New Age Tarot

The History of Tarot Cards

The use of cards to tell a subject's fortune was introduced in 14th century Europe not long after playing cards were created. The "fortune teller" would use an ordinary deck of cards and interpretations of each card's symbolism varied greatly.

The tradition of using the Tarot deck as a tool of divination began in late 18th Century Switzerland by former pastor Antoine Court de Gébelin. He believed their symbolism contained secrets from ancient Egypt and could be used to interpret the past, present and possible future events for the subject of the reading.

Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Alliette who became known as Etteilla (his last name spelled backwords) was the first to take the Tarot deck and specifically redesign it for the purpose of divination. He is also the first known person to earn his living as a reader of Tarot. He formed 'Société des Interprètes du Livre de Thot' in 1788 in order to teach his interpretations to others.

Of the many reinterpretations of the tarot decks, the Rider-Waite tarot deck, also know as the Rider deck has become the most used deck in the English language speaking world. Developed by Illustrator Pamela Coleman Smith and Mystic Arthur Edward Waite and published by William Rider & Son, the cards borrowed from previous interpretations of the Tarot and made several changes including a toning down of Christian symbolism.

More and more decks are being created and revised according to the beliefs and interpretations of each deck's creator.