A brief history of the Tarot

What is the Hermetic tradition? The fifteen tractates of the Corpus Hermeticum are the fundamental documents of the Hermetic tradition. Written by unknown authors in Egypt sometime before the end of the third century BC, they were part of a once substantial literature attributed to the mythic figure of Hermes Trismegistus. The writings represented a Hellenistic fusion of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. This literature came out of the same religious and philosophical ferment that produced Neoplatonism, Christianity, and the diverse collection of teachings usually lumped together under the label "Gnosticism".

Marsilo Ficino (1433-1499), the head of the Florentine Academy, was helped by Cosimo de Medici to translate important Greek Hermetic works, including the Corpus Hermeticum. The Tarocchi were made for the families of Visconti and Sforza, who ruled Milan in the fifteenth century. The cards were hand painted and were probably used for meditation. With the development of woodblock printing, Tarot became more popular. It evolved into a game -- which fell out of favour around 1700.

In 1718, the Marseilles Tarot was published, the first Tarot deck to be printed. In the late 18th century, Count de Geblin wrote extensively on the Tarot. In his book Monde Primitif, he felt the origins of the tarot were Egyptian. Geblin stated that the Tarot was a survival of ancient wisdom, rendered into symbols of the major and minor arcarna. He also claimed that the twenty-two major cards corresponded to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The French at this time revived fortune tellers, and several rose to fame: Eteilla -- whose real name was Alliette -- produced a Tarot deck.

Then Alphonse Louis Constant (1820-1875) who wrote under the pen name of 'Eliphas Levi' also believed the origins to be much earlier then Egyptian. In 1888 two mystery schools appeared: The Kabbalistic Order of The Rosy Cross was founded in France by Marquis Stanislaus de Guaita, who was a supporter of Levi (1886-1897), and The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was founded in England. Both groups contributed significantly to the development of today's Tarot. Both groups developed their own Tarot cards. One deck was designed by Oswald Wirth. The Golden Dawn produced several Tarot versions. The Rider-Waite pack was conceived in 1909 by Arthur Edward Waite and painted by Pamela Colman Smith. This is still used widely today -- indeed, it is probably the most popular pack. Aleister Crowley, also of the Golden Dawn, produced his very different pack with the artist Lady Frieda Harris.

Since that time, numerous Tarot decks have been designed. On the market today, a Tarot reader will have hundreds to choose from. It is important for a reader to choose a pack that feels right for that individual.

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