Mysteriously enough, no one knows exactly where Tarot originated or how it was developed. There are several theories based on all the evidence found, however.
Antoine Court de Gebelin wrote "Le Monde Primitif" in 1781. In his book, he said that Tarot was the Book of Thoth - Thoth being the Egyptian god of wisdom, occult knowledge, and the arts and sciences. Egyptian culture attributed Thoth with the invention of numbers and sacred writings. The Book of Thoth was written in hieroglyphics and is said to contain great wisdom and knowledge.
Another theory says the card originated in Fez, Morocco right after the ruin of Alexandria. Since it was the intellectual center of the world at that time, sages from all over the world gathered there. They spoke different languages, however, and communication was difficult. A group of them invented a series of symbols and pictures (the Tarot) to overcome the communication problem. The symbols were carefully designed to be universal to all humans and cultures, and anyone who leaned how to interpret them could "read" and "write" to others using the symbols.
Some think the cards developed in India, since the symbols of the Hindu god Ardhanari match the Tarot symbols. Hanumanm the monkey god, and Vishnu, the god of preservation, also mesh closely with Tarot symbolism. Of course, the Tarot is universally symbolized in many ways, and it seems to match many cultures.
Tarot bears very close resemblence to Torah, the Hebrew system of organizing all knowledge and experience. The two are so similar that many scholars think that Tarot was developed from the Torah.
There is also a theory that states prehistoric man began developing Tarot when he invented a group of pictures and symbols to track nature's cycles. Not just a seasonal calander, more like notes on how nature works.
Gypsies - a word that some say is derived from "Egyptians" - were not the only group to tote and use Tarot all over the world. We can piece together many places and times when Tarot cards are mentioned in history. The Greeks referred to Thoth as Hermes Trismegitus and called his sacred works Heretic. Writings refer to the cards being brought to Europe as early as the seventh century. The late 1300's saw many groups migrating into Europe as a result of wars in Asia, and it is said that these migrants brought divination cards with them.
Our modern day playing cards (hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds) are a decendant of Tarot, and there are many references to card games in history. In 1377, a German monk named Johannes descibed a game called "Ludas Cartarum", which used cards. Charles VI of France decreed various forms of gambling illegal in 1369, but he didn't specify cards. Twenty-eight years later in Paris, an law made it illegal for any working person to play tennis, ball, *cards*, or ninepins - except on holidays. So we know that cards became known in France during this time. Tarot was also very popular in france in the sixteenth century.
Clearly, Tarot has been around for a long time. Most believe that the pictures and symbols in the Tarot have been kept in very pure forms. Many variations of the pictures exist, but the meanings and structure of the deck has remained strongly intact.
Today, Tarot is experiencing another wave of popularity. Any set of symbols that retains wisdom and meaning throughout centuries and in every culture must have some very deep common threads to all of us.
