Tarot: A History
Long before the creation of Tarot cards, people were fascinated with the idea of knowing the unknowable. I mean it makes sense, right?
Knowing the future could give you the edge over an enemy in battle. It could lead you directly to the person you were to marry without all the pain of rejection from others. It could tell you where to plant your seeds for maximum harvest to feed your family and improve your wealth.
Who wouldn’t want the ease of following a foolproof path instead of struggling in a world that seemed to be against you?
Future telling, dream interpretation and other forms of divination have been a part of culture dating back at least as far as ancient Mesopotamian times. I’ll admit I absolutely had to look it up to know how far back that was. We’re talking about prior to 332 BC. Divination has been around for a VERY long time.
It has also been a rather heated subject, going back and forth from being accepted by society and being shunned by it. Turns out those who aren’t “in the know” don’t like others being “in the know”. I couldn’t possibly imagine why. 😉
Well. I should probably get to the point of this blog post.
Here we go!
Tarot cards were invented as a game in Italy in the 1400’s. At first, they were just a basic card deck much like the ones you buy now. It had the four different suits with specific symbols for each and a basic version of the court cards : King, Queen, Knight, Ace. Some of these cards were even hand painted to resemble family members or members of the actual court in existence at the time.
Over the next 300 years French occultists began to realize the cards could be used for far more than just gaming. By the mid 1700’s these trailblazers had added an extra 22 cards to the deck that provided a deeper meaning and more possibility for clear communication with the Spirit world. They also had developed common meanings and patterns for the cards to help with that. Essentially creating a dictionary, The Spirit World could use to get their point across in a clear and easy way.
These days you can get a Tarot deck to cover just about every interest you enjoy. New decks are published yearly, and most decks come with the card meanings and personal reflections of the person who created them. Tarot has become an incredibly personal thing allowing Sprit and Tarot Readers even more room for communication as each person adds their own meanings, reflections and findings to the basic dictionary that was created so long ago.
Before we move on to all ways Tarot can be used, I’d like to share just a bit more history and go over the original and most common types of Tarot decks.
So get ready because our topic next week: Most Common Deck Types
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