tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436283227458301082026-05-12T06:29:57.948-07:00All about Tarot cards and divination. Commentary and analysis of history, symbols and cultural context of Tarot cards. News related to cartomancy. Reviews of Tarot decks. Book reviews. Links and reviews of web sites related to Tarot cards.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-60591690876321955612024-12-29T13:07:00.000-08:002024-12-29T15:56:13.100-08:00

 The Tarot trump card, the Fool, depicts a wandering figure carrying a staff and bundle, often accompanied by a dog tugging at his clothes. The Fool is a well known figural image from the late Medieval period through the Early Modern era. Here, I will examine the Fool as depicted on the oldest printed versions of the Tarot in its sociohistorical context.The Tarot of Marseilles, one of the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-3837414633630623112023-12-09T10:22:00.000-08:002023-12-09T10:36:35.030-08:00

Tarot cards are believed to have originated in Northern Italy in the 15th century as a type of playing cards used for gaming. The earliest known surviving Tarot cards are the Visconti-Sforza Tarot decks, which were created in the 1440s for the rulers of Milan.Over time, the use of Tarot cards expanded beyond gaming to include divination and fortune-telling. In the late 18th and early 19th

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-14141790333232402682023-04-23T08:26:00.001-07:002023-04-23T08:26:52.127-07:00

These are going to be well known to any reader with more than a passing interest in the Tarot, but they probably bear repeating being as these falsities have been so repeated over the course the past three hundred years.  You'll still find them being forwarded for the newer generations in your New Age and Alt Reality genres.I think I can just knock these out in what I believe is my very

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-32706270360076785702023-04-22T08:28:00.009-07:002023-12-09T10:32:23.118-08:00

I am a master-class procrastinator. I have not posted here in 10.5 years [update: it's been 3 years since I wrote the first three paragraphs of this post, it has now been 13 years], and there is a series of posts I have been meaning to write since long before I started this blog. Of course, at the time, I had never heard of a blog, and I was thinking more of a book with a spine, covers, and paper

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-76208964841817938902010-07-05T21:58:00.000-07:002025-02-17T10:16:41.767-08:00

In recent years it has become quite widely accepted that tarot cards were not invented for divination, but were in fact added to the standard deck of cards for the purpose of playing a game.  The game of Trionfo (or similar) was most certainly played for money when it first appeared in the 14th Century Italy as were card games in general.  The use of tarot for fortune telling did not

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-25092555085661368682009-04-26T10:22:00.000-07:002025-02-17T10:15:59.549-08:00

Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck | Illustrated by Mary Hanson-Roberts.  Published by US Games, 1985.RatingsHistorical Significance:  NilArtistic Appeal:  HighSymbolic Resonance:  ModerateEvocative Potential:  HighI have a fondness for this deck because it was the first deck I ever bought and used.  Without any knowledge of Tarot, in 1986, I wandered into Perelandra

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-41971363932162562732009-03-31T10:19:00.001-07:002025-02-17T10:17:36.733-08:00

The Bohemian Gothic Tarot। Designed by Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov. Published by Magic Realist Press, 2008. Ratings Historical Significance: Nil Artistic Appeal: Most High Symbolic Resonance: High Evocative Potential: Most High This is my all time favorite Tarot deck to use. It's evocative, mesmerizing, and moody. It gives (or allows for) nuanced readings. Its images are meaningful as well

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-33200174720946209082008-09-28T16:24:00.000-07:002025-02-17T10:19:56.464-08:00

The Archeon Tarot, by Timothy Lantz.  Published by U. S. Games Systems, Inc., 2005.RatingsHistorical Significance:  NilArtistic Appeal:  HighSymbolic Resonance:  ModerateEvocative Potential: ModerateWhat drew me to this deck was the art graphics which are quite unique as far as Tarot decks go.  The style is more along the lines of graphic illustration used in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-16796257826204188092008-09-24T21:56:00.000-07:002025-02-17T10:21:02.562-08:00

The Complete Merlin Tarot: Images, Insight and Wisdom from the Age of MerlinRatingsHistorical Significance: LowArtistic Appeal: ModerateSymbolic Resonance: ModerateEvocative Potential: ModerateThis was one of my first decks.  It appears to be out of print at this time.  Overall I liked it and used if for quite awhile.  I was drawn to it out of an old interest in the Arthurian

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-7616877947608249192008-09-21T10:12:00.000-07:002014-01-06T08:20:28.601-08:00

There is a small body of literature on this subject, mostly written by anthropologists. Anthropologists tend to explore the social, political, and healing implications of divination, but they are also pretty good at providing basic description of practices. This particular practice is usually referred to as "spider divination" but might be seen as a form of cartomancy and has also been referred

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-73118859709061315402008-09-17T13:46:00.000-07:002009-11-01T10:21:48.852-08:00

Fortune-telling-as-fraud has been in the news recently. There is some political push and pull around local anti-fortune-telling ordinances and laws around the country right now. The political pressures are complex and do not always fall into the typical pattern of Left versus Right or religious versus secular. The implications of these laws strike at some fundamentals of the American political

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-56206534420932602572008-09-16T20:03:00.000-07:002025-02-17T12:22:59.442-08:00

Tarot Symbolism, by Robert V. O'Neill, Fairway Press: Lima, Ohio, 1986, 392pp. This book was published by a small press in what was most certainly a limited printing. It does not appear to have been widely distributed but for years was offered by a small mail order book seller specializing in New Age titles. Interestingly, Dr. O'Neill is a research biologist by trade who is primarily known for

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-3825548833536665582008-09-14T07:05:00.000-07:002008-09-17T16:36:54.993-07:00

A Renaissance Court: Milan under Galleazzo Maria Sforza by Gregory Lubkin, published by University of California Press, Berkley, 1994.If you want to know more about the Italian court that produced some of the earliest and the most beautiful tarot decks in history, this book is the best place to go for a well rounded view of daily life, politics, intrigue, relationships, philosophy, and just about

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-34945758035616059112008-09-13T08:15:00.000-07:002025-02-17T12:21:18.629-08:00

This is an important early modern deck designed by J. Augustus Knapp and published 1929.  Knapp was an illustrator.  The original deck was published under his name only, and usually referred to as the Knapp Tarot.  The title on the front of the box reads: Tarot, Revised Cards, New Art and Copyright, 1929, by J A Knapp, Los Angeles, Calif.  However, it is assumed that even

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-31224013004859789542008-09-04T23:12:00.000-07:002008-09-14T08:44:15.433-07:00

This is my comprehensive timeline of the Tarot and related history.  I put this together over several years mostly for myself to assist in my own research.  It is heavy on the early history and contextual history especially connecting the development of the tarot in relation to the Milanese court.Topical areas listed here include the following:History of paper making and printingContextual

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443628322745830108.post-37165352538965858582008-09-04T22:55:00.001-07:002008-09-20T20:35:02.279-07:00

Just getting started on this, more to come.About this siteThis site will be dedicated to discussion of the history and analysis of the Tarot cards.  It will also include reviews of Tarot decks and books.The Tarot remain a mystery amidst a profusion of texts and theories. Anyone looking for a book on the Tarot in a bookstore these days is bewildered by myriad books treating Tarot origins, artwork,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1