The Origins of Tarot: From Playing Cards to Portal of the Soul

When most people think of Tarot, they imagine velvet cloths, crystal balls, and mysterious readers whispering of fate ( and yes, I also romanticized taort like this in my early teens!). But Tarot didn’t start in a candlelit séance or a fortune teller’s tent.

Its origins are far more unexpected and far more fascinating.

Let’s take a journey back through time to meet Tarot as it truly began.

A Game Before It Was a Gateway

Tarot didn’t start as a mystical tool. It began as a game.

The 1JJ Swiss Tarot, a Marseilles Tarot from 1974

In 15th-century Europe, particularly in Italy, Tarot was known as carte da trionfi (cards of triumph) or tarocchi, and it was used to play a game similar to modern bridge.

Wealthy families commissioned hand-painted decks that were beautifully ornate, often featuring allegorical figures inspired by Christian virtues, Roman mythology, and Renaissance culture. This style is still seen within the modern Marseilles tarot system. The Major cards ( Trumps) are fully illustrated with scenes and the rest of the deck are pip cards as we see in a modernplaying card deck.

These early decks weren’t designed for divination at all. They were artistic, symbolic, and layered with cultural meaning and they certainly weren’t “psychic.”

The Shift: From Playing Cards to the Esoteric

The Servants of the Light Tarot, a Kabbalistic based deck

It wasn’t until the 18th century that Tarot became linked with the occult. French mystics like Antoine Court de Gébelin claimed that the Tarot held hidden knowledge from ancient Egypt. (Spoiler alert: it didn’t but the idea stuck.)

Occultists like Éliphas Lévi and Papus layered the Tarot with Kabbalistic, astrological and numerological systems, transforming it from a card game into a symbolic map of the cosmos.

From there, the Tarot grew into what many of us recognize today: a deeply mystical tool for insight, transformation, and self-inquiry.

The Birth of the Modern Deck

The Centenial Edition of the Original Rider-Waite deck renamed to honour Pamela Colman Smith

In 1909, something pivotal happened. The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck was born.

Commissioned by mystic A.E. Waite and illustrated by artist and occultist Pamela Colman Smith (whose contributions were long overlooked), this deck changed everything.

For the first time, every card, not just the Majors, had full symbolic illustrations. This opened up Tarot to intuitive readers who could connect with imagery, not just memorize meanings.

Most of the decks you see today are descendants of the Rider-Waite-Smith system.

So… What Is Tarot, Really?

Tarot is a language. A mirror. A container for story, archetype, and energetic truth.

It’s not a dusty relic or a fortune-teller’s gimmick. Tarot is a living, evolving tool that speaks to the psyche and the soul.

Its roots may be in play but its branches reach into some of the deepest corners of human experience.

Whether you’re new to the Tarot or have been reading for years, remembering its history grounds you in its lineage and reminds you that every shuffle, every spread, is part of a much longer conversation.

✨ Ready to start your own Tarot journey?Book a reading with me, or explore my course offerings to deepen your path with the cards.