Tarot Cards: A Tarot Timeline

It is unlikely that the origins of the Tarot will ever be accurately discovered. They have certainly existed for several hundred years, and they have been influenced by many different sources in that time. But it is almost impossible to determine exactly when they were created and how they were used. However, a general timeline can be agreed upon by most experts, though the debate regarding the specifics will probably rage for some time.

The Early Days of the Tarot

Playing cards appear to have originated in China and made their way to Europe around 1375 CE, probably by way of the Mamluk Empire. They spread throughout western quite quickly after that, bringing with them trick-taking games. While little is known about the games that might have been played with these cards, the Mamluk decks appeared to change very little and were eventually adopted by the Italians. It is also possible that Europe was introduced to Moorish cards around the same time.

The Mamluk decks had four suits which align very closely with modern Tarot suits. The suits were Swords, Polo Sticks, Coins and Cups. Each suit had three court cards, consisting of a King, Knight, and Page. This resulted in a 52-card deck. While this became the standard throughout most of Europe, variations started to develop. The Spanish turned Polo Sticks or Staves into Clubs and altered the design of the cards. German cardmakers came up with a number of new suit systems.

Little is known about the cards produced in the 14th century and earlier. From recorded descriptions, it appears that a variety of decks developed. Sometimes, the number of court cards and even the number of suits were increased beyond what was considered “normal.” Some decks featured female figures, gods, or animals, all of which were considered scandalous for the era.

Although there is no record of the Tarot before the 1440s, the suits the eventually became a part of the Tarot were already in common use by Italian playing cards. In addition, some Italian decks added Queens to the court cards, bring the card count up to a total of 56. This deck is generally considered to be the basis for the modern Tarot deck.

15th Century Tarot

The trump cards, also known as the Major Arcana, seem to have appeared in Germany around the 1420s. The earliest references to Tarot indicate that a full deck of both the Major and Minor Arcana may have developed in the following decade, probably in northern Italy. With the addition of the 22 trump cards, the standard 78-card deck finally emerged. When used as a card game, the 22 newer cards trumped the suit cards, hence the name. These cards began appearing at festivals throughout Europe.

According to most sources, it would appear that the designs of the trump cards were standardized from the beginning. Most Tarot decks from the 15th through to the 17th centuries share the same design. Though there are occasional variations, the basics remained consistent. In fact, these variations seem themselves to have been based upon the established archetypal symbolism. Most of the symbolism found on the earliest Tarot decks was probably a form of didactic Christian art, as was popular at the time.

Tarot quickly gained in popularity throughout Europe, most notably in Bologna, Ferrara, and Milan. Beautiful and expensive decks were commissioned by the wealthy, painted with gold or silver leaf backgrounds, while commoners had to be content with printed decks. As Tarot spread, the trump cards were altered bit by bit, both in imagery and sequence. In addition, sometimes the deck would be completely redesigned, resulting in new decks such as the Boiardo deck or the classical Sola Busca deck.

Tarot in the 16th - 19th Century

By the early 1500s, the new Tarot had spread from Italy to France, then to Switzerland, Germany, and the rest of Europe. A book was published in Venice around 1540 by a man named Francesco Marcolini detailing the use of cards to tell fortunes. Though the cards used in this book were not specifically Tarot cards, the seeds were sown.

It would be two centuries before the idea that the Tarot might be useful as a divinatory tool took root throughout Europe. Around 1750, the Tarot was modernized. The French suits of Spades, Clubs, Hearts, and Diamonds became more popular than the traditional Italian alternatives and the Medieval allegorical archetypes that had been so prevalent in Tarot was replaced with more arbitrary images. Numerals were added to the trump cards to avoid having to memorize the order decks were created with many different themes. You could find decks portraying animals, people, battle scenes, and many others. During this period, the popularity of the Tarot in France and Italy was in decline, but in other areas, the Tarot was exploding.

The 18th century also saw the Tarot return to a more symbolic role, though it was still used as a game as well. In 1770, Etteilla published the first real book on cartomancy. He and two other French writers began to piece together occult lore and fortune telling methods, developing a system that would lead to the total reinvention of the Tarot in the late 1800s.

These men had a great influence on the future of the Tarot. The interpreted the images of the Tarot as it made the most sense to them. They saw the 22 cards of the Major Arcana as relating to the 22 letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This was the beginning of a connection between the Tarot mysticism. Kabalistic thought became entwined with the Tarot as well, and the occult nature of the Tarot was born, or reborn, depending on your point of view.

Though the Tarot was used for fortune telling from the late 1700s onward, its more elaborate abilities had yet to be rediscovered. However, in the mid-19th century additional layers of correspondences were added that appealed to occultists all over Europe, particularly in England and France. Still, Tarot remained of interest only to those who were truly engrossed in the exploration of the occult. In the early 20th century, however, that changed completely.

The Tarot in the 20th Century and Beyond

The 20th century saw mystic Arthur Edward Waite take the stage. He completely reinvented the Tarot, creating eclectic but tightly integrated representation of the universal consciousness. Waite’s focus was on the Major Arcana. The first half of the trump card illustrated the descent of the Fool (the first card of the Major Arcana), while the second half revealed with ascent. This journey encompassed the entire spiritual cycle of man. Waite was also the first to use detailed images on the suit cards, also called the Minor Arcana. These images were designed to facilitate the interpretation of the cards when they’re used in a spread.

The creation of the Rider-Waite deck spurred a renewed interest in the Tarot. Suddenly, New Agers, Pagans, occultists, and everyday people were attracted to the Tarot and its symbolism. This deck also served as the inspiration for hundreds of other decks, though there are still few with detailed images within the Minor Arcana. The beauty of Rider-Waite and its derivative decks is that it is more intuitive than other decks. This reduces the need to memorize large amounts of information.

The evolution of the Tarot meant that it could now be used for many more applications. It has been frequently utilized as a tool for meditation, soul-searching, psychological healing, personal growth, and brainstorming. There are even psychologists and psychoanalysts who use the Tarot for therapeutic techniques. Tarot has become commonplace in the modern world.

The known timeline of the Tarot is full of holes and misinformation. What’s truly important is that the archetypal symbolism of the Tarot has become universal. As the cards have grown and evolved, more people have been able to relate to the imagery and message they present.