The History and Origins of Tarot
Tarot's roots are surprisingly mundane: it began as a deck for playing trick-taking games in northern Italy around 1440. Its reputation as a tool of divination is a much later story, shaped by 18th-century French occultists.
Origins in 15th-century Italy
The first tarot decks appeared in Milan, Ferrara, Florence, and Bologna between 1440 and 1450. They added a fifth suit of 21 trump cards — then called trionfi — plus a single Fool card to the standard four-suit playing deck. The oldest surviving decks, such as the Visconti-Sforza, were hand-painted for aristocratic families.
From trionfi to tarocchi
Originally known as carte da trionfi, the cards were renamed tarocchi around 1500. After the printing press spread the decks beyond Italy, the Tarot of Marseilles became the standard pattern in France and Switzerland. For centuries, tarot remained a game.
The 18th-century occult revival
Tarot's shift to divination began in 1780s Paris, when Antoine Court de Gébelin and Jean-Baptiste Alliette (Etteilla) claimed esoteric Egyptian origins for the cards — claims later disproven by historians. Etteilla produced the first deck designed specifically for occult use in 1789.
The Rider–Waite era
In 1909, the Rider–Waite–Smith deck — illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith under A. E. Waite's direction — introduced fully illustrated Minor Arcana. Its imagery became the visual language of tarot worldwide and remains the most recognizable deck today.
Myth versus history
Despite persistent stories linking tarot to ancient Egypt, the Kabbalah, or Atlantis, scholarship places its invention firmly in 15th-century Italy. As historian Michael Dummett put it, the occult history of tarot is one of the most successful propaganda campaigns ever launched.
Frequently asked
How old is tarot?
About 600 years. The first documented decks date to the 1440s in northern Italy.
Did tarot come from Egypt?
No. That claim was invented by 18th-century occultists; historians trace tarot to 15th-century Italy.
Why is the Rider–Waite deck so popular?
It was the first widely printed deck with illustrated Minor Arcana, giving every card a clear scene — ideal for learners.