How Were Tarot Cards Invented? History and Myths

Tarot first appeared in northern Italy in the 1400s as a trick-taking game called tarocchi. Courts in Milan and Ferrara played a new kind of card game in which extra trump cards changed the rules. Those trumps were named after ideas such as Love, Fortune and Death. They ranked above the regular suits and could win a trick.

The earliest surviving decks were made for wealthy families. They were hand-painted on thick card with gold leaf, and their artwork reflected the people and fashions of the time. There was no occult purpose in these early decks; they were expensive, personalised games that also displayed the owner's taste and wealth.

When people refer to old tarot, they often mean the Visconti-Sforza decks. These were made for the ruling families of Milan, the Visconti and the Sforza. The artwork uses gold and detailed Renaissance figures. Reproductions preserve the decks' long, elegant shape.

Those trump cards influenced many later decks. They included The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Lovers, The Chariot, Justice, The Hermit and The Wheel of Fortune. The High Priestess did not have that name yet; the figure resembled a female Pope. Each card depicted a virtue, role or scene from everyday life and church teaching. The images presented familiar values and ideas rather than a hidden code.

How did a game become associated with fortune-telling? Two French figures helped change its use in the late 1700s. Antoine Court de Gébelin, a Protestant pastor and writer, saw tarot cards in a Paris salon. He claimed that they preserved ancient Egyptian wisdom, although historical records do not support that connection. Egypt was fashionable at the time, so his idea influenced later writers and readers.

Then came Etteilla, born Jean-Baptiste Alliette, a print seller who published one of the first books about reading tarot. He described spreads, which are simple layouts for placing cards, and meanings for upright and reversed positions. A reversed card is upside down, and some readers interpret that position as a change in emphasis or a difficulty. Etteilla also designed decks for divination, with keywords printed on the cards. These developments helped turn a household game into a tool for questions about love, work and life.

If you are curious to try a short, focused reading in the way I structure it today, you might like my 3-Card Tarot Reading ($79). Three cards, one clear question and a written reading you can revisit when you need time to think.

In London in 1909, writer and mystical-society member Arthur Edward Waite worked with Pamela Colman Smith, an artist and stage designer. The deck they made is often called Rider-Waite, though many readers use Rider-Waite-Smith to credit Pamela's work. She drew scenes for all 56 Minor Arcana cards, the everyday suit cards. Earlier decks often showed suit symbols in simple patterns; Pamela's scenes showed people working, resting, celebrating, losing and travelling.

Pictures on every card made the deck easier for beginners to interpret without memorising as much. A figure holding coins conveys a different prompt from a plain row of coins. A person looking out to sea with wands may suggest plans or choices. Pamela's art gives readers details such as mood, posture and setting to discuss. Publishers left her name out of the title for many years, but her contribution shaped the deck that readers know today.

Tarot grew out of play, picture-making and curiosity. People designed it and people changed it. A deck is a set of images arranged in a known order. When you draw a card, you look at a scene and connect it with your own experiences. You notice colour, faces and details in the picture, then use those observations to consider your question. Insight comes from that process of interpretation, not from a hidden power source.

I have read for more than two decades. The best readings meet a person where they are. A restaurant owner in Manchester once asked me about expanding to a second site. The Three of Wands appeared with the Two of Pentacles. We discussed timing and cash flow. He waited six months, hired a part-time manager first, then opened in a quieter neighbourhood. He wrote to say the slower start protected his sleep and marriage. In his case, the reading helped him examine the decision before acting.

If you like this practical approach, I have a plain guide on how reversals can be used in real life, with examples you can test with any deck you own. It is here: Exploring the Power of Reversed Tarot Cards.

A few stories come up again and again. People say tarot came from lost Egyptian books, but surviving museum records do not support that. The oldest tarot decks we can date are from Italy. People also say the Romani community invented tarot. Card reading is part of many folk traditions, and Romani people preserved and shared rich methods, but the deck structure called tarot took shape in Italian courts.

