The history of tarot cards is a thrilling mix of mystery, poetic half-truths, and completely unverified but delightfully cinematic legends. And the fan-favorite? Without a doubt: the tale of a secret temple in Ancient Egypt with 22 sacred rooms—each one inscribed with images that would later become the Tarot deck we now use to predict bad dates, difficult bosses, and the occasional “maybe pregnant” reading.
Tarot Reading: a Mythical Temple Tour – No Guide, No Proof, All Drama
Picture this: somewhere in the sands of Egypt, beneath the ever-watchful gaze of a sphinx who still has his nose, stands a temple unknown to any modern Egyptologist—but oddly familiar to people that read cards, mystics, and the vast echo chamber of the internet.
Inside are 22 chambers, each a living museum of archetypes. In one: a woman with a baby and the moon beneath her feet. In another: a man with a staff.
Have you ever looked at playing cards and thought, “Wait a minute… this looks suspiciously like a Tarot deck”? Congratulations — you've just stepped into the warm, incense-scented trap of esoteric thinking! Welcome to the cozy club of people who just wanted to play poker and ended up on a forum about symbolic tarot reading and the emotional wounds of the Four of Cups.
Symbolic Tarot Reading: When Clubs Are Wands and Spades Are Swords
Here’s the big revelation: the suits in regular playing cards are basically the Minor Arcana from tarot cards, only in business casual. Imagine Tarot after a corporate makeover — no squires, no knights, no mysterious squiggles that look like a secret society logo.
Wands= Clubs. Yes, those cute little clovers actually symbolize fire, passion, and ambition. Just try explaining that to your local bridge club.
Swords= Spades. Sharp, cold, and conflict-prone. Makes sense, right?
If regular Tarot cards feel too simple, too predictable, and don’t plunge you into a small existential crisis with every spread, good news: the Thoth Tarot deck, created by legendary occultist Aleister Crowley and artist-with-an-Egyptian-bias Frieda Harris, is Tarot turned up to eleven. Think of it as a Tarot deck after a philosophy degree, two absinthe shots, and a documentary binge on the Kabbalah.
Tarot Predictions: Who Are You, Sir Crowley?
First of all, Crowley wasn’t just a magician, a member of secret orders, and an author of books that give conservative readers anxiety. He was also the kind of man who believed that Truth deserves to be encrypted into 78 pieces of sacred symbolism—better known as tarot cards.
If someone decided to design a deck based on Salvador Dalí’s dreams, Hermetic lectures, and random quotes from The Book of the Law, it would be the Thoth Tarot. Crowley oversaw the whole process like a wizard-art-director hybrid, casually instructing people on how to summon archangels in third-person speech.
If you think a Tarot deck must smell like incense, sparkle with angels, and glow with golden halos—well, the Papus Tarot is here to adjust your astral beret with all the elegance of a nineteenth-century French occultist. Because this isn’t just a set of tarot cards—it’s a full-blown Occult System with capital letters, steeped in Egyptian mystique, Masonic influence, Kabbalah, and that irresistible fin-de-siècle flair.
Created by Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse—better known as Papus—this deck isn’t about casual fortune telling. It's more like a magical peer review of everything you thought you knew about tarot reading. And yes, the Egyptian theme is non-negotiable, even if you can't tell Isis from Osiris or a Sphinx from that hairless cat in your window.
Who Was Papus, and Why Was He So Sure About Tarot Cards?
Papus was a French doctor, occultist, and the kind of man who thought sleep was for the weak.
Some Tarot decks shine like gilded relics—think Visconti-Sforza, all luxury and Renaissance flair. But then there’s the Marseille Tarot: more like a well-worn friend in a slightly tattered doublet who shows up without fanfare but brings a bottle of wine and says, “Let’s do a spread for your love life, and then have a heart-to-heart.”
At first glance, it’s modest. But behind that humble exterior is a legendary star of the tarot reading scene since the 15th century. This is the deck that likely peered into your great-great-grandmother’s future—or at least sat at her kitchen table gossiping about the strange noises from the next village over.
Marseille Tarot Cards: No Gold, No Glamour—Just Feels Like Home
While the Italians were busy inventing artistic Tarot decks with velvet vibes and golden accents, the French—as always—took their own route: simpler, more straightforward, but with undeniable style. The first prototypes of what would become the Marseille Tarot appeared in 16th-century Lyon.
