The Fascinating Origins of Tarot -The umm...'slightly abridged' version.

2008-01-03T20:10:00.008-08:00

The Real history of Tarot is crazy. Wacky.

There. I said it.

"Wow!" I hear you say. "That sounds super-interesting! I must know more!..."

Well o.k., since you asked....

Neolithic cave paintings, Druids, Egyptian Dynasties, heck, even aliens, have all been claimed, at one time or another, as the 'true' origin of Tarot.

And its all bunk.

Most often cited as the actual beginnings of Tarot, the first real evidence dates to the 14^th century, when it was first called ‘Tarocchi’ in the regions of Italy.

‘Tarocchi’ supposedly meant ‘Game of Triumphs'.

Tarot was, at first, played primarily by ultra-rich, high society types.

(You know, the snobby bunch with that fancy 'indoor' plumbing.)

An early artist called ‘Bembo’, -who's name I find really amusing for reasons unclear-, painted the first of what evolved into the general look
of the cards today.

Meanwhile, the fun folks of The Church, (You remember those guys!) were running around yelling things like; "Is this card game an invention of Satan??,,,Hmmm?" -and in due course tried to have Tarot declared wicked, immoral and other naughty things.

But by then it had really taken hold amongst the upper crust types.

So the God-boys said "..umm...Well then, ..harrmph.. maybe its all right for you lot to mess with, ...o.k. ..Just keep the taxes paid up!..er, have a nice day."

Then, in the 1700’s, a fellow called 'Antoine Court', or 'Court de Gebelen' or 'DeCourtney' or, well, there is much confusion as to his actual name.

(Allright.....look, I really don't know what the heck this guys name was! Could've been 'Bubbles' for all anyone knows! When you research this stuff on the internet you get ALL kinds of answers. O.K.?......besides, I got distracted by a really funny webpage full of these cute little Japanese cats.)

So, anyway, this 'Court', or Bubbles or whatever his name was, turns
out to be quite an interesting character.

He was a philosophic sort of guy and a pastor, but in spite of that managed to write some rather forward-thinking op-eds.
(Or 'blogs', as you kids today would call them.)

He became involved in all sorts of other crazy rackets too.

Like being one of the early Freemasons, alongside such other crack-ups as Voltaire and Ben Franklin.

He was also fairly nuts for all things Egypt, and pretty soon he was coming up with wild yarns about how ancient Egyptians invented the Tarot, and emus, and bun warmers, and all sorts of stuff.

Everyone probably believed him because after all, he had this way-cool sounding name. So that idea persisted for a while.

(Although I also think maybe there was alot more recreational drug use in those days than they teach you about in school.)

Then, on towards the end of the 1700's, a book was published called 'The Tarot of the Bohemians', attributing the Tarot to the Gypsies. This was really silly because it not only wasnt true, but even the Gypsies denied it. They had always used regular playing cards for divination – not the Tarot.

Fast forward another 100 years and we stumble upon the next big event;

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn!

Oooh! Just the name alone is a little scary, huh?

Well, anyhow, it wound up being a couple of 'GoldenDawnies' named Aleister Crowley and Arthur Edward Waite that more or less shaped our modern Tarot.

Crowley created a Tarot called the Book of Thoth, that played around with..um...darker forces.

(He then went on to become widely-known for being some sort of spooky bad-guy-weird evil dude or something, and thus giving Jimmy Page fans something to talk about.)

Meanwhile Waite and an American artist named Pamela Coleman Smith came up with the Tarot deck that’s most familiar to modern users.

Pam.

So!..............ummmm........um..Here we are!

uh, yeah.....I guess thats about it..... End of story.

O.K...O.K.!

I may have left out a teensy detail or two, but it has been terribly busy around here lately, and I have to go feed the Mighty Warrior cat now.

I promise next time, some really cool stuff!

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That’s all for now. Future diatribes, essays, tomes, opinions, plugs, narratives, bribes, excuses, fables, rants, tearjerkers, gripes and bitches will happen, and will probably contain more really engrossing and mighty darn interesting things about the metaphysical world!

Be sure to tune in next time, same bat time, same bat channel.

As always, please make a visit to our lovely site:

http://www.AllTarot.com

And check out the way cool beautiful decks, artwork, books, music and more that you will find there!

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We thank you and

Blessed Be….

G'night....

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REVIEWS

Dr. Strangelove's Reviews

-Warning: If you have come here looking for competent, incisive, and helpful reviews, you’re already in trouble. This reviewer is basically a lazy sot, a rapscallion, perhaps even a ruffian, and has little to no understanding of Tarot.

To wit; If it's specifics, facts, and educated opinions you want, well, you're not gonna get 'em here. Nope. I'd try Yahoo or Google, if thats the sort of thing you're after.

Legal part; "This site takes no responsibility for any perceived insults, slander, compliments, thrills, chills, spills, looks, tickles, giggles, or any other actions, reactions, emotions, and/or trips taken after having read the aforementioned reviews. Further, no responsibility is taken for any mishaps which may occur after using any of these products or reviews combined with narcotics, heavy machinery,heavy metal, planes, trains, or automobiles."

Review by : 'The Doctor'
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Native American Tarot -by Laura Tuan; Artwork by Sergio Tiselli

Hey, this deck is pretty cool. Very nice-looking packaging. A kind of weaved basket sort of look to it.

The package claims there are 78 cards here, but I'm not gonna count them! You’re just going to have to trust them about that!

Anyway, Zeena Princess Warrior Cat says there are, and she's better at math.

It also includes a small, clearly written instruction book which, thankfully, is written in a type-size larger than an ants' gonads. Always a plus.

The artwork in this deck is quite good. It’s a sort of watercolory style, with plenty of detail to it. Not too runny, stays within the lines. Many nice scenes of ceremonies, animals, and alot of Native Americans doing all sorts of things.

The coloring style is almost subdued, almost pastel.

And truly, there is an obvious respect for the Native American culture, nature, and wildlife. But nothing is recycled or derived here. This is truly original art, and each card is indeed a small work of art.

(I especially like the 'Queen of Pentacles' card. There is a lovely Indian maiden on it,
who I think looks like an Indian 'Lara Croft' wandering around in a field of gigantic sunflowers....Now, me, Ive got no idea what the heck thats supposed to represent, but as my current Tarot knowledge is about as deep as Paris Hilton, I will speak no further of it here.)

Another thing I really get into with this deck, is the fact that the cards are multilingual!

Yes, thats what I said.

"What?" I hear you exclaim.
No, I don’t mean they talk to me in other languages, silly! Gosh, no!

That would just be too weird! Besides, I haven't spoken to any inanimate
objects since the 70s.

No, I mean the card names are all called-out along the edges in English, Italian, some language they call Espanol, (but it looks a lot like Spanish to me!) another suspicious language called ‘French’, and for some reason, German.

I must admit, however, that its kinda fun to say "Bastos!" instead of "wands".

So I’ll give that part an A+. Or maybe a 5.9!
( We're still working out our ratings system.)

But also 'Zeena the Warrior Princess Cat' says "its cool". .....Good enough for me!

So all in all, it’s a classy looking deck that is will not disappoint, it is unique, well produced, comes from a nice family, smells good, and of course is probably something you should go buy right now at:

www.alltarot.com

Next up:

I will review a totally beautiful deck:

You are gonna love it.

Stay tuned for more penetrating, mysterious, esoteric, and just plain sexy reviews
of decks, art, books, music, fashion, media, ducks, and much, much more!

Thanks for reading!

signed,

The Doctor