A Brief History of Tarot

There’s No Definite Truth

No one actually knows where Tarot came from. There are lots of theories.

My Favourite Theory

I love this one. I want to hold it as the truth. Some people believe that it came from an occult picture book that, to avoid persecution, had to be hidden. So, the images were made into a deck of cards (tarot cards), and meditating on those cards unlocks that secret knowledge.

A More Likely Scenario

A lot of evidence, however, points to tarot cards evolving from a deck of playing cards, just like the ones we have now and that the Major Arcana were added as trump cards for a specific game.

One thought is that the trump cards were designed based on a parade. At the time, parades were organized by rank, with the most important people at the front, so each card 'trumps' the one(s) before it. People at the time played the game almost like a game of Bridge. The word tarot may come from the word tarocchi, an Italian word for a deck of cards used around the same time to play the game Tarocchini.

A Connection to Egypt

Some suggest that the cards came through trade routes from the East when ancient priests and priestesses fled Egypt to Rome.

Choose What Lights You Up

There is a lot of conflicting information, and there is freedom in not knowing. Choose a version that lights you up.