somewhat to prototypical patterns, has been connected ideologically to the psychology of Carl Jung’s collective unconscious.
Sorry, but for the genuine secret to the Tarot to be fully appreciated we’ll need to do a little backwards time-travel.
Maestro, a little historical music, if you please
The 4 suited playing card pack first appeared in Europe in the 1370’s, probably in Italy or Spain. This exhibited a striking likeness to the modern playing card pack in current use. Then, in Italy in the 1430’s, a an additional suit of 21 heavily decorated cards called trionfi, (‘triumphs’) plus an particular card called matto (‘the fool’) were addended to this pack. No, ‘the fool’ was NOT the precursor of the modern joker, which was created separately in the late 19th century, as a euchre game card, of a jack with no suit.
Not unlike our Mardi Gras, the illustrations in the trionfi, most likely represented mascots in medieval re-enactments of triumphal Roman parades. The reason for the trionfi was to function as a higher suit, becoming ‘trumps’ or a suit of ‘triumphs’. Played by 3 or 4 , occasionally 5 players, these ‘tarot games’ consisted of informal team-ups directed towards the top player in each deal.
So the bottom line is; until about 1780 in France, and based upon the Venetian or the Piedmontese tarot, tarot was a game. It had dead-set no spirituality. It didn’t know Arthur from Martha.
Don’t believe what I’m hearing
Here, I’ll say it again – slower. Until just 230 years ago, the tarot was played as a game, possibly by children, not dissimilar to say our Canasta. It was never intended to be a form of divination, a prophet. It is NOT a purpose-built tool!! It’s a