Origins and Context of the Tarot

Beyond the myth: the historical truth

With its origin almost impossible to trace back in time, Tarot is probably one of the oldest game in the world. Many of those who studied it link the cards to the Gypsies, the Egyptians, the Indians and their esoteric teachings to the God Thoth, the Alchemists or to the Kabbalists.

One thing is for sure: the creation of Tarot as we know it is medieval. The oldest decks are from that era and the symbols in the cards have a distinctive medieval style.

Late Middle Ages

To understand the Tarot, you must put it back in its original context : the late Middle Ages. In Europe - probably less than a century before Tarot appeared - a climate change had destroyed crops and led to famine. Between 1349 and 1351, the Black Death had killed up to two-thirds of the European population. Kingdoms and authorities had no response to the crisis. The social structure of Europe was changed as well as people's state of mind.

The loss of so many created an economic recession. The European culture turned into its most morbid state: Pessimism, lack of trust for the church led the art to turn dark with representations of death. The use of Alchemy in medicine collapsed because of its inneficiency to cure the plague.

It was also a time of division for the Catholic Church. The Pope's authority was diminishing as nation sovereignty rose in France and England. The two kingdoms had fought more than a hundred years over the French soil, they had started the war with swords in 1337 and finished it with guns and cannons in 1453.

Although people from this period rediscovered ancient Greek and Roman philosophies, they still kept intact the profane and sacred symbolisms that had built their culture... Devoid of many scientific discoveries and concepts, visions of life were very different from now. Life was explained by a series of symbols, depicted on the stones of cathedrals and taught from generation to generation. Contrasts between happiness and sadness, health and sickness, wealth and poverty, summer and winter were much more important than now. Genius was expressed through the architectural and pictural arts dedicated to God, and intended to elevate the population towards a better understanding of existence.

The diffusion of the Tarot

The game of Tarot probably emerged in Italy from this crucial time of humanity. The cards we currently use were crafted around 1650 in Marseille, France.

The earliest document about the Tarot dates from the middle of the 15th century, when a Franciscan monk condemned its use and linked the names of the trumps to the devil. His way to describe the cards already indicates, at this early stage, that the Tarot was a different type of game than chess or playing cards.