Tarot

By the 19th century, the Tarot came to be regarded as a »bible of bibles«, an esoteric repository of all the significant truths of creation.

The trend was started by prominent freemason and Protestant cleric Antoine Court de Gébelin who suggested that the Tarot had an ancient Egyptian origin, and mystic divine and kabbalastic significance. A contemporary of his, the Comte de Mellet, added to Court de Gébelin's claims by suggesting that the Tarot was associated with Gypsies and was in fact the imprinted book of Hermes Trismegistus.

The MajorArcana are the 22 trump cards of the 78-card deck of tarot cards.

Number 0  – The Fool
Number 1  – The Magician
Number 2  – The High Priestess
Number 3  – The Empress
Number 4  – The Emperor
Number 5  – The Hierophant
Number 6  – The Lovers
Number 7  – The Chariot
Number 8  – Justice or Strength
Number 9  – The Hermit
Number 10 – Wheel of Fortune
Number 11 – Strength or Justice
Number 12 – The Hanged Man
Number 13 – Death
Number 14 – Temperance
Number 15 – The Devil
Number 16 – The Tower
Number 17 – The Star
Number 18 – The Moon
Number 19 – The Sun
Number 20 – Judgement
Number 21 – The World

Like common playing cards, the tarot has four suits. Each suit has 14 cards, ten pip cards numbering from one (or Ace) to ten and four face cards (King, Queen, Knight, and Knave). In addition, the tarot has a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as the Fool. Depending on the game, the Fool may act as the top trump or may be played to avoid following suit.

These tarot cards, without occult symbology, are still used throughout much of Europe to play card games.

The classic Rider-Waite Tarot is the best known Tarot deck. The vibrant cards, featuring full scenes with figures and symbols, were drawn in 1909 by Pamela Colman Smith under direction of Arthur Edward Waite.