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Difference between revisions of "Tarot"
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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 de Gébelin]] and Jean-Baptiste Alliette ( | 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 [[Egyptian religion|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 | 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, 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 [[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 | 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]]." | [[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]]." | ||