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IN THIS ISSUE...
1. When does the tarot become a divinatory tool? |
The divinatory tarot was not born to predict the future. At its beginnings, it had nothing magical about it. It was a game. A card game, like others that existed in Europe in the 15th century. It is called Tarot, Tarocchi, Tarock, depending on the country. It entertained Italian courts, served as a distraction, a strategic challenge, a noble pastime. No witches, no seers. Just players.
But this game has something special: 22 cards named and illustrated differently from the others. These cards, called Major Arcana, show scenes, characters, symbols. The Magician, the High Priestess, Death, the Devil, the World. These figures speak without rules. They act on the imagination. They touch more than they show. And little by little, they become more than just a game.
1. When does the tarot become a divinatory tool?
It is only in the 18th century that the tarot shifts towards divination. At that time, European societies rediscover esotericism, ancient symbols, correspondences. People look for hidden systems in everything: letters, numbers, shapes. Authors like Court de Gébelin claim that the tarot comes from ancient Egypt, that it contains forgotten knowledge. The idea is appealing, even if it is not based on any historical evidence.
It is also at this time that the first interpretations of the cards one by one appear, no longer for playing, but to read messages. The tarot enters the hands of occultists, seers, and meaning seekers.
Then comes the 19th century, with Papus, Eliphas Lévi, Oswald Wirth. Each brings their own reading, system, associations: with Kabbalah, with the elements, with the planets. The tarot becomes a tool for reading the world, a mirror of the soul, a tool for inner transformation.
2. What role does the tarot take in the 20th century?
The 20th century explodes the uses of the tarot. It is no longer limited to an esoteric elite. It enters bookstores, psychic salons, specialty shops. It becomes popular, but without losing its aura. The tarot figures take on other faces, other styles. The Rider-Waite tarot, drawn in 1909, becomes a worldwide model. Its colorful, simple, direct images make the tarot more accessible.
Psychologists are also interested. Carl Jung, among others, sees in it a reflection of archetypes. The tarot ceases to be only a divinatory tool. It also becomes introspective, evolving, therapeutic.
Today, the tarot is drawn for concrete or spiritual questions. It accompanies choices, illuminates transitions, helps read the invisible. Its playful origin has not been lost. It reminds us that drawing cards is also playing with reality.
3. What is the true origin of the tarot?
Historically, the tarot was born in 15th century Italy. Divinationally, it was born in the imagination of the 18th century. Spiritually, it is born every time someone takes it seriously without wanting to control everything. It is a game that has crossed centuries because it leaves room for mystery, personal interpretation, the meeting between what we live and what we feel.
The origin of the divinatory tarot is not a date. It is a transformation. And this transformation continues every time you draw a card.
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