Origins of the Tarot

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Tarot is a 78 card oracle with a rather uncertain history. The earliest Tarot cards showed up in Italy during the Middle Ages, and in the centuries since then they have been used for games as well as divination. “Scholars” and other writers have speculated on… um, researched… the origins and original purposes of the Tarot for a long time now, and out of these “studies” some unquestionable and well documented "facts" emerge:
Tarot was the original expression, in pictures, of the Eleusian Mystery Teachings.
Tarot originated in Egypt as an encapsulation of the ancient Egyptian Mysteries.
Mediaeval cabbalists hid their Mysteries in the symbols of the Tarot to preserve the esoteric teachings from the Inquisition.

Gypsies brought the Tarot to Europe from Egypt.

Gypsies brought the Tarot to Europe from India.

Marco Polo brought the Tarot to Europe from China.

Tarot was invented as a game of amusement long before it was used for esoteric understanding or divination.

Tarot is the origin of ordinary playing cards.

The ordinary playing card deck is the origin of the Tarot.

The Tarot hides the Mysteries of the Holy Grail.

The Tarot hides the Mysteries of the Knights Templar.

The Tarot hides the Mysteries of (name of your favorite Mystery tradition here).

I think you get the idea. Some of these speculations may have something to them. Reading about such things is entertaining, and can even expand your understanding of the practical use of the Tarot, the subject of this blog.

(Side note to advanced Tarot scholars: If I have included your favorite theory in this list, rest assured that I am well aware of how True it is. I only included it with all those obviously false notions so as not to offend the benighted souls who have yet to see its Truth.)

Now, the language of Tarot is symbols, the same as the language of your unconscious, the same as the language of dreams. Your unconscious deals in symbols, feelings, ambiguities, and things indirectly hinted at. It responds to synchronicities and “coincidences”, and searches for meaning in apparent patterns. Part of the mind’s symbolic understanding seems to be inborn and hardwired in, while another part seems to be cultural and learned.

Lifeforce Tarot reading takes all of these things into account in a practical way that enhances intuition and bridges conscious and subconscious minds.
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Copyright 2010 by Dennis George Rudolph. All rights reserved.