Mystical Angels

What are some good books or websites about the history of tarot cards?

I love using them, but I realized I have no idea how they came about or how the cards were named and I'm curious. I am a firm believer in understanding what you use to use it better, so any help would be great!

Public Comments

1. don't waste your time
2. its a cult belief....KINGDOM OF THE CULTS BY MARTIN HAS all the cults...choose JESUS
3. There are several good books regarding this -- Michael Dummett has two of them. "The History of Occult Tarot" traces the beginnings of Tarot to do readings; "The Game of Tarot" follows the origins of the game originally played with Tarot cards. Note that this last book is nearly impossible to find and can cost hundreds of dollars if you do find one. I often see the first one in used bookstores and clearance tables at very reasonable prices. Stuart Kaplan has a series of "Encyclopedias" of Tarot decks as well as good information on origins. You can find these at regular book sources.
4. Historians believe that playing cards first arrived in Europe from the Middle East in the late 14th century. However, according to historian Tom Tadfor Little, the first known record of tarot cards is a 15th century letter from the Duke of Milan requesting several decks of cards for “triumph,” a game similar to bridge. Triumph included four suits of cards numbered one through ten; court cards including a king, a queen, a knight and a page; and a series of 22 picture cards that functioned as permanent trump cards. The game was popular throughout Europe. In Italy it was known as tarocchi while in France it became known as tarot. You can see the rest of the article at http://www.tarot-house.com/historyoftarotcards.html
5. There are some excellent books on the subject, though they are not always easy to get hold of. The best and broadest account of the cards' history is this one: The Game of Tarot by Michael Dummett with the assistance of Sylvia Mann Duckworth 1980 ISBN 0 7156 10147 However, it is very hard to obtain if you want to buy it. You're best chance of reading a copy is to ask your local library. There is a two volume set of books that give a very detailed account of how Tarot cards became associated with the occult and its development by occultists from the late 18th century through to the 1970s: A Wicked Pack of Cards By Ronald Decker, Thierry Depaulis & Michael Dummett St Martin’s Press 1996 ISBN 0 312 16294 4 A History of the Occult Tarot 1870-1970 By Ronald Decker and Michael Dummett Duckworth 2002 ISBN 0 7156 3122 5 If the games of tarot are of interest to you, then this two volume set traces their development throughout Europe from the very earliest accounts of the games to the present day. It is a massive work and sadly a bit costly - but your library may be able to get them for you: A History of Games played with the Tarot Pack Volumes One & Two By Michael Dummett and John McLeod Edwin Mellen Press 2004 Volume One ISBN 0 7734 6447 6 Volume Two ISBN 0 7734 6449 2 Supplement from Maproom Publications 2009 ISBN 978 0 9562370 0 2 For the internet, there are a number of good sites, though as I write this, the wiki page is providing a rather good account just now: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot There are some excellent sites by serious researchers into the history: http://www.trionfi.com/ http://forum.tarothistory.com/ http://pre-gebelin.blogspot.com/ http://ludustriumphorum.blogspot.com/