II. The deck and book set comes with the Rider-Waite Tarot deck by Pamela Colman Smith with original Tudor Rose back design, Celtic Cross divinatory chart, and The Key to the Tarot by Arthur Edward
ANIMAL TAROT CARD DECK, PRINTED BY WAISENHAUSDRUCKEREI MANNHEIM, C. 1778. REISS-ENGELHORN-MUZSEEN, M... Image via Wikipedia
In a world increasingly jaded by technology and progress, it’s easy to scoff at people who blindly entrust their lives to a deck of cards. We tell ourselves, we are rational, clear-headed people, so how can randomly shuffled cards spread on the table possibly answer all our life’s questions.
Tarot cards have had a crucial and inseparable influence in mysticism and the occult. They first arrived sometime in fifteenth century Italy, but it was not until late 17th or 18th century that tarot cards began to be used in divination.
The tarot cards that we know today have gone through a long and evolution, from the pictures, symbolisms, procedures, purposes, and meanings. It is interesting to note that tarot cards were originally used in a game, with 21 trump cards, four queens, and a fool added to a normal deck, which totals to 78 cards in all.
But it is unclear exactly how tarot branched out from a simple mind-diverting game into the fragile business of looking back into past lives, foretelling the future, and answering questions.
Tarot Archetypes
The highly-respected psychologist Carl Jung has always considered tarot as an alternative psychotherapy. For him, the rich imagery inherent in every tarot card represents archetypes of human personality and situations. Archetypes are basic models or prototypes of people that embody a defined set of characteristics. The Emperor card, for instance, can be thought of as representing the patriarch or the father figure. (more…)
One of the more common means of telling fortunes and offering insights into the olden days and fortune is the tarot. Tarot cards first off originated in Italy in the introductory half of the fifteenth century as a card game, used purely for recreation. This early game was something like the latter-day game of Bridge.
The use of tarot cards for divination is key recorded in the early 1700s and by the end of the 18th century; changes were made to tarot cards to make them more instrumental for divination and esoteric meanings.
Originally, tarot cards had no connection to the occult, and this link is a more up-to-date one than the cards themselves. The specifics of the state-of-the-art cards, made up for esoteric purposes, show their basis in the 19th century.
A deck of tarot cards, as they are used today, contains 78 cards, every one of of which contain divergent, meaningful symbols which may be interpreted in a number of ways. The deck contains a total of four suits, and the names of the suits may alter depending upon the tarot deck one is using. Repeatedly times, the suits are referred to as wands, cups, swords, and coins, which make up what is known as the Minor Arcana.
Ever hear of tarocchi or tarock cards? These were some of the names of card games believed to have evolved into today’s Tarot cards. What is out of the ordinary is that no one seems to know the true history of Tarot cards which becomes a mystery in itself. For one thing, its origin has never been proven but only assumed.
Several versions of possible Tarot appear in different locations and centuries. To a certain extent, all may be valid to the progressing history of Tarot or just coincidental theories. Tarot cards are said to have originated in China more than 3000 years ago. It is fact that playing card games in tile and card forms were known and always popular among the Chinese. This theory can be strengthened that the original origin of Tarot may very well have been developed in China based upon playing cards showing up for the first time and being used in Italy in the 15th century. How could they come from China to Italy? This was the same time frame when Marco Polo returned from China.
It is speculated by some to forget the China link. The earliest set of Tarot known was solely created in Northern Italy during the 15th century. The Tarot began as a card game called tarocchi and soon spread to France and across the rest of Europe. It was not associated with fortune telling except through gypsies accused of witchcraft. In 1859, witchcraft trials took place in Venice documenting that a form of cards (possibly Tarot) were used for fortunetelling.
One of the more common means of telling fortunes and offering insights into the past and future is the tarot. Tarot cards original originated in Italy in the initial half of the fifteenth century as a card game, used purely for recreation. This early game was something like the modernized game of Bridge.
The use of tarot cards for divination is anterior recorded in the early 1700s and by the end of the 18th century; changes were made to tarot cards to make them more helpful for divination and esoteric meanings. Originally, tarot cards had no connection to the occult, and this link is a more prevalent one than the cards themselves. The specifics of the present cards, devised for esoteric purposes, display their basis in the 19th century.
A typical tarot deck contains 78 cards consisting of the four suits seen in regular card games, which are hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs. The Latin version of the tarot deck has a diverse set of suits. They are swords, batons, cups, and coins. Like a regular deck, tarot cards are numbered from one to ten plus the four court cards; jack, queen, king, and ace.
The difference between a tarot deck and the regular deck is the twenty-one divinity cards named Major Arcana. A joker equivalent in the tarot deck is christened the Fool, or the excuse. The Fool may take all four suits and acts as the toughest trump card.
Reading a tarot card is easy, as each trump card has a distinct meaning. Yet, careful interpretation is needed if one wants to read the meaning from the store of cards. These cards demonstrate astrological connections with readings placed under the context of the Octavian Calendar.
By: Donald Carroll
My own psychic abilities were best demonstrated in my practice of the Tarot. Also as regards Tarot, and Yoga, I was mostly influenced by a Tarot and Yoga expert named Aleister Crowley.
I sought to purchase every book that I could find by Aleister Crowley on both Tarot and Yoga, and I also joined an Order that taught both Tarot and Yoga in accordance with the Western Tradition of Magick called the Hermetic Society of the Golden Dawn. (Aleister Crowley was once a member of the original version of this Order.)
I also became a member of another Order that taught both Tarot and Yoga – Aleister Crowley’s own Magickal Order, the Astrum Argentum, A.A., or Order of the Silver Star. Aleister Crowley’s Order is still in existence today, and still maintains a great amount of secrecy in order to better preserve the heart of the Order’s teachings, especially as regards both Tarot and Yoga.
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Condottiere Francesco Sforza, painted by Bonifacio Bemo, c. 1460. Image via Wikipedia
Author: Janet Francis
Tarot cards—a clever marketing strategy or an ancient mystical guide?
There is much mystery surrounding the history of the tarot and countless myths about its origins. Cynics say that this mystery has been manipulated as a marketing tool for tarot card salesmen!
However, by just looking at the evidence and opinions supplied by other tarot enthusiasts we see that the earliest surviving full deck was painted in 1422 by Italian artist Bonifacio Bembo. This is known as the Visconti deck, named after the Duke of Milan, who commissioned them.
Although accounts of Ancient Egyptian, Celtic, Indian and earlier Italian links have been suggested, there is no evidence of any earlier decks.
The cards were originally used for a game called Tarocchi or ‘Game of Triumphs’ which was similar to Bridge. The game was played mainly by the Upper Classes and has continued in some circles.
The tarot’s use by the Upper Classes probably saved the game from being banned by the Church even though it was considered to be heresy and was outlawed by the Church. Indeed in the latter half of the fifteenth century some church sermons labelled tarot as the work of the Devil, but the Church had better foes to fight where cards were concerned- mainly games promoting gambling. (more…)
The cover of the Thoth tarot deck.Image via Wikipedia
Author: Craig Malone
The Thoth Tarot Deck was a tarot deck developed by the English occultist Aleister Crowley and illustrated on his instructions by Lady Frieda Harris. Aleister Crowley called the Thoth tarot deck, the book of Thoth and claimed that the deck reflected the wisdom of the ancient Egyptian book of Thoth.
The tarot card descriptions found on the Thoth Tarot deck are different in symbolism and imagery compared to other standard tarot card decks.
Thoth is considered one of the most important deities of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. He is known as the God with the head of an ibis. He is the heart and tongue of the all-powerful Egyptian Sun God Ra. He translated the will of Ra into speech and is the divine communicator of Egyptian mythology.
He was the scribe of the Gods and was called the God of Writing. The book of Thoth is used for divination through tarot cards. The tarot card descriptions on the Thoth deck are reflections of the great knowledge of the ancient Egyptians. (more…)
The Fool card from the Rider-Waite tarot deck.
Author: Craig Malone
Whenever you say tarot cards, you would in most cases find it means the Rider Waite tarot deck. This is because this is one of the most commonly used types of card decks.
The history of using tarot cards may take you to ancient times, however the tarot cards as they are known today can be traced to the year 1910 when Arthur Edward Waite designed these with the help of a very talented illustrator named Pamela Colman Smith.
While Waite was British, Smith was American at that time. Waite, who was a renowned publisher, also printed an excellent guide to help with the interpretation of this tarot deck titled, The Key to the Tarot. This book has often been re-run and used by a slightly modified title, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot.
This is a wonderful book for any tarot enthusiast because it assists you in every step while using tarot cards for a reading. Waite made a few changes when he designed this new set of cards. (more…)
Le Bateleur (The Magician) from the Marseilles deck.
Author: Malc Moore
The first description of tarot decks appeared as early as the beginning of the 15th century when Martiano da Tortona mentioned some card games that resembled a lot to tarot. The symbols on these early illustrations were Greek deities while the suits matched four types of birds, a pattern totally different from the basic Italian decks.
These forefathers of the tarot deck counted only sixteen cards, but they surely enjoyed great popularity. Later, other decks are described by Italian documents throughout the 15th century. Given the heraldic, social, poetical and philosophical interpretations of the cards, modern researchers are surely impressed by the vividness of the symbolism and the ideology behind it.
The oldest tarot deck preserved to our times were designed according to the specifications of the Visconti family. The sixty-six cards are presently on public display at the Yale University Library in New Haven. (more…)
