Not as mystical as you may think — The origins of TarotA common staple of fortunetelling and m

Not as mystical as you may think — The origins of TarotA common staple of fortunetelling and modern occultism, Tarot has become an interesting part of pop culture. Today psychics and prophets all over the world claim to be able to use the cards to divine the future or shed insight into the inner workings of a person’s subconscious.  However Tarot itself originates from very humble origins which have little to do with fortunetelling or divination.  If you have ever consulted with a tarot reader, you may want to ask for your money back.Tarot cards originated in Europe around the mid 15th century, specifically in northern Italy.  The oldest tarot deck was commissioned by the Duke of Milan in 1425 to celebrate the birth of his son.  The deck included many Greek motif’s and mythological imagery, most likely inspired by a visit from the Byzantine Emperor around that year.  Soon after various other nobles and wealthy patrons of Italy began to hire artists to create their own decks.  Eventually tarot cards spread across Renaissance Europe, especially with the introduction of printing technology from the east.So what did Renaissance Europeans do with their tarot decks; occultism, mysticism, fortunetelling perhaps?  Despite the mystic connotations of tarot today, tarot originally had nothing to do mysticism and everything to do with gambling and merriment.  Scores of card games were created, with each nation having its own favorite games.  Rich trade with the east and colonization of the America’s brought an explosion of new wealth to Europe which further enhanced the popularity of tarot, making card-playing a popular gambling pastime, much to the loathing of the church.While each country had their own preferred decks, a tarot deck usually has of 78 cards.  The deck consists of 22 trump cards (face cards The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgement, The World and The Fool.  The rest of the 56 cards are divided into four suits; cups, wands, swords, and coins, with each suit containing 14 cards.Up to the 19th century the use of tarot decks continued in popularity throughout Europe.  In 1781 a Swiss esoteric scholar named Antoine Court de Gebelin wrote a mystical treatise called The Primeval World, Analyzed and Compared to the Modern World. In one chapter he describes the symbols of tarot cards to have hidden meanings which detailed a secret past.  According to Gebelin the symbols of a tarot deck originated with Egyptian hieroglyphs and contained the secrets of ancient Egyptians.  Gebelin claimed to be able to read Egyptian hieroglyphs, even though scholars had not yet deciphered the ancient Egyptian language, and claimed to be able to profess the meanings of each card. Scholars scoffed at his theories, as he had absolutely no evidence to support his claims.Eventually a number Georgian and Victorian Era spiritualists and mystics would fill in the details based on Gebelin’s claims.  This included modifications of the deck, the creation of reading methods, renaming trump cards as “major arcana” and suits as “minor arcana”, and the creation of different spreads for divination.  Meanwhile the use of tarot cards for games declined as new games became popular which used a simplified 52 card deck, such as whist, euchre, and poker.  By 1900 tarot was all but dead as a card game but revitalized by fortunetellers.  Today tarot readings are one of the most popular fortunetelling methods among mystics.  Tarot as a card game is rare and only found in isolated areas of Europe.  The exception is French Tarot, considered the second most popular card game in France.Some games you can play with tarot decks, click for description and rules: French Tarot, Tarrochini, Trappola, Tarrock -- source link
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