The Tarot through the Ages...

There are many friends out there who are new to the Tarot. It is for themthat I am providing a brief history of the Tarot.

There are many theories about the origin of the Tarot, but no one knows for certain that where and how the Tarot originated. Some place its origin as recently as 14th or 15th centuary Europe, since the earliest known complete decks dates back from that time.

The most popular theory is that the Tarot was invented in ancient Egypt and brought to Europe around the 14th centuary by the Gypsies.

According to these scholars, the allegorical illustartions shown on the cards of the Major Arcana were derived from the teachings of the secret schools of Egypt.

Yet another theory suggests that the Tarot philosophy was derived from that of the Cabala. The order of the Major Arcana is connected to the Hebrew system of letters and numbers. The Cabala is a mystical Jewish tradition which teaches that it is possible through symbolic interpretation of ancient texts, to raise your consciousness above the leve of the mundane knowledge and lead you to an understanding of and union with the divine. Many teachings of the Cabalists were never written down but were passed on from teacher to student by word of mouth and kept secret from outsiders. The kind of symbolism used in the Major Arcana is a way of preserving those secrets without making them readily available to the uninitiated.

The origin of the Minor Arcana is also a question. Some researchers believe they were part of the original Egyptian deck. Others say they were added around the 14th centuary from an Italian card game known as tarocchi. Etteilla, a great exponent of the Tarot explains that the name derives from the Egyptian words 'tar' meaning "a path" and 'ro' meaning "royal", which together means "the royal path of life".

Whatever the origin of the Tarot may be, it is clear that the symbolism of the cards is universal, speaking to many different cultures and philosophies. The Tarot is a window through which one is able to look at the past, the present and the future.