When you think of ancient Tarot cards, your mind probably conjures something dusty and mysterious, smelling faintly of incense, covered in cobwebs and sealed with a cryptic prophecy. And you'd be… partially right. Except instead of a cave-dwelling witch, imagine a Duke from Milan. And instead of a magical omen — an Italian art-house classic. Meet the Visconti-SforzaTarot deck, the oldest surviving Tarot deck and, frankly, one of the most glamorous things ever made of cardboard.
No, this isn't your “bookstore bargain bin Tarot.” This is Renaissance luxury. Each card is like a page out of 15th-century Vogue — hand-painted, gold-leafed, and proudly bearing the names of two respectable Italian dynasties: Visconti and Sforza. It's like a designer handbag, but make it magical — and medieval.
A Custom-Made Deck — Like Pizza, But Pricier
Let’s add some historical spice — perfect for impressing fellow mystics at your next metaphysical mixer or just mildly surprising your cat.
If the Tarot card community ever held an Oscars-style ceremony, the award for «Best Artistic Remake with Occult Intentions» would go straight to the Waite-Smith Tarot — better known under its catchier, more marketing-friendly name: theRider-WaiteTarot deck.
Why not just «Waite-Smith»? Because in the early 20th century, putting a female artist’s name on the box was considered as appropriate as adding sugar to soup. But the name of the publisher, Mr. Rider? Now that sounded trustworthy — even though all he did was hit the «Print» button. Still, marketing is a psychic medium readings by phone kind of magic, and the deck turned out to be a masterpiece.
A Bit of History (No Crystal Ball Required)
The year is 1910. Arthur Edward Waite — gentleman, mystic, member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and an esoteric enthusiast with a flair for the dramatic — has a revelation: «Let’s make Tarot reading user-friendly!»
He invites Pamela Colman Smith, a charismatic artist with American roots and a British love of theatrical flair, to take over the hard part — that is, draw all the cards.
When we talk about the Marseille Tarot, it’s hard not to cue some baroque music, don a lace collar, pour a splash of absinthe, and declare, “Mesdames et messieurs, behold the original!” Not a cheap reboot, but a stern and seasoned ancestor—the kind that’s survived fire, water, and obscure 2007 esoteric forums. This isn’t just an elderly lady in a corset of history. It’s the great-grandmother of Tarot cards, and she’s fully capable of smacking your intellectual pride with a fan of sharp symbolism.
Free Divination Reading: So What Is It, Exactly?
The Marseille Tarot deck is like a vintage dresser: the corners are dinged, the aura is mysterious, and if you open a drawer, you might find ancient secrets… or a spider. Either way, it’s memorable.
This deck dates back to the 17th century, when engravers in France, Belgium, and northern Italy had no clue that, centuries later, people would be interpreting their lopsided juggling men as profound archetypal codes.
When someone says “tarot cards,” the mind immediately conjures up a cliché: a dusty room, flickering candles, a black cat staring from a corner, and a woman with piercing eyes whispering to a crystal ball. But unlike your favorite binge-worthy supernatural drama, a tarot reading is not just a beginner witch’s prop. It’s a cultural survivor — it outlived fashion trends, inquisitions, New Age yoga retreats, and glossy magazine horoscopes. Buckle up — we’re going on a whirlwind ride through the curious life of the Tarot deck, from aristocratic board games to modern-day mind mapping.
15th Century: Tarot reading as the Elite’s Favorite Party Trick
Let’s rewind to 15th-century Italy: gold, Gothic arches, and aristocrats bored out of their velvet-stitched minds. Enter Tarocchi — a sophisticated card game for those who had already exhausted hunting, banquets, and royal jesters. That’s right — the Tarot deck started not as mystic prophecy but as luxury entertainment.
If you thought the history of Tarot cards was a neat storyline leading from the Queen of Spades to the Light at the End of the Deck, we’re here to gently ruin that fantasy. No, you haven’t missed a single episode. The series “Tarot: The Major Arcana and Minor Drama” simply kicked off in the 18th century—with mystics, pamphlets, and decks (cardboard, not firewood).
Etteilla: The Man Who Interpreted the Book of Thoth (Even Though No One Asked)
Jean-Baptiste Alliette, better known in magical circles as Etteilla, once had a thought: “Why don’t I reconstruct the Book of Thoth?” And thus began his Egyptian-flavored journey through the world of Tarot. It was 1783, revolutions were brewing outside, and Etteilla was busy publishing his personal version of Tarot cards—complete with ancient sand and the literary weight of five dramatic pamphlets.
He proclaimed that Tarot wasn’t just a game for bored aristocrats—it was “a manuscript of Egyptian wisdom, cleverly disguised as cardboard.
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