This part of the Tarot's story starts to branch out in an interesting array of directions and avenues. It can be a wee bit confusing though, and for that I will apologize in advance. *smile*

Now, this is where all the little theories seem to come into play as to *where* the Tarot originated from. There is the thought that maybe China, hinged on the fact that playing cards were in use there back in the 11th century time frame (SIDE NOTE: playing cards came to Europe much later than this date - theorized Marco Polo may have had a hand in this importation) ... and playing cards are commonly thought to be descendents of the Tarot, but nothing outside of that was ever proven for this China birth theory.

Then there is the thought that the Gypsies brought forth the Tarot, due to 2 theories people came up with. One is that they came from India, and some of the early decks had a "tapestry" look to them or that the swords were curved. Yes, Gypsies and divination seem to be tightly associated (although they generally were known to read palms or playing cards more so than the Tarot cards), there is no actual proof that they cards were introduced from them. Some theories say that the "Gypsy" is actually a mispronounced name of an Egyptian group... which takes us onto ....

The most popular theory is that cards were originated in ancient Egypt, a land with a long recorded history in their own hand (hieroglyphics) and in the Bible -- also with a hint of mystery to itself due to their "advanced" knowledge in many areas that still intrigue many of us to this day. The Tarot is thought to be the keys to "secret wisdom" or "universal truths", symbolically designed to keep the "secrets" of the Masonic-style mystery schools preserved for the future initiates for years to come. The Royal path of life interpretation of the word Tarot came from Ettiella (a French "reader" who spelt his real name in reverse) in the 1780's, and Samuel MacGreggor-Mathers (of the Golden Dawn) theorized that Tarot was spawned from the word "taru", which means to require an answer or to consult.

Now this starts to explain why the pictures instead of the words...the symbology was thought for the following reasons:

A) It developed into one "language" per se (either cause of the threat of an invasion from Persia OR due to Fez Morocco being a popular site for trade and thus the Moraccans traveling into Egypt brought more languages with them as well) AND

B) the cards' meanings were only able to be "read" by the initiates of these mystery schools, and to the outsides merely seen as aesthetic game.

It might as well be noted now that in the 18th century time period, de Gebelin said that the remnants of the "wisdom" contained in the cards had over time changed and become distorted in representations, and thus not only were the meanings lost but that cards had merely evolved into common playthings. He was also one of the first to refer to Tarot cards as the Book of Thoth (an ancient Egyptian deity linked to magick). In the 1940's, Crowley wrote a book under that title and the deck he designed became known as the Thoth deck.

Hmmmm... did I see you slightly perk there as dates started to actually appear?? *chuckle* Does this mean that I am starting to get to "actual facts"??? *shrug* Could be.

I came across in a passage in a book that credited Brother Johannes of Bredfield (from Switzerland) with an essay from the late 1370's about a popular card game. Since he made no mention of the word "trumps" -- which the 22 cards of the Major Arcana are termed -- it cannot be fact that he was writing about the Tarot. In this essay it was written that he felt that the cards outlined the state of the world in terms of it's present social structure. although he claimed ignorance of who, when, or where the game originated from. To him, though, the cards were a portrayal of kings, noblemen, and commoners...and thus felt they could be used for moral purposes --helping to map out society and to assist folks of not only knowing but also keeping to their place. The essay also assigned the suits as such : cups referring to the church, swords representative of aristocrats, coins (Pents) naturally to the merchants, and wands (staffs/rods) reflected the peasants.

The time that cards started to first appear in European history was also the same time that Christianity sort of reigned supreme. The church was busily stamping out what they called or felt related to paganistic beliefs (and also what they thought to be unorthodox Christian sects). Thanks to their monasteries though, many of the "forbidden" cults survived due to the monks preserving documents on the old religions (including spell books and such). As Tarot cards' images are felt to "pagan" in theme and the gods/goddesses of the old religions became to be referred to as "devils" of the new -- the cards became to referred to as "The Devil's Book" or "The Devil's Paste Cards". In the days during the Inquisition, reading of the cards was punishable by death... and around 1404 it is reported that the Catholic church forbidded their priests to even touch the deck.

Another interesting date to toss your way is 1392. It is this date that cancels out the theory that the Gypsies brought the cards to Europe, as they didn't arrive until closer to 1411. And it is this date that many feel marks the birth of the Tarot deck, thanks to the 17 cards on display in the archives of Bibliothique Nationale that are thought (let me stress that the word here is "thought" and not proven since this royal persona is also known to enjoy playing cards) to be the survivors of 3 decks commissioned by King Charles VI of France. In 1392, according to his ledgers, Jacquemin Gringonneur was commissioned to design three decks of hand painted cards that were to be colorful, with gilt, and ornamented in design. (No mention in the ledger of what these cards were to be used for though - thus why some speculate about a Tarot association.)

Now, in the mid-1400's, a deck was designed for the Duke of Milan's family (Visconti-Sforza) to be used in the Italian gambling game "Tarocchi", these cards were to unnumbered and unnamed. (SIDE NOTE : some feel that this deck also introduced "The Popess" or "High Priestess" card, as the Duke's sister was heavily involved in the Church and was somehow titled within it.) The card game required the participants to memorize the order in which the "trumps" were valued. When the card game appeared in Europe, it became known as "Tarot" in France. From the mid-15th thru to the end of the 17th century, the game flourished and was heavily played all over Europe. But close to 1730 the popularity has dwindled to the point that it was listed in a book of games to be obsolete.

There is a dispute over as to who the artist(s) was of this deck, there are no signatures or manuscripts to establish their identity. The list of the proposed creators are 1) Tortama, an artist who lived with the Duke's family and also acted as his secretary, 2) Antonio Cicognara, 3) Zavattari brothers, which would date the cards as early as 1420, AND 4) Bonifacio Bembo, whose name would date the cards after 1440. (And this importance will be explained later about the artistry-style of these cards.)

Hahahaha! Sorry, but I am about to confuse you a little more as I once again step back and bring a reference to the church back into this "tale". Why??? Well, some credit a sermon given around 1470 to 1500 with helping establish not only the "names" of the "trumps" (Major Arcana) -- but the order that he listed the "names" in is close to the order of appearance they were assigned in the first numbered decks printed several decades later. See, this Franciscan friar gave a sermon about games of chance that is the first recorded reference A) the mentioning of "trumps", AND B) separated them from ordinary playing cards since he listed the games of chance as to being the dice, the cards, and the trumps!!! Here is the list of the "trumps" as given in the sermon :