European Folk Art History
A Fascinating History of Tarot and Tarot Reading
Most of what I’m going to lecture from come from Cynthia Giles’ book: The Tarot, History, Mystery and Lore and some other resources.
The origins of the Tarot have been attributed a wide range of wacky sources paleolithic cave paintings, gypsy folk lore, Moroccan mystics and even gifts from space aliens to Egyptian priests!. Most of these stories are, of course, speculation of the wildest, most ridiculous kind, and only serve to muddy the waters when it comes to understanding the Tarot. If you’re going to use the cards, it’s important to understand where they come from so that you know their rich history, their potential and their value and not put faith in silly urban legends.
Tarot on parade
The first mention of the cards was in Italy in the 14th century, called “Tarocco” and used for games and already, authorities were lecturing against its use. The first known deck was made for the Vicsconzi-Sforza family of Milan, designed by the artist Bembo. According to Tarot expert Gertrude Moakley, the various characters illustrated in the major arcana represented the triomfi, or parade, that accompanied Italian celebrations.
Historians believe that there may have been other cards that existed to represent other characters but have disappeared over time. Few decks of Tarot cards exist for those early days, but there’s enough similarity in artwork to make it clear that the deck was in common use in that time. Some historians believe that the Tarot was originally only used as a gaming deck to play a game called tarocchi until occultists began using them for divination.
Taking Europe by storm
The next big milestone in Tarot’s history came in the late 1700′s when Court de Gebelen, a member of a secret society of occultists, came across the a game of tarocchi and became obsessed with the cards. He believed them to be imbued with important symbolism which he attributed to ancient Egyptian lore. De Geblen wrote a nine-volume treatise titled “Le Monde Primitif” in which he discussed the meanings of the Tarot. That he attributed the Tarot’s symbolism to the Egyptian’s was based less on any real fact than on the fascination that Europeans had with Egypt at that time, believing it to be the center of all of man’s early wisdom. Use of the cards for divination spread during that time, with a book by a man named Etteilla in 1783, in which he offered his interpretations of the cards. In fact, professional mystics began using the Tarot throughout Europe, although there was no consensus of what the cards actually meant.
The mystical background of the Tarot
Card readings have long been associated with Gypsies, although they certainly weren’t responsible for their creation. For hundreds of years, Gypsies made their way across the world, living by their wits and earning a living by any skills that they could market. Gypsies were exotic, feared and looked down on, but there was an aura of romance about them that caught the imagination of Europeans in the 1800′s. A book was published towards the end of the century called “The Tarot of the Bohemians,” attributing the Tarot to the Gypsies (who Europeans commonly believed came from Egypt). Interestingly, Gypsies used regular playing cards for divination not the Tarot.
In the 19th century, the famed mystic Eliphas Levi Zahed (whose real name was Alphonse Louis Constant) connected the Taror with Hebrew mysticism the Kabbalah. He saw the Tarot as a key to life, a tool that man can use to develop himself as a human being, as a way to grow so that he might find heaven. His work outlined 22 connections to the tarot major arcana, making it a tool to be used on the path to enlightenment.
The modern Tarot deck was most influenced by the cards used in the late 1800′s by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The order was founded in England by three men who, according to lore, found an old secret manuscript written in code, deciphered it as the by-laws of a secret German society, and received permission to start their own group in England. Years later, the woman who gave them permission died, and the German members disavowed the British branch, saying they never got permission after all.
The modern Tarot is born
Despite its contentious beginnings, the Golden Dawn became a very influential group, with two members in particular doing a great deal to spread the popularity of occultism Aleister Crowley and Arthur Edward Waite. Crowley, a protégé of the Golden Dawn founders in England, created a Tarot called the Book of Thoth. Waite created the Tarot deck that’s most familiar to modern users. Working with an American artist named Pamela Coleman Smith, Waite used a storytelling theme, utilizing characters from myth, legend and religion, allocating a group of symbols to each card that gives them unique meaning. His Tarot formed the foundation on which most decks that followed were based.
The next milestone in the Tarot’s history came in the 1920′s, when a Golden Dawn member named Paul Foster Case started a group in Los Angeles called Builders of the Adytum (BOTA). The BOTA deck is in black and white, created so that the owner could color the drawings themselves (it was a tradition in the Golden Dawn that each member had to make their own deck as part of their training). The group offers Tarot training to this day, although their interpretations of the cards are disputed by many divination experts.
Today, there are countless versions of the Crowley/Waite Tarot available, some with magnificent artwork, others less impressive. Whatever your choice of deck, using the Tarot as a divination tool is a personal experience, one that’s origins reach far back in history. Hopefully, knowing the background of this ancient art will enhance your connection to the cards, and to your own readings.
Swedish Folk Art European Antiques Sweden
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The Van Rensselear Children Portrait 1840 antique oil painting ! Folk art $24,900.00 |
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Antique Pair of Iconic American Folk Art Carved Pine Wood Eagle Sculpture – RARE $20,000.00 |
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Metal Art Sculpture Sculptor for Hire Travel Design fabricate install folk art ! $20,000.00 |
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Mamie Falk Folk Art Oil Painting – Considered Minnesota’s “Grandma Moses” $19,750.00 |
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Yuri Gorbachev ORIGINAL Landscape Oil painting Folk Art $17,500.00 |
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Original Oil On Canvas Painting by Minni Hines Bayou Scene Folk Art 24×48 $9,995.00 |
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Folk Art wood statue of Grover Cleveland 1894 $9,500.00 |
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Antique Ship Captain Folk Art Carved Coconut Chalice $8,500.00 |
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Banjo Boy/ Pre-Civil War Folk Art on Linen $6,000.00 |
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LARGE Antique Americana Folk Art Painting of Boy -Civil War Col. Orlando H Moore $5,999.99 |
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Yuri Gorbachev Original Oil Painting Russian Art Folk $