subject: Tarot - Everything That You Ever Wanted To Know About Tarot Cards [print this page] The History of the Tarot deck The History of the Tarot deck
The early history of the Tarot deck is shrouded in mystery. We do know that Tarot decks became popular in Italy in the Renaissance, and that they were used to play card games rather than for divination. In the eighteenth century a French occultist popularized the use of Tarot cards for divination. There are many different versions of the history of the Tarot floating about. Some of them claim that they go back to ancient Egyptians times even. These stories may be considered myths, in the sense that they are meaningful stories, which are meaningful regardless of their content of objective truth. They also serve the purpose of distinguishing the dabbler from the person who is seriously interested, as dabblers tend to be taken in by the fanciful stories and uncritically pass them on.
What is a Tarot deck?
A Tarot deck is a deck of 78 cards. It is divided into the Major Arcana with 22 cards and a Minor Arcana with 56 cards. The Major Arcana has individual cards which differ greatly from each other. They are usually numbered 0 to 21.
The Minor Arcana is divided into four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords and Coins. Each suit has four Court Cards, which are Page, Knight, King and Queen. The numbered cards are 2 to 10 and Ace. Some of the numbered cards have traditional names, such as 10 of Swords, which is known as Ruin. There is a plethora of different Tarot decks. Some follow the traditional system quite closely; others have elaborated on it, or changed it, sometimes beyond recognition. The decks are often named after their designers. Often an occultist and an artist design a deck together. Designing a deck takes a lot of skill and time. Still many occultists design their own decks which are never published. Designing your own Tarot deck is a way of recording many of your insights.
