What is tarot?

Tarot cards first appeared in Italy in the15th century and were very popular in the western world. They can be used not only for playing cards, but also for divination and psychotherapy. There are 78 tarot cards in a complete deck.

The mystery of tarot origin

Tarot cards have a long history, during which they were regarded as pagan mysterious magic and devil's prophecy by the European Holy See. They were banned for hundreds of years, and many historical documents about tarot cards were destroyed. Where did Tarot cards originate? Who invented it? Many scholars who study tarot cards have different views on this.

The mysterious tarot card is an ancient divination tool, and its origin is a mystery. All kinds of mysterious legends, historical stories, conjectures and inferences, and even the subjective assumptions of catching shadows are mixed among them, which makes people who try to solve this puzzle feel constantly cut and confused.

Among many theories on the origin of tarot cards, the following six theories are the most famous, with corresponding basis and many supporters. Let's see:

Italian theory is based on the fact that Tarot cards are related to a poker game "tarocco".

The basis of gypsy theory is that only gypsies can truly understand the meaning expressed by tarot cards;

The basis of Egyptian theory is that there are a lot of legends related to ancient Egyptian civilization in tarot cards;

China's theory is based on a card game "Ye Zi Xi" which was once popular in the court of the Tang Dynasty.

Indian theory is based on some things appearing in tarot cards that are similar to the instruments of Indian gods;

Judaism is based on tarot cards, which are an extension of the 22 letters of Hebrew.

Many theories have some truth, but they all lack conclusive evidence. We will introduce the above six most famous theories on the origin of tarot cards, hoping that friends can get their own answers.

Italian theory on the origin of tarot cards

According to historians' research, as early as14th century, some aristocrats in European countries began to play tarot cards. The earliest known tarot cards appeared in Italy at the end of 14 and the beginning of 15. This kind of tarot card originated in Italy and is of course taken for granted by many people.

/kloc-In the 4th century, a poker game "tarocco" was once popular in Italy, which was very similar to the pronunciation of Tarot cards. Moreover, there are twenty-two cards in the Tarot Card, which is consistent with the number of twenty-two Akana cards in the Tarot Card. At the same time, the meanings of love, victory, death, reputation, fate and future praised in Italian poetry are similar to those of tarot cards. Therefore, the idea that Tarot originated in Italy has been endorsed and supported by many people.

But whether the "tarot card" is the current tarot card or not, no one can say clearly. Because the Vatican forbids tarot cards, especially in China, many important written materials were destroyed in the raging fire ignited by the Vatican.

Many scholars who study tarot cards also say that the evidence can only show that tarot cards once appeared in Europe, but can't prove that they don't believe that tarot cards originated in Italy.

Gypsy theory on the origin of tarot cards

Many scholars who study tarot cards think that tarot cards probably originated from wandering gypsies. Because as long as there are gypsies, there are tarot cards, and they are the people who can understand its profound meaning best.

Gypsies make a living by divination, and tarot cards are one of their divination methods. During the most powerful period of the Vatican, it was the protection of gypsies that made tarot cards spread to this day. For a long time, only gypsies can understand tarot cards, and many tarot cards are based on gypsies' explanations. At the same time, gypsies also developed the divination method of tarot cards, which seems to provide important evidence that tarot cards originated from gypsies.

At the same time, some scholars have pointed out that Gypsies are nomadic people who wander around and are unlikely to develop a very systematic philosophy of tarot cards. Their knowledge of tarot cards was learned from other civilizations.

Egyptian Tarot Origin Theory

Many scholars believe that tarot cards originated in Egypt. After all, tarot cards are named after "tar" and "ro" in Egyptian, so the theory that tarot cards originated in Egypt has a high support rate at present.

Some people think that after the destruction of Alexandria, Egypt, the Moroccan city of Fez became a new world-class academic center, where scholars from all over the world gathered, but the ancient Egyptians who used hieroglyphs and the Europeans who used Pinyin could not communicate smoothly. So the clever ancient Egyptians turned words and languages into pictures and became tools for academic communication. During the break, everyone used these pictures as tools for games, and then they evolved into tarot cards. Perhaps this statement is hard to convince, but it is an indisputable fact that many symbolic patterns in tarot cards come from Egypt.

However, archaeologists pointed out that there are no records of tarot cards in many ancient Egyptian documents found at present, which makes many supporters of tarot cards originating in Egypt feel very helpless.

China Theory on the Origin of Tarot Cards

Tarot cards originated in China? Are you kidding? Of course not. Many scholars support this theory. Because paper is one of China's four great inventions, the earliest cards were also invented by China people.

Archaeologists found the picture of the card game in the paintings of the Tang Dynasty, and the preserved historical documents recorded that there was a card game called "Ye Zi Xi" in the ancient court of China. Many scholars believe that "Ye Zi Opera" must have its special cultural background. Otherwise, simple entertainment games can't be developed and popularized in China court, which attaches great importance to cultural etiquette. Moreover, the philosophy of tarot cards is very similar to the simple argument method in ancient China, and the positive and negative positions of tarot cards are very similar to "fortunes depend on each other".

Some experts also pointed out that there is no evidence that tarot cards originated in China, but what other theories about the origin of tarot cards are not lack of conclusive evidence?

Indian theory on the origin of tarot cards

Tarot cards originated in ancient India, mainly based on small Akana cards. The sword, star coin, scepter and holy grail in the card are very similar to those held by Indian gods. Some symbolic things in tarot cards are very similar to the meanings of instruments in Indian religion.

This statement lacks theoretical basis, which means "the blind touch the elephant", but many supporters have become a member of the dispute over the origin of tarot cards.

Jewish theory on the origin of tarot cards

After research, experts found that the 22 big Akana cards of Tarot cards are closely related to the 22 letters of Hebrew and the ancient Hebrew philosophy Kabbalah.

It is said that Kabbalah is the knowledge that God taught Moses about improving spiritual strength, emphasizing the cooperation between people. Moses created Hebrew and the meaning of each letter according to God's revelation. Tarot cards are the development and continuation of Hebrew letters. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence to support this argument, which is especially important compared with other inferences, so now more and more people believe that tarot cards come from Jews.

Although supported by circumstantial evidence, like many sources' conjectures, Jewish theory has no conclusive evidence to prove its correctness or overturn other inferences.