Taking in consideration of that by 1730's, the card game "Tarot" (as "Tarocchi became known as in France) was considered to be a "dead" card game, then the memory of the game faded as time went along. So in 1775, when Court de Gebelin first encountered the card game courtesy of a visitor of his, it was his first look at the "trumps". He instantly became curious over the cards...and concluded that they were an Egyptian "book" of wisdoms preserved in a symbolic form that he also attributed to the Egyptian god Thoth. He explained that the "trumps" were to be read backwards in ranking : A) the first 7 trumps represented the Golden Age;

XXI The Universe (relating the Egyptian god Isis), XX The Creation (not the Last Judgement), XIX The Creation of the Sun, XVIII The Creation of the Moon and Animals, XVII The Creation of the Stars and Water life, XVI The House of God Overturned (expulsion from Eden), and XV The Devil, bringing the Golden Age to the end.

XIV Temperance, XIII Death, XII Prudence (thus giving indications that de Gebelin was referring to the Marsielles deck that doesn't use The Hanged Man image), XI Force coming to the aid of Prudence, X The Wheel, IX The Hermit seeking Justice, VIII Justice

VII War, VI Man fluctuating between Vice and Virtue, V Jupiter (note: the Tarot cards of S. France showed Jupiter and Juno instead of the Pope and Popess), IV King, III Queen, II Pride (Juno and her peacocks), I Juggler

Etiella, not to be outdone -- though primarily it is speculated for money aspects, published a book in 1783 that contained his own interpretations of the cards along with his own illustrations (that differed significantly) that renamed certain cards or included new cards named "Fire", "Earth", "Air", and "Water". He even speculated far enough to try to date the Tarot's birth being 171 years after The Flood.

In 1799 the Rosetta Stone was discovered ... and with it the hieroglyphics of the Egyptian language were decoded. As the secrets of Egypt became slowly unveiled, nothing emerged about the Tarot or to support the Tarot being of Egyptian origin. Yet...the notion remained durable...and given an imaginative angle in a book by J. A. Vaillant. He had a great interest in the Romany people (Gypsies) so when he became interested in the Tarot, he fancied a link. Gypsies were thought to be descendents of the Ancient Egyptians, but this theory was criticized as Tarot cards were in Europe *before* their marked arrival. Regardless, the Gypsy idea was an attraction and published in the book "The Tarot of The Bohemians" in 1889. It is now known, though, that the Gypsies actually descended from an ancient Aryn race in India..and, chronologically, could have been agents in helping spread the "trumps" decks in Europe. BUT although the Gypsies are traditionally spoken of as being fortunetellers, their main forte was palmistry..and when they did begin to use the cards for divination, they generally used the 4-suited playing card decks.

Before I go on any further, I want to point out why I have/will point out mentioning that the Marsielles deck was used for observations in developing some of the theories of the Tarot's origins. The Visconti-Sforza deck was designed as an unnumbered, unnamed set of cards. Complete with 4 suits and the addition of 22 scenic cards. The 22 cards could be simply regarded as a view of the medieval social types (i.e. Royalty and Church figures), common medieval moral homilies (i.e. The Wheel), representation of the virtues (i.e. Strength, Temperance), and mythological/religious schemes (i.e. (Last) Judgement).

In the Visconti-Sforza deck, The Hanged Man cards stands out dramatically so, and does not appear to be scene of a criminal's punishment upon closer examination. He is suspended upside down by his left leg...his right leg is bent behind the knee as either to represent the figure of the figure of the cross or the mystical number 4 (an esoteric sign of a secret society???)...his hands are casually held behind his back to form a triangle with his head at the bottom...and yet,the face appears relaxed/entranced. Why?? Could it be referring to Christian tradition where St. Peter is told to be crucified hanging upside down, at his request, so he could not be said to be copying his Lord. OR, could it be the Norse myths where Odin hung upside down from the World Tree for the period of 9 days and 9 nights -- doing so to receive enlightenment and the gift of prophecy. HOWEVER, (don't you love me doing this to you ...*chuckle*) there are some that speculate that this scene might have been derived from the actual practice in shamanism where, in the initiation of the candidates, are sometimes told to hang upside down in the manner depicted on the card. They believe reversal of the body is thought to produce some psychological benefit -- as in the way starvation and extreme cold is thought to induce radiant visions. And curiously, Alchemists (possible survivors of European shamans???) did the same, believing that the sperm vital for immortality would thus flow to psychic cells in the brain.

(SIDE NOTE: I should also point out that in the Marsielles deck, the Hanged Man card was represented by an upright figure with one foot loosely tethered by a rope to a short post in the ground ... and was called "Prudence" in that particular deck style.)

Why did the artist design 22 cards though?? Why not a number more commonly given significance in the western culture?? Or is it by chance, as Eliphas Levi (who I will now begin to discuss as I delve more into Visconti-Sforza deck, even though he used the Marsielles-style deck) and some others feel, a sly connection to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet?? (A curious note to add about Duke of Milan's family or of the possible artists of this deck is that there is no evidence of any of them belonging to any secret society or occult group.)

Eliphas Levi, in the 19th century, not only stated that he believed that it came from Ancient Egypt, but he took a step further with the Tarot when he attempted link it to the Qaballah. His thoughts did more than to set forth a new creation myth about the Tarot as he didn't see it just as a fascinating relic of a past culture BUT as a tool that was perhaps a key to the wisdom of the ages. Click here to read more about Eliphas Levi and the Tarot.

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Last updated April, 1996 © Carol aka Secretive