I meet clients who fear that the Death card means a literal death. In the game, the Death trump simply beat other cards. In readings, it can represent endings, change or releasing a habit or role. Knowing the history helps you interpret the card without treating it as a threat. If you want a gentle starting point for the basics, I wrote Intro to Tarot Reading: A Simple Guide for Newbies.

Tarot history is easier to understand when you keep three questions separate: when did the deck structure appear, when did particular images change, and when did people begin using cards for divination? They are related, but they are not one event.

The first question points to northern Italy in the fifteenth century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art notes that the earliest references fall in the 1440s and 1450s and that the game combined the four Italian suits with a Fool and twenty-one trump cards. Its history and structure of tarot also describes tarot as a trick-taking game and places the modern occult association much later. This is why “tarot was invented for fortune-telling” is too simple: the surviving evidence first shows a game.

The second question concerns copying, regional styles and names. A card could keep a broad image while changing its title, number or details as it moved through Italy and France. The Tarot de Marseille family became influential through its bold woodcut style and relatively simple pip cards. “The same card” therefore does not mean the same picture, production method or interpretation in every century. A modern reader should say which deck tradition they are describing.

The third question points to the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when writers and card readers connected tarot with occult systems. The Victoria and Albert Museum's history of tarot cards describes Etteilla's eighteenth-century divination deck and the unproven Egyptian claims that accompanied the period's fascination with mysticism. A claim can be historically influential without being historically true. Court de Gébelin's Egyptian theory helped shape later occult writing; it did not turn a Renaissance game into an Egyptian artefact.

Then comes the twentieth-century publishing story. The 1909 deck created by Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith made pictorial scenes central to the numbered suit cards. That change was practical as well as artistic: a reader could describe a person, gesture or landscape rather than memorise only a repeated group of symbols. It is the reason many beginner guides use Rider-Waite-Smith imagery as a reference point, even though it is not the first tarot deck and not the only legitimate tradition.

This timeline protects two kinds of honesty. It lets you enjoy the spiritual or reflective use of tarot without inventing an ancient origin, and it lets you appreciate the game and art history without insisting that modern personal practice is meaningless. A deck can have a documented history and still become a contemporary tool for reflection. Those statements do not conflict.

A traditional tarot deck has 78 cards: twenty-two Major Arcana cards, often called trumps, and fifty-six Minor Arcana cards. The Minor Arcana has four suits, usually Wands or Batons, Cups, Swords and Pentacles or Coins. Each suit usually has ten numbered cards and four court cards: Page or Knave, Knight, Queen and King. Names and artwork vary, but this structure gives a reader a stable grammar.

The Major Arcana can be approached as larger themes, transitions or questions of orientation. The numbered cards can describe a process in an area of everyday life. Courts can represent people, roles, ways of behaving or parts of a situation. These are reading conventions, not claims that the cards physically contain a force. The same structure can support a game, an art object, a spiritual ritual or a journaling prompt depending on how a person uses it.

The suits are broad categories rather than filing cabinets. Wands often invite questions about energy, initiative and creative work. Cups invite questions about emotion, connection and receptivity. Swords invite questions about thought, language, conflict and decisions. Pentacles invite questions about money, body, resources and tangible work. A Five of Cups in a relationship reading is not restricted to one universal event; the suit suggests the area, the number suggests a stage or tension, and the image and question add context.

Number patterns can help when a card image is unfamiliar. Aces can suggest beginnings or concentrated potential; Twos can raise balance, choice or relationship; Threes can involve growth or collaboration; Fours can involve structure or pause; Fives can disturb an established pattern; Sixes can explore adjustment or exchange; Sevens can test conviction; Eights can emphasise movement, skill or restriction; Nines can show ripening or strain; Tens can show completion, consequence or a full cycle. These are flexible traditional prompts, not a code that overrides the illustration.

The Fool sits outside the numbered sequence in many decks. In a game it had a special function; in later readings it often became a figure of beginning, risk or openness. That history makes it a useful reminder: a card's modern meaning can grow from its older use without being identical to it.

Pamela Colman Smith's contribution was not simply adding decoration. By giving the Minor Arcana people, settings and actions, she gave the eye more material to discuss. On the Three of Pentacles, you can notice collaboration and craft; on the Eight of Cups, a figure leaving a familiar arrangement; on the Four of Swords, stillness and recovery. A guidebook may suggest meanings, but the picture also gives you observable evidence inside the imaginative scene.

Try a four-part visual inventory before interpreting: who or what is present, what is moving, what is still, and where is attention directed? Then ask what changes if you remove one detail. If a figure faces away from a group, is the emphasis solitude, departure, privacy or simply the artist's composition? Offer at least two possibilities. Interpretation becomes stronger when it explains why one fits the question better than another, not when it uses the most dramatic keyword.

Marseille-style pip cards require a different skill. A Six of Coins may show six repeated symbols rather than a narrative scene. You can count, compare symmetry, notice colour and consult the suit-number structure. This is not an inferior version of tarot; it asks the reader to build meaning from pattern and context rather than a supplied story. A beginner who prefers scenes may choose a Rider-Waite-Smith relative, while someone drawn to historical woodcut forms may prefer Marseille. The deck does not need to match a rule about who is allowed to read.

Images also carry the values and assumptions of their time. A figure's clothing, social rank, gender presentation or religious imagery may not map neatly onto a modern client's life. Treat the historical image as context, not a command. Ask what the image evokes for you and what it leaves out. A thoughtful reading can acknowledge the original visual language while making space for a person's own experience.

Before the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the Tarot de Marseille style had spread through France and beyond. Those decks kept the numbered cards simple, with suit symbols arranged in patterns, and named the trumps in French. Many modern readers still value that clear, woodcut style. After 1909, picture-rich Minor Arcana cards became common, which made the deck easier for people who learn through scenes and stories.

Publishers later printed themed decks about cats, herbs, cosmology and technology. Some keep the traditional structure and add a new visual style. Others change suit names or reorder the trumps. Both approaches can be enjoyable. Understanding the traditional structure makes it easier to compare different decks.

Pamela was a mixed-heritage artist, born in London, raised partly in Jamaica and later a New Yorker for a time. She worked in theatre as a set and costume designer. She created scenes with clear actions and emotions. The Two of Swords can suggest quiet conflict, while the Nine of Swords can suggest anxious thoughts; those details reflect Pamela’s contribution to the deck.

Publishers left her name out of the title for decades. Readers and writers have brought it forward. We can continue that work by saying her name, learning her story and supporting editions that credit her.

Knowing tarot began as a card game can reduce the pressure around learning it. You do not need a special state; you need a clear question and a deck you like. The structure helps you organise your thoughts. Trumps often represent larger themes. Suits cover areas of life: Wands relate to work and drive, Cups to feelings and relationships, Swords to thought and communication, and Pentacles to the body, money and practical work. Court cards can represent people or parts of your personality. You do not need to memorise every meaning. Observe, describe and test your ideas.

A client of mine in Lisbon, a software tester, was choosing between staying at a large firm and taking a startup role. The Eight of Pentacles, the Lovers and the Six of Swords appeared. We discussed skill, choice and transition. She took the startup, asked for a training budget upfront and kept a small contract with the old team for two days a month. That plan reflected the themes we discussed. Her pay rose within a year and her weekends opened up.

I wrote a longer piece for when you want to explore layered methods, such as linking cards by numbers or themes. You can read it here: Unlocking the Tarot's Full Potential: A Guide to Advanced Reading.

Imagine Noor is deciding whether to accept a promotion that would bring more money but less time for family. She asks, “What should I know before I answer this offer?” and draws the Eight of Pentacles, the Two of Swords and the Six of Wands. This is a hypothetical example: the cards do not know the employer's future, and the spread cannot calculate the salary's practical value.

First she describes the scenes before consulting meanings. The Eight of Pentacles shows sustained attention to a craft. The Two of Swords shows a pause, a protected decision and information that has not been integrated. The Six of Wands shows recognition and a public result. One interpretation is that the promotion rewards real skill but requires Noor to clarify what work and recognition will cost. An alternative is that she is already over-identifying with achievement and the Six of Wands is an invitation to question whether public praise is enough.

She turns the cards into evidence-gathering questions: What are the expected hours? Can responsibilities be delegated? What would success look like after three months? Is the recognition attached to a role she actually wants, or only to being seen as capable? She requests the job description, asks whether flexible hours are possible and calculates the income after childcare and travel. Her output is a two-column decision note: “what the offer gives” and “what it requires,” plus one condition she would negotiate.

The limit is the point. The Six of Wands does not promise promotion success, and the Two of Swords does not mean she must delay. The cards helped her notice the tension between skill, hesitation and recognition; the employer's answer and Noor's family needs decide what happens next.

Now imagine Sam draws Death while asking how to leave a volunteer role that has become unsustainable. Sam has heard the frightening claim that the card predicts a literal death. History gives a calmer starting point: Death was one of the trump images in a card-game tradition, and modern readers later developed symbolic meanings around endings and transformation. A card's name is not a medical or mortality forecast.

Sam describes the image, writes down the immediate fear, and asks what is actually ending. One interpretation is a needed transition: a role, schedule or identity may have run its course. A second interpretation is resistance: Sam may be using a dramatic card to avoid a simple conversation about reducing hours. A third is that the card is simply triggering a cultural fear learned from other readings. All three possibilities are safer than treating the image as a prediction.

The action is concrete. Sam checks the commitment, chooses an end date, writes a kind resignation and offers one handover meeting. A second card, if used, should answer “what helps me leave responsibly?” rather than “will something terrible happen?” If the card is Four of Swords, Sam may plan rest; if it is Eight of Pentacles, Sam may document the handover; if it is Two of Cups, Sam may have a direct conversation with the coordinator. The card suggests a reflection prompt, while the action respects the real people involved.

This example also shows why reversals are not mandatory. If Death appears upside down, one reader might explore delayed change, another an inward process, and another ignore reversals altogether. None of those choices creates a factual event. Choose a method you can explain and apply consistently.

For example, if you choose the Three of Swords, the historical layer includes a title, suit and visual conventions; the traditional layer may discuss pain, separation or difficult truth; your personal layer might connect the heart with a recent argument; and the alternative layer might be that the image is making you notice an unresolved conversation rather than foretelling loss. The usable output could be “I will ask one honest question instead of rehearsing a conclusion.” The card has done its job when it supports attention and choice.

A nurse in Leeds was torn about night shifts. The Ten of Wands sat next to the Four of Swords. We spoke about load and rest. She asked for two weekends off in a row and swapped one shift for a training day. Burnout eased within two months and she kept her role.

A copywriter in Bristol wondered if a long-distance relationship had a future. The Two of Cups came inverted, and the Eight of Wands pointed to travel plans that kept slipping. We set a three-month test with set call times and one visit booked ahead. They split later with care and kept a friendship. The cards helped them treat time as data.

A barista in Dublin wanted to apply to art school. The Star and the Page of Pentacles showed. We broke it into steps. Portfolio by March. Two open days. One mentoring session. He got in. He emailed me a photo of his student pass and a sketch of the Star taped above his desk.

If you have a deck, great. If not, search for Rider-Waite-Smith images online. Pick one card that connects with your mood today. Spend five minutes describing it on paper: colours, weather, faces and objects. Then write one sentence that starts with "Because of this, I will" and finish it with a small action.

Now do a one-card draw for a question with a seven-day span: What can I focus on at work this week? Pull a card, describe it and choose one action. At the end of the week, write two lines about what happened. Reviewing the exercise helps you learn how your associations work. If you want a short piece on intuition and how to notice it without forcing it, have a look here: Following Your Psychic Spark: The Role of Intuition in Tarot.

Tarot is great at surfacing patterns, stress points, and chances you have not considered yet. It is clear on short time frames and concrete choices. It is weaker on long-range forecasts with many moving parts. When I read on money, I ask for a time frame and a focus, like cash flow this quarter or pricing this offer. That lets the cards speak to levers you can pull. If that topic is on your mind, this piece might help: Money Tarot Readings - Yes, they work. And this is how!.

When a reading touches health, law, or mental health, I point people to a licensed pro. Cards can point to stress, rest, and support. They cannot replace medical care or legal advice. Use tarot as a thinking partner that helps you act with more care.

If you are buying your first deck, pick one with clear scenes on all cards. Rider-Waite-Smith or a close relative can help because many books and guides use its imagery. If a Marseille-style deck interests you, use it and study its number and suit patterns while you learn. Hold the cards in your hand if you can, and choose artwork that makes it easy for you to describe what you see.

Use a simple spread while you learn. Three cards are enough. Keep your questions specific. Add a fourth card only when the three-card method feels comfortable. I have a short page on how a written reading works if you are curious about my process.

Remembering that tarot was a trick-taking game changes the tone of a reading. A trump was not automatically a moral judgement; it had a function in play. The Fool was not simply a warning about foolishness; it had a special role. Suits were not floating mystical categories; they were part of a playable card system. This does not cancel later meanings. It gives you permission to ask what a card is doing in the situation rather than treating its name as a verdict.

Try this with a three-card spread. For each card, ask: what role is this card playing here, what does it outrank or interrupt, and what changes if it is read as a process rather than an event? A Five of Swords might prompt a question about the cost of winning an argument, while a Six of Swords might prompt a question about transition and what must be carried. Those questions are not claims about the fifteenth-century rules or guaranteed meanings; they are modern ways to use the deck's structure.

The game history also helps with reversals. An upside-down card is a modern reading choice, not a universal rule in every historical deck. You can read a reversal as blocked energy, an inward expression, delay or a different emphasis, but you can also keep all cards upright and use the position in the spread to supply nuance. Choose one approach for a month, note what it helps you see, and change it deliberately rather than because a scary card appeared.

Your final note after a reading should contain three things: the image you observed, the interpretation you are testing, and the action or conversation you choose. That format honours the deck's visual history while keeping the future open. The cards can organise attention; they cannot remove uncertainty or make a decision on your behalf.

The historical claims in this guide are checked against two museum sources: the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Before Fortune-Telling: The History and Structure of Tarot Cards, which discusses the fifteenth-century Italian game, suits, trumps and the later occult association, and the Victoria and Albert Museum's A history of tarot cards, which covers Italian origins, later divination, Etteilla, Egyptian-origin claims and the 1909 Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Their descriptions support the chronology and distinctions made here; they do not establish that tarot predicts the future. When a source describes a later belief, that is evidence that people held the belief, not evidence that the belief's supernatural explanation is true. The museum pages also help you compare objects and deck families without assuming that one modern guidebook represents every historical card. They are especially useful for checking dates and material evidence when an attractive online origin story makes a much older claim. If you research another deck, record its museum or library catalogue, approximate date, maker and region before repeating an origin claim. That small habit keeps a colourful story from becoming an unsupported fact. It also gives you a way to correct your notes when a museum updates a catalogue or when a later scholarly interpretation changes the context.

The card meanings and exercises are modern interpretive practice. They are deliberately labelled as possibilities, personal associations or traditional symbolism rather than historical facts. Tarot can be used for play, art appreciation, spiritual practice or structured reflection. Whichever use you choose, keep direct evidence, consent and qualified professional advice in charge of decisions with serious consequences. If you quote a historical claim elsewhere, link to the catalogue or museum page so readers can inspect the same evidence and distinguish an object description from a later interpretation. Historical curiosity is strongest when the reader can follow the trail rather than accept a confident summary.

For a reliable beginner habit, keep a note of the source, the image you saw, the interpretation you tested and the practical choice you made. This records learning rather than certainty and leaves room for the next reading to teach you something new.

Tarot began as an Italian card game with trump cards depicting public life and church themes. French writers and readers added occult interpretations in the 18th century and taught spreads and meanings. In 1909, Pamela Colman Smith's art turned the Minor Arcana into scenes that beginners could interpret more easily. That is the deck family many readers use today.

If you want to see how a small spread can help you examine one choice, book a 3-Card Tarot Reading ($79). If you prefer to browse other options, my menu is here: all of Kate's readings.