History of tarot: from card game to reading tool
Tarot began as a card game; the symbolic reading use was added later, in a history that is partly debated.
By Thomas Guilhot · updated
History of tarot at a glance
Tarot begins as a game, and its symbolic reading use is added later to a history that is largely debated.
By Thomas Guilhot · updated
History of tarot, in practice
First step
In the 15th century, in northern Italy, the first games with “triumphs” were used for playing, not for reading the future.
Second step
Over time, the images of these games were reread as symbols and became a support for reflection, then for readings.
Third step
Today, several reading traditions coexist; their antiquity is often debated, and each is read as a point of view, not a truth.
What you need to know
A game before a tool
The first triumph games were used for playing: suit cards accompanied by a series of strong images, the triumphs, which beat the others. Nothing in these beginnings speaks of reading the future. The exact origin of these images, of their order and of their selection remains debated, and it is better to say so than to fill the void with attractive stories.
Images reread as symbols
Over time, the images were reread as symbols, then used to reflect, to ask oneself questions, to draw cards. Many readers see in them a language of images rather than a secret code. Several accounts circulate about this passage from game to reading; their antiquity and reliability are often debated, and Versana does not present them as facts.
Traditions, not certainties
Today there coexist decks with varied designs, among them the Tarot de Marseille, which Versana takes as the reference for its images. The meanings attached to them are reading traditions, inherited and then reinterpreted: they invite you to observe, compare, and question, without guaranteeing anything. Knowing this history helps keep a reading free, curious, and at a good distance from any promise.
Frequently asked questions: History of tarot
History of tarot: what matters most?
Tarot began as a card game with triumphs. Its symbolic reading use came afterward, and its precise origins remain partly debated. Keeping this in mind is enough to approach the cards without forced mystery: they are images to interpret.
Is it a rule or a tradition?
The earliest uses as a game are recognized; what belongs to symbolic reading, to ancient lineages, and to precise origins is tradition or hypothesis, and remains debated. Versana therefore distinguishes what is known from what is told.
How do you apply it in a reading?
In a reading, this reminder invites flexibility: the cards are supports for reflection, not oracles. Read the images, note what they evoke in you, and treat the traditional meanings as leads that you can accept, nuance, or leave aside.
To go further
- Reversed cardsWhether to read reversed cards: the four readings of a reversal, one card read four ways, and what to do with a card that comes up upside down.
- How to draw the cardsShuffle, cut, choose, lay out: the steps of a tarot reading, and what each layout lets you look at.
- Reading a cardRead a card from its image, its number, and its position in the spread, without a memorized dictionary of meanings.
- Elements and suitsWands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles: the four suits, their elements according to tradition, and how they answer each other.