What is the Tarot?
The Tarot is a tool for self-inquiry, spiritual growth, and divination. In practical terms, it’s a deck of 78 cards, consisting of 22 Major Arcana, 16 Court Cards, and 40 Minor Arcana cards. Each card depicts a different archetype or energy, and through the entire deck many life cycles and stories unfold. In my interpretation of the Tarot, the cards may be used however the reader wishes, for it is simply a way for us to externalize our inner reality, and is always based on the energy of the subject of the reading.
The History of the Tarot
The origins of the Tarot are tricky and often disputed. However, there is some agreement on its emergence in 14th century Europe. Playing cards first arrived on the continent in the late 14th century through the port of Venice, possibly from Africa, and this early iteration was likely used for entertainment.
There are 15th century documents indicating ornate, hand-painted decks were created for and possessed by nobles in Northern France and Italy, as well as references to the four Minor Arcana suits and Major Arcana, although they seemed to be used separately at this time. The oldest known Tarot deck was from Milan, proven by documents mentioning the deck’s appearance in Ferrera in 1442.
While the oldest known Tarot decks were Italian, the French Tarot de Marseilles became popular throughout the country and in Switzerland around the beginning of the 17th century. According to this narrative, it wasn’t until the 18th century that the Tarot was associated with cartomancy, or assigning symbolic meaning to each card in the deck for the purpose of divination.
Antoine Court de Gébelin and Jean-Baptiste Alliette are two important figures of this era. The former, an esoteric scholar, Freemason, and Protestant pastor, interpreted the Tarot as the lost book of Thoth (an Egyptian God), claiming it was brought to Europe by gypsies who were entrusted by Egyptian priests, concealing the sacred knowledge for centuries in a card game. In 1781, Court de Gébelin also associated the 22 Major Arcana cards with 22 Hebrew letters, and then Kabbalah (esoteric school of thought in Jewish Mysticism) in his writings, The Primeval World, Analyzed and Compared to the Modern World. This was a crucial turning point for the more spiritual and esoteric interpretation and use of the Tarot.
As for Alliette, he was responsible for the first evidence of cartomancy in France, with the publication of his book Etteilla, or a Way to Entertain Yourself With a Deck of Cards in 1770 followed by How to Entertain Yourself With the Deck of Cards Called Tarot in 1785, a response to Court de Gébelin’s book of 1781. Like Court de Gébelin, Alliette believed Tarot came from Thoth, and went further, claiming that it was the oldest book in the world.
In the 19th century, the Tarot became even more esoteric and associated with ritual magic, with important figures in France, Switzerland, and England contributing to its development. As occultist practices became more popular in Victorian England, the Tarot became a large part of its development, particularly with the Rosicrucian society called the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Members of the group such as Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, famous Irish poet William Butler Yeats, Aleister Crowley, and Arthur Edward Waite contributed greatly to the development of the Tarot.
Arthur Edward Waite, alongside Pamela Colman Smith created the Rider-Waite deck in 1909, with Smith providing illustrations likely inspired by a deck called Sola-Busca from the 15th century. In 1944, Crowley published the Book of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians, and a deck based on his use of the Tarot was produced posthumously by Major Grady L. McMurty in 1969. Both the Rider-Waite and Crowley decks are some of the most popular in the world to this day, and the vast majority of contemporary decks are derived from their symbolism.
Did the Tarot come from Ancient Egypt?
While we don’t possess the kind of concrete, written documentation regarding the Tarot’s Ancient Egyptian origins that we do for the cards that were used in Medieval Europe, I personally believe the Tarot had Ancient Egyptian origins. We know for sure that it was not invented in central Europe, but somehow physically arrived through trade, or via passed-down knowledge.
In the mid-to-late-20th century, a trio of curious researchers dedicated decades of their lives to telepathy and channeling different entities and after years of experiments, James Allen McCarty, Carla Lisbeth Rueckert, Donald Tully Elkins, were able to channel an entity called Ra between the years 1981 and 1984. I won’t get into details, but Ra does occasionally speak about the Tarot and its origins in Ancient Egypt. He focuses on the Major Arcana, claiming that the 22 cards were used as an initiation for Egyptian priests, to teach them about the archetypal mind, helping them to go on a journey of self-healing so they could subsequently heal others. If you’re interested in learning more about Ra and The Law of One material, you can visit the online database here.
The Major Arcana
Now let’s discuss the actual cards! The Major Arcana cards in the Tarot consist of 22 cards numbered with Roman numerals from 0 to XXI. They depict cycles of life, death, and rebirth, integrating both masculine and feminine energies. Each Major Arcana card has an astrological correspondence, for example, The Chariot (VII) represents the Zodiac sign of Cancer and The Fool (0) designates the planet Neptune.
When these cards come up in a reading, they are often communicating stronger messages than the rest of the deck. As Gerd Zieger, author of Tarot Mirror of the Soul puts it, the Major Arcana offer “higher universal teachings based on cosmic law.”
Court Cards
The Court Cards in the Tarot consist of 16 cards corresponding to noble positions - King, Queen, Knight, and Knave in my particular deck, with many variations including Princess, Page, or Prince. There are four Court Cards per Minor Arcana suit, which will be elucidated below.
Court Cards are typically related to significant people in our lives. In a reading, they are often stand-ins for actual individuals related to a given situation or life path. The four Court Cards of a given suit typically depict a journey in mastering a particular kind of energy. In the Minor Arcana suit of water for example, the Knave (or “lowest” Court Card) represents the beginnings of understanding water energy related to emotions, sexuality, relationships, and spirituality, while the King (“highest” Court Card) represents full mastery of these.
Minor Arcana
Last but certainly not least, the Minor Arcana consists of 40 cards, divided into 4 suits. Generally speaking, the Minor Arcana concerns the smaller, direct lessons of life. From Ace to 10, we can observe cycles pertaining to the energy of that suit. Each suit is ruled by a particular element.
The Four Minor Arcana Suits
Cups - water energy, emotions, love, relationships, spirituality, and sexual energy that is more Yin or feminine in nature
Discs / Pentacles - earth energy, external, material reality, health, the body, possessions, career, wealth
Swords- air energy, the mind, the mental condition, ideas, our attitudes, meditation, unconscious energies
Staves / Wands - fire energy, action, passion, will, perception, intuition, sexual energy that is more Yang or masculine in nature
In all, I’d like to think that the Tarot represents nearly the full spectrum of the human experience with all its different elements, archetypes, and life cycles. It has personally been such a useful tool for me on my spiritual path, and that’s why it’s one of my favourite modalities to share with others. With the Tarot, I truly believe it’s not about memorizing every card and repeating the precise meaning you read in a book, but rather becoming acquainted with the symbols and trusting your intuition to interpret the messages of the cards. The fact that we can’t be certain about its origins makes it feel even more magical. Despite how humanity has evolved over centuries, so many of us are still drawn to these cards and what they can offer us. What’s your relationship like with the Tarot? Do you have any favourite cards? Let me know in the comments below!
