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History of tarot: from its origins to today

Tarot · ~8 min read

The tarot we consult today has nearly six centuries behind it. Before it became a tool for introspection, it was a card game of the Italian Renaissance. Tracing its history helps us better understand what it truly is — and what it never was.

In the beginning: a courtly game, not an oracle

Playing cards arrived in Europe at the end of the 14th century, probably by way of the Arab world and the Mamluks of Egypt. It was in northern Italy, around the 1440s, that the first cards known as trionfi ("triumphs") appeared: to a classic deck, a series of illustrated cards was added — the future major arcana — which served as trumps.

Tarot was therefore born as a trick-taking game, a cousin of games like whist or bridge, played in the courts of Milan, Ferrara and Bologna. The famous Visconti-Sforza decks, hand-painted in the mid-15th century for great Milanese families, are among the oldest that have come down to us. At this stage, there was no divinatory function: people played, wagered and had fun.

The heart of the matter: structure and spread

Over the decades, the structure settled around 78 cards: 22 major arcana (the Magician, the High Priestess, the Star, the Moon, the World…) and 56 minor arcana divided into four suits — cups, coins, swords and wands. This architecture, a card game plus trumps, spread across Europe.

In France, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the card makers of Marseille printed a model that became the reference: the Tarot de Marseille, with its crisp figures and bold colours. To this day, it remains one of the most widely used decks in the French-speaking world.

An often-forgotten fact: while tarot was becoming a tool for reading, it never stopped being a game. Italian tarocchi and the four-player game of tarot are still played in France, Italy and several countries of Central Europe. The two histories — the game and the oracle — have coexisted from the very start, using the same cards.

The turn toward cartomancy came at the end of the 18th century. In 1781, the scholar Antoine Court de Gébelin published a seductive but unfounded thesis: that tarot was the heir of a sacred book of ancient Egypt. No historical evidence supports this idea, but it left a lasting mark on the imagination. In its wake, a Parisian cartomancer known by the pseudonym Etteilla systematised the use of tarot for reading and designed one of the first decks conceived for that purpose.

The occultist 19th century amplified the movement. Authors such as Éliphas Lévi linked the arcana to the Hebrew alphabet and to various esoteric traditions. Then, in 1909, the Rider-Waite-Smith deck appeared in London, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite: for the first time, the minor arcana were fully illustrated with scenes. It is today the most widespread deck in the world and the basis of most modern decks.

What this history illuminates in everyday life

Knowing this journey changes the way we approach a reading. Tarot is not an ancient text fallen from the sky: it is a language of symbols that grew richer layer after layer, from courtly game to occultist imagery. Its images speak because they distil very human figures — the obstacle, the choice, the passage, the fresh start.

Used today, it works above all as a mirror. Drawing a card gives you a support for naming a situation, considering an angle you hadn't seen, asking yourself the right questions. Symbolically, the Wheel of Fortune may evoke a cycle turning; Temperance, a need for balance. These are avenues for reflection, not verdicts. Well understood, this long history invites curiosity rather than fear.

This perspective also has a practical benefit: it frees you from superstition. Since the images were built in a human and cultural context, we can receive them as a vocabulary to make our own. Nothing requires belief in a supernatural power of the cards to benefit from a reading; it is enough to treat them as footholds for thinking more clearly about a decision, a relationship or a period of transition.

Points to keep in mind

• The Egyptian myth remains a myth. Tarot was born in Renaissance Italy, not in the temples of ancient Egypt. Be wary of narratives that promise a thousand-year-old "secret knowledge".
• Tarot foretells nothing with certainty. There has never been, in its history, any proof that it predicts the future. It sheds light on dynamics and choices; it does not fix them.
• No card replaces a professional. For a question of health, money or law, a card carries no medical, financial or legal weight: consult the qualified person.
• A deck is worth what you make of it. Marseille, Rider-Waite or a contemporary deck: these are supports. The quality of a reading rests on the aptness of the question and the honesty of the interpretation.

Frequently asked questions

Does tarot really come from Egypt?

No. This idea, launched at the end of the 18th century, is a reconstruction with no historical foundation. The sources place the appearance of tarot in northern Italy around 1440, as an evolution of the playing cards that had arrived in Europe half a century earlier.

What is the difference between the Tarot de Marseille and Rider-Waite?

The Tarot de Marseille, fixed in France in the 17th–18th centuries, fully illustrates the 22 major arcana but leaves the minors close to plain playing cards. The Rider-Waite (1909) also illustrates the 56 minors with scenes, which makes intuitive reading easier.

Do you need an old deck to read well?

No. The age of a deck adds no power. What matters is your familiarity with its images and the clarity of your intention. A well-designed digital deck can perfectly well accompany a reading.