| About the origin of the Tarot de Marseilles, we know | | | | II. The High Priestess, |
| few things but we can however say that the Tarot | | | | III. The Empress, |
| de Marseille play appeared in France under the reign | | | | IIII. The Emperor *, |
| of the king Charles VI. | | | | V. The Pope, |
| When this poor king became insane, he was locked | | | | VI. The Lovers, |
| up in a castle by his wife Isabeau of Bavaria. | | | | VII. The Chariot, |
| She provided him a mistress, Odette de | | | | VIII. Justice, |
| Champdivert, who offered a deck of Tarot cards to | | | | VIIII. The Hermit *, |
| him. | | | | X. The Wheel of Fortune, |
| In fact, these Tarot cards were composed by 56 | | | | XI. Strength, |
| pieces of paperboard decorated with figures and | | | | XII. The Hanged Man, |
| signs. This play was used by Sarasins in the Eastern | | | | XIII. Death or (The No Name Arcana), |
| countries. | | | | XIIII. Temperance *, |
| Charles VI asked to Jacquemin Gringonneur to | | | | XV. The Devil, |
| redraw the figures in order to make them look | | | | XVI. The Tower, |
| prettier. | | | | XVII. The Star, |
| Some claim that the first illuminations of the cards | | | | XVIII. The Moon, |
| appeared in Italy during the 16th century but the | | | | XVIIII. The Sun *, |
| work of Jacquemin Gringonneur is indexed on the | | | | XX. Judgement, |
| journal of Charles VI's banker (15th century). | | | | XXI. The World, |
| The Tarot we talk about here was not a divinatory | | | | XXII. The Fool ** |
| Tarot but well a card play; which still exists and is still | | | | * for example, classification "IIII" and not "IV" |
| used in Mediterranean countries as a simple cards | | | | highlights the progression of the Tarot de Marseilles |
| play. | | | | play. |
| Since there are no documents establishing the year | | | | ** The Fool is the 22nd arcana but is generally not |
| when the Tarot cards were created, the opinions are | | | | numbered. |
| divided and the experts seldom agree between them. | | | | The 56 minor arcana are split into four suits: |
| The divinatory "Tarot de Marseilles" was born from | | | | - Spears, |
| the play offered to Charles VI. Twenty-two major | | | | - Cups, |
| arcana were associated to the fifty-six basic cards | | | | - Coins, |
| (minor arcana). Fortune-tellers use more major arcana | | | | - Swordswhich include each 14 cards that are |
| than the minor arcana. | | | | numbered from 1 to 10, or Ace through 10 and 4 |
| The graphics of the Tarot de Marseilles look medieval | | | | noble cards; which are: the Page, the Knight, the |
| style and reflect perfectly the concerns of our | | | | Queen and the King. |
| ancestors, who were very superstitious and | | | | During the Middle-Ages and later, these suits were |
| interpreted all what they saw. | | | | associated with the social classes: Coins with the |
| Here are the 22 major arcana: | | | | Traders, Cups with the Clergy, Swords with the |
| I. The Magician, | | | | Nobility and Spears with the Peasants. |