Did you know . . .

. . . that in 1701, 80 years before the lie originated that "the tarot came from Egypt"—or had ANY connection or it at all—there were so many variations of card designs in France that they actually had to pass a law "standardizing" what images were to be allowed on tarot cards?


The tarot has always been a trump-game, and at times so popular, with so many artists and card makers trying to place their own version of it in the forefront of popular society that there were literally hundreds of different images. Large variations, small variations . . . all based on the whim and whimsy of the card manufacturer's in-house artist(s). The government had to step in and say, "enough is enough!" The tarot we have today is in large part based on the Tarot de Marseille, but even that was a deck that was manufactured in several parts of Europe and may have had its own variations due to local artist influence, skill, and design preferences of the region. 


Think about this the next time someone tries to con you into believing that the images on the tarot are anything other than government/mega-church influenced images. The "spiritual symbolism" and "journey of the fool" is a nice bedtime story but it is less true mystery school doctrine than it is wishful thinking mixed with government/religious propaganda of the 18th century. 


Oh, believe what you will, but here is some nice proof of my assertions in brief. (http://i-p-c-s.org)  A little valid research will prove even more. I don't say these things to be a curmudgeon (I am still a bit young to be one of those anyway, but I like the term). I do decry bullshit though, especially that which authors attempt to make vast amounts of money on. History will prove them fools and charlatans (and how out of date is THAT word?) but for now as long as they can pay their rents selling snake oil I suppose there will be people who believe anything.


Learn the tarot. Read the tarot. Develop your skills, but please; don't buy into the hype-machine that the tarot is anything more than it is: a fun game that over time has become a fun divination tool. One of many to be certain, but a rather good one given how many minds have gone into making it so. And always remember, no matter where the tarot came from what matters more than any thing else is that it works for you. Better to spend your time practicing with it to develop your psychic abilities (which we all have, but in slightly different strengths ;-) than to spend too much time trying to make it any more mystical than it is. It is only a deck of cards after all.