The Reformation: Queen of Tarot

The Reformation

The reformation saw the beginning of printing, which came hand in hand with playing cards. Moreover, in Germany many playing cards were a direct reflection of the ideals of the Reformation. Even German suit marks harken back to early Christian ideals.

It was during the same era that manuals for cartomancy, or fortune telling by cards, started to appear, starting with Marcolini's Le Sorti. Sortilege with cards was strictly forbidden by the church, which helps us to know that it was happening.

Image Gallery

Card Painter, 1568

Lanzenknecht

Two Women Playing Cards in the Kitchen.

Duke and Duchess of Bavaria.

Engraver, 1568.

Madame Le Normand

Tags: france, occultists, cartomancy, fortune telling

Excerpt from E. S. Taylor's "The history of playing cards, with anecdotes of their use in conjuring, fortune-telling, and card-sharping":

The stormy period of the first Consulship of Napoleon and that of the Empire which followed it, was especially characterized by cartomantic practices in France. At this time, there lived in Paris a famous woman, whose renown as a prophetess will probably not soon pass away. This person was Mlle. Lenormand, whose influence with the empress Josephine, and even Napoleon himself, was said to be considerable.

Printing on Paper

Tags: paper, history, printing

660-670, China: First example of printing on paper. Early xylography was accomplished with hemp paper and woodblocks.

The Game of Leaves

Tags: chinese, dice, china, history, 0827, asian

The game was often referred to as "gold speckled leaves", which does make it sound quite a lot like early gold-leaf Tarot cards. Many scholars will tell you that playing cards were invented in 827 because they have conflated these two games. If there is any relationship between these games, which I doubt, it is this:

Éliphas Lévi

Tags: france, occultists, kabbala, cartomancy

Alphonse Louis Constant (a.k.a. Éliphas Lévi Zahed) was a famous French occultist and kabbalist who revolutionized the field of cartomancy. Had it not been for Lévi, the theories of Court de Gebelin might never have become popular.

Etteilla

Tags: france, occultists, divination, cartomancy

Jean Baptiste Alliette (a.k.a. Etteilla) was an influential French occultist who helped establish the occult nature of the Tarot. Had it not been for Etteilla, the theories of Court de Gebelin might never have become popular. It was Alliette who made divination with the Tarot popular.

Gamblers caught printing cards in China

Tags: chinese, china, playing cards, asian, 1294, history

On the twenty-third day of the sixth month in the thirty-first year of the zhiyuan period (17 July 1294), we caught Yan Sengzhu and Zheng Zhugou playing cards, and have also found wood blocks to print cards. Each person has admitted to the truth of the accusation. We have, according to the rules, passed judgement and punished correctly the organizer Lu Donger, accessory to gambling Zheng Zhugou, the owner of the premises Jiang Sier, and the block printer Ye Lin, and dispatched to the Ever-abundant Treasury for deposit the nine cards (zhipai) that were about to be destroyed, and...

St. Gallen ordinance ignores cards

Tags: 1364, games, 14th century, history, early references

1364, St. Gallen, Switzerland. A local ordinance forbids dice, allows board games, and leaves the subject of cards untouched. This is often cited as the date before which cards could not have been known in Europe.

Dominican friar describes cards

Tags: early references, 14th century, history, 1377

1377, Basel, Switzerland. A Dominican friar by the name of John describes various types of playing cards in detail.

St. Gallen ordinance forbids cards

Tags: 14th century, early references, history, 1379, games

We know playing cards entered Europe in the 1370s because there are no references before this time, and suddenly they start appearing across the continent. In St. Gallen, an ordinance made in 1379 forbade the use of playing cards.