|
THE |
|
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects. |
|
|
THE |
|
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects. |
Subject: Tarot History 2
[from http://hem1.passagen.se/bernvill/tarot.htm ]
Tarot, or Tarocchi as it was originally called, is one of the
oldest card games still played. The deck with which it is played
was invented around 1440, probably in the city state of Ferrara
in northern Italy. Contrary to popular beliefs it was not the
predecessor of the deck of cards that we usually use nowadays,
quite the opposite. Another popular widespread myth is that the
deck was originally used for divination. That field of
application did not originate until late 18th century. In spite
of a large number of references during more than three centuries
to Tarot in literature and art, there is not a single indication
that it was used for cartomancy before 1781, or that it was in
any way connected to the occult or the supernatural.
The man who is to the largest extent to blame for the senseless
invention of divination, using Tarot cards, is the Swiss Antoine
Court de Gébelin (1719 -1784). He had in an inspired moment
"realized" that the symbols on the Tarot cards originated from
the old Egyptian religion, and that the deck had been invented by
egyptian priests in consultation with the god Thot and was a
symbolic representation of his wisdom. The word "Tarot" was
supposed to mean "the royal road", from "tar", 'road', and "ro",
'royal'. Neither of those words can be found in Wallis Budge's
extensive Egyptian dictionary. Inspired by Gébelin, a man who
called himself Etteilla (his real name was Alliette) wrote
several books and pamphlets on the subject, further developping
his "theories", and so the whole thing was set rolling.
Today, sadly enough, the Tarot deck is to the largest extent seen
as a tool for divination, instead of as the thing it really
represents: a rich and fascinating tradition of card playing. It
couldn't be considered less than a scandal that sybils and
occultists have stolen this cultural heritage.
[...]
____________________________________________________________
In spite of all this, I still think the symbols and images of the
Tarot deck are fascinating, firing the imagination and through
the years many an artist has been inspired by the Tarot deck, and
the trump cards in particular. This has made these decks very
interesting collector's items. Hundreds and hundreds of different
designs can be found in an ever growing number. Below I will
present the same card in fifteen different Tarot decks, to show
how differently the cards can be designed. The card shown is "The
Magician" i.e. the lowest trump card.
EOF
|
The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org. |
|
Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site. |
|
|
The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories, each dealing with a different branch of religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge. Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit: |
|
interdisciplinary:
geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc. |
SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):
|
OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST
Southern
Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo,
including slave narratives & interviews
|