History of Tarot — From Card Game to Modern Readings

On OneCardTarot, cards are drawn from the Rider–Waite–Smith (RWS) deck. This history highlights how we got from 15th-century card games to the RWS system most people use today.

Quick timeline

• c. 1370s: Playing cards arrive in Europe.

• c. 1440–1470: Tarot (then called trionfi) appears in northern Italy as a trick-taking game; early luxury decks include the Visconti-Sforza.

• 1600s–1700s: The Tarot de Marseille woodcut style spreads in France and beyond.

• Late 1700s–1800s: Occultists reinterpret tarot (Court de Gébelin, Etteilla, Éliphas Lévi).

• 1888–1909: The Golden Dawn system; A.E. Waite and Pamela Colman Smith publish the Rider–Waite–Smith deck (1909).

• 1938–1943 (pub. 1969): Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris create the Thoth deck.

• 1960s–today: New Age, mass-market publishing, indie creators, apps, and AI-assisted readings. RWS becomes the default for beginners.

Origins: an Italian pastime

Tarot began as a game. In the mid-15th century courts of Milan, Ferrara, and Florence, artisans painted lavish sets of playing cards featuring an extra suit of trumps—archetypal images like the Emperor, Death, and the World. Nobles played a trick-taking game using these “triumphs” (trionfi). Surviving masterpieces such as the Visconti-Sforza decks show the early iconography that later traditions would refine.

Key points:

• Original purpose: recreation, not fortune-telling.

• Artwork: devotional and courtly aesthetics; hand-painted, gold leaf in luxury sets.

• Structure: four regular suits + a hierarchy of trump cards (what we now call the Major Arcana).

From tables to temples: the occult turn

For centuries, tarot stayed a game. The esoteric reading of tarot emerged later:

• Antoine Court de Gébelin (1781) claimed Egyptian/ancient wisdom origins after seeing tarot in a Paris salon. His theory was imaginative, not historical, but it sparked a movement.

• Etteilla (Jean-Baptiste Alliette) published the first guides on tarot divination and designed the first deck created for fortune-telling, assigning meanings and spreads.

• 19th century magicians—Éliphas Lévi, Papus (Gérard Encausse), and others—linked tarot to Kabbalah, astrology, and alchemy. Out of this synthesis grew the systems still used in many esoteric orders.

Important reality check: The best historical evidence points to Italian playing-card origins. Egyptian and Atlantis myths are poetic lenses, not proven history. They still shaped how people read the cards, which is why you’ll see Kabbalah paths, planetary rulers, and more in many modern guides.

Three pillars: Marseille, RWS, and Thoth

Tarot de Marseille (TdM)

• Look & feel: woodcut lines, flat color fields, medieval-folk aesthetic.

• Reading style: pip Minors (the suit cards 2–10 show arrangements of symbols, not scenes). Readers lean on numerology + suits + context.

• Legacy: foundational for European traditions; revived in the 20th century with meticulous restorations.

Rider–Waite–Smith (RWS) — our default on OneCardTarot

• Published: 1909 (A.E. Waite authored; Pamela Colman Smith illustrated; William Rider was the publisher).

• Breakthrough: fully illustrated Minors—every card shows a scene, making the deck far more readable for beginners and storytellers.

• Impact: RWS became the dominant learning deck in the English-speaking world and the blueprint for thousands of modern variations.

Thoth Tarot

• Created: Aleister Crowley (concept) & Lady Frieda Harris (art), painted 1938–43; widely published later (1960s onward).

• Style: dense esotericism (Kabbalah, astrology), abstract-symbolist art, renamed titles (e.g., Adjustment for Justice).

• Use case: beloved by readers who enjoy layered correspondences and a more ceremonial-magical approach.

20th-century boom: books, publishers, and pop culture

• Eden Gray and other mid-century authors simplified RWS meanings for the public.

• Mass-market publishers standardized sizes and guidebooks; tarot left the occult niche and entered bookstores.

• The 1960s–70s New Age wave popularized personal growth readings over fatalistic “fortunes.”

• 1980s–2000s: an explosion of themed decks (mythic, feminist, historical, animal, minimalist), plus the rise of tarot schools, workshops, and professional codes of ethics.

21st century: democratized and digital

• Indie decks flourished via crowdfunding—more voices, cultures, and art styles.

• Apps and websites made daily draws and journal tracking easy.

• AI-assisted readings (like our One Card with AI) help beginners synthesize keywords into actionable advice—while keeping the human reader in charge of meaning.

Persistent myths (and how to think about them)

• “Tarot is ancient Egyptian.”
  Poetic idea; not supported by historical evidence. Tarot is European, born from playing cards.

• “You must be gifted your first deck.”
  A charming custom, not a rule. Buy the deck you’ll actually use—RWS is a great start.

• “Reversed cards are mandatory.”
  Optional. Many readers skip reversals or treat them as internalized energy, delays, or imbalance.

• “Tarot predicts a fixed future.”
  Tarot is best at showing patterns and options; your choices move the story.

Why RWS became the default (and why we use it here)

• Illustrated Minors give instant narrative hooks.

• Abundant resources (books, courses, videos) make learning consistent.

• Modern derivatives retain RWS structure while refreshing art and inclusivity.

Because OneCardTarot aims to be clear and beginner-friendly, our draws use RWS-based meanings. If you later move to Marseille or Thoth, your RWS foundation will still help—you’ll just adapt to pips (TdM) or different correspondences (Thoth).

Further reading & exploration

• Try a quick pull: One-Card (RWS) to see how history informs modern practice.

• Compare systems: an RWS card beside its Marseille pip and Thoth counterpart—spot the overlap and differences.

• Explore deck design: how artists re-imagine classic scenes while keeping core symbolism.

FAQs

When did tarot become “divination”?
Late 18th century onward. The cards existed for centuries before people widely used them for esoteric readings.

Why do some decks rename cards?
Different schools emphasize different philosophies (e.g., Justice/Strength swap in RWS numbering, or Thoth’s renamed titles). The underlying roles remain comparable.

Is historical accuracy important for good readings?
It keeps expectations grounded. You don’t need a PhD in history to read well—but knowing tarot started as a game helps you approach the cards as a flexible language, not a fixed oracle.