Difference between revisions of "Tarot"

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[[File:Tarot de Marseille.jpg|300px|thumb|Sheet of Tarot cards from the [[Tarot de Marseille]] by Jean Dodal]]
[[File:Tarot de Marseille.jpg|300px|thumb|Sheet of Tarot cards from the [[Tarot de Marseille]] by Jean Dodal]]
The '''Tarot''' (/ˈtæroʊ/, first known as [[trionfi]] and later as '''tarocchi''' or '''tarock''') is a pack of [[playing cards]], used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play games such as Italian tarocchini, French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen, many of which are still played today. In the late 18th century, some Tarot decks began to be used for [[divination]], leading to custom decks developed for such [[occult]] purposes.
The '''Tarot''' (/ˈtæroʊ/, first known as [[trionfi]] and later as '''tarocchi''' or '''tarock''') is a pack of [[cartomancy|playing cards]], used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play games such as Italian tarocchini, French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen, many of which are still played today. In the late 18th century, some Tarot decks began to be used for [[divination]], leading to custom decks developed for such [[occult]] purposes.


Like the common playing cards, Tarot has four suits which vary by region: French suits in Northern Europe, Latin suits in Southern Europe, and German suits in Central Europe. Each suit has 14 cards: ten pip cards numbering from one (or Ace) to ten, and four face cards (King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave/Page). In addition, the tarot has a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as [[The Fool]]; this 22-card section of the tarot deck is known in divinatory circles as the [[Major Arcana]]. Depending on the game, The Fool may act as the top trump or may be played to avoid following suit. These tarot cards are still used throughout much of Europe to play conventional card games without [[occult]] associations.
Like the common playing cards, Tarot has four suits which vary by region: French suits in Northern Europe, Latin suits in Southern Europe, and German suits in Central Europe. Each suit has 14 cards: ten pip cards numbering from one (or Ace) to ten, and four face cards (King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave/Page). In addition, the tarot has a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as [[The Fool]]; this 22-card section of the tarot deck is known in divinatory circles as the [[Major Arcana]]. Depending on the game, The Fool may act as the top trump or may be played to avoid following suit. These tarot cards are still used throughout much of Europe to play conventional card games without [[occult]] associations.


Among English-speaking countries where these games are not played frequently, tarot cards are used primarily for novelty and divinatory purposes, usually using specially designed packs. Some who use tarot for cartomancy believe that the cards have esoteric links to ancient Egypt, the [[Kabbalah]], Indian Tantra, or the [[I Ching,]] though scholarly research has demonstrated that tarot cards were invented in northern Italy in the 15th century and confirmed that there is no historical evidence of the usage of tarot for divination before the late 18th century.
Among English-speaking countries where these games are not played frequently, tarot cards are used primarily for novelty and divinatory purposes, usually using specially designed packs. Some who use tarot for cartomancy believe that the cards have esoteric links to ancient Egypt, the [[Kabbalah]], Indian Tantra, or the [[I Ching]], though scholarly research has demonstrated that tarot cards were invented in northern Italy in the 15th century and confirmed that there is no historical evidence of the usage of tarot for divination before the late 18th century.


==History==
==History==
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==Etymology==
==Etymology==
[[File:Visconti-Example.jpg|350px|thumb|The Visconti Tarot]]
The word ''Tarot'' and German Tarock derive from the Italian Tarocchi, the origin of which is uncertain but taroch was used as a synonym for foolishness in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The decks were known exclusively as Trionfi during the fifteenth century. The new name first appeared in Brescia around 1502 as Tarocho. During the 16th century, a new game played with a standard deck but sharing a very similar name (Trionfa) was quickly becoming popular. This coincided with the older game being renamed tarocchi.
The word ''Tarot'' and German Tarock derive from the Italian Tarocchi, the origin of which is uncertain but taroch was used as a synonym for foolishness in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The decks were known exclusively as Trionfi during the fifteenth century. The new name first appeared in Brescia around 1502 as Tarocho. During the 16th century, a new game played with a standard deck but sharing a very similar name (Trionfa) was quickly becoming popular. This coincided with the older game being renamed tarocchi.


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==Usage in divination==
==Usage in divination==
[[File:Cards-Reading.jpg|300px|thumb|[[The Demon-Possessed Tarot]] being used in a [[Celtic Cross]] spread for a divination reading]]
[[File:Cards-Reading.jpg|300px|thumb|[[The Demon-Possessed Tarot]] being used in a [[Celtic Cross]] spread for a divination reading]]
The earliest evidence of a tarot deck used for [[cartomancy]] comes from an anonymous manuscript from around 1750 which documents rudimentary divinatory meanings for the cards of the Tarocco Bolognese. The popularization of esoteric tarot started with Antoine Court and Jean-Baptiste Alliette ([[Etteilla]]) in Paris during the 1780s, using the [[Tarot of Marseilles]]. French tarot players abandoned the Marseilles tarot in favor of the ''Tarot Nouveau'' around 1900, with the result that the Marseilles pattern is now used mostly by cartomancers.
The earliest evidence of a tarot deck used for [[cartomancy]] comes from an anonymous manuscript from around 1750 which documents rudimentary divinatory meanings for the cards of the Tarocco Bolognese. The popularization of esoteric tarot started with [[Antoine Court de Gébelin]] and Jean-Baptiste Alliette (also known as "[[Etteilla]]") in Paris during the 1780s, using the [[Tarot of Marseilles]]. French tarot players abandoned the Marseilles tarot in favor of the ''Tarot Nouveau'' around 1900, with the result that the Marseilles pattern is now used mostly by cartomancers.


Etteilla was the first to issue a tarot deck specifically designed for occult purposes around 1789. In keeping with the unsubstantiated belief that such cards were derived from the [[Book of Thoth]], Etteilla's tarot contained themes related to ancient Egypt.
Etteilla was the first to issue a tarot deck specifically designed for [[occult]] purposes around 1789. In keeping with the unsubstantiated belief that such cards were derived from the [[Book of Thoth]], Etteilla's tarot contained themes related to [[Egyptian religion|ancient Egypt]].


The 78-card tarot deck used by esotericists has two distinct parts:
The 78-card tarot deck used for [[divination]] has two distinct parts:
* The [[Major Arcana]] (greater secrets), or trump cards, consists of 22 cards without suits.
* The [[Minor Arcana]] (lesser secrets) consists of 56 cards, divided into four suits of 14 cards each.
 
The terms "Major Arcana" and "Minor Arcana" were first used by [[Jean-Baptiste Pitois]] (also known as Paul Christian) and are never used in relation to tarot card games. Some decks exist primarily as artwork, and such art decks sometimes contain only the 22 Major Arcana.
 
===Divination decks===
The three most common decks used for divination are the [[Tarot of Marseilles]], the [[Rider-Waite Tarot]] deck, and the [[Thoth Tarot]] deck.
 
[[Aleister Crowley]], who devised the [[Thoth Tarot]] deck along with Lady Frieda Harris, stated of the tarot: "The origin of this pack of cards is very obscure. Some authorities seek to put it back as far as the ancient Egyptian Mysteries; others try to bring it forward as late as the fifteenth or even the sixteenth century ... [but] The only theory of ultimate interest about the Tarot is that it is an admirable symbolic picture of the Universe, based on the data of the [[Kabbalah|Holy Qabalah]]."
 
Some Tarot decks designed for divination depart from the traditional structure and naming conventions of the Tarot. For example, the 1911 French deck, [[Tarot de la Reyne]], contains 120 cards with seven suits of seven cards; while the 2020 [[Hieronymus Bosch Tarot]] has eight suits of seven cards each.


The [[Major Arcana]] (greater secrets), or trump cards, consists of 22 cards without suits, and the [[Minor Arcana]] (lesser secrets) consists of 56 cards, divided into four suits of 14 cards each. The terms "Major Arcana" and "Minor Arcana" were first used by Jean-Baptiste Pitois (also known as Paul Christian) and are never used in relation to tarot card games. Some decks exist primarily as artwork, and such art decks sometimes contain only the 22 Major Arcana.


The three most common decks used in esoteric tarot are the [[Tarot of Marseilles]], the [[Rider-Waite Tarot]] deck, and the [[Thoth Tarot]] deck.


[[Aleister Crowley]], who devised the Thoth deck along with Lady Frieda Harris, stated of the tarot: "The origin of this pack of cards is very obscure. Some authorities seek to put it back as far as the ancient Egyptian Mysteries; others try to bring it forward as late as the fifteenth or even the sixteenth century ... [but] The only theory of ultimate interest about the Tarot is that it is an admirable symbolic picture of the Universe, based on the data of the [[Kabbalah|Holy Qabalah]]."


{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto;text-align:center;"
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto;text-align:center;"
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[[Category:Divination]]
[[Category:Divination]]
[[Category:Tarot Cards]]
[[Category:Tarot Cards]]
[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Methods of Divination]]