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The origins of the Tarot remain a mystery. Attempts have been made to trace it back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, India, and China, and its introduction into Europe has been credited to both the Arabs and the Gypsies (Romanies). Another theory is that the cards were based upon unknown sets of cards brought back by the Venetian traders in the East some time prior to the 15th century.
The first recorded pack of cards to resemble modern cards was made for the Duke of Milan, in 1415, though some claim that the cards held in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris are remnants of a deck known to have been made for Charles VI of France in 1392. Whichever of these is the more ancient, it is certain that from the early 15th century, the cards came to be widely used in France as well as Italy and eventually spread throughout Europe. In the course of time, their original intention became overlaid by their role as playing cards.
The Tarot cards consist of 22 major arcana cards (or Trump cards) and 56 minor arcana cards, which are divided into four suits: Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands.
The modern revival of esoteric science began in 1854 with the publication of Dogma and Ritual of Transcendental Magic by Eliphas Levi and he named the Tarot as the most important source of information. He also linked the Tarot with the Qabalah as the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet correspond with the 22 major arcana cards of the Tarot.
The
four suits of the minor arcana cards are said to reflect the four worlds
of the Qabalah - The Archetypal World, The Creative World, The Formative
World, and The Material World - or the four steps by which God created
the cosmos. These theories were a significant influence on Arthur Edward
Waite, who devised one of the most popular decks of the Tarot used today.
These cards show vivid scenes rather than merely numbers and symbols. This
is one reason why this deck is so popular despite the proliferation of
other Tarot decks during the last 25 years.
The major arcana (the 22 most powerful cards) constitute one of the most intriguing of all symbol systems, combining mysteries of the past with a complex and powerful system of inner growth. To spend time with the Tarot and identify with its images is to commence a journey of self discovery that can leave an individual profoundly changed. The cards are a symbolic synopsis of our own nature. One way of expressing this is that they are an attempt to represent the factors that go to makeup our personality, an attempt which pre-dates the efforts of modern psychologists by more than 500 years.