| The tale of Tarot cards' history is both long and | | | | was composed of the major and minor arcana we |
| eventful, stretching across numerous lands and | | | | know and love today. Levi was able to integrate the |
| oceans and backwards thousands of years in time. | | | | prophetic power of the Qabalah with alchemical |
| While the precise origin of the cards is lost in the | | | | philosophies and ancient symbolism to create this |
| sands of time, scholars have been able to trace a | | | | powerful deck which is still used in Europe today. |
| story both compelling and intricate of how they | | | | Tarot in the Twentieth Century |
| arrived in their current incarnation today. | | | | The twentieth century saw the biggest steps taken |
| The Origin of Playing Cards | | | | forwards for the modern notion of Tarot cards. This |
| There was a time long ago when playing cards did | | | | is largely the work of two visionaries. The first is |
| not even exist at all! This dark age was the time | | | | Edward Waite. He was a scholar and a mystic, and |
| before the Renaissance. It wasn't until the fourteenth | | | | with the help of a talented illustrator was able to |
| century that cards made it Europe's shores at all. In | | | | place the significant symbolism of each arcana on the |
| fifteenth century Milan records show evidence of the | | | | cards themselves. The new deck was called the |
| first ancestors of Tarot cards, which were called | | | | Rider-Waite deck since it was published by the Rider |
| 'triumph' cards at the time. However, these were | | | | company. It is still used today in the Americas, and |
| used merely for entertainment and not for divination | | | | has led to many different interpretations. |
| at all. | | | | The second visionary was Aleister Crowley, who |
| The Introduction of the Occult | | | | wrote the Book of Thoth and developed the Thoth |
| Back in the middle ages, the occult was heavily | | | | Tarot card deck. Crowley integrated ancient Egyptian |
| looked down upon. Legends of witch burnings have | | | | and Greek symbolism alongside that of ancient |
| been etched into popular culture to this very day and | | | | Chinese and far-Eastern traditions to fashion a Tarot |
| age. It was not until the late eighteenth century that | | | | deck both deep and broad in its mystic tradition. |
| the occult entered the popular mindset as a positive | | | | The Modern Spin |
| thing. We owe this fortunate occurrence to | | | | Today it is common to see Tarot cards practically |
| Marie-Anne Le Normand, who brought divination to | | | | anywhere you look for them. Modern spins have |
| the French court by telling the fortune of Empress | | | | been placed on this ancient tradition, and it is not |
| Josephine, the wife of Napoleon. | | | | uncommon to see popular culture references or |
| The Influence of Eliphas Levi | | | | illustrations on recently published decks. Whether |
| A little later, the modern notion of Tarot cards were | | | | these new incarnations will be anything more than a |
| introduced by Eliphas Levi as the Tarot de Marseille. | | | | passing fad will only be told in time, as the story of |
| This deck was used primarily as a divination tool and | | | | Tarot cards continues into the future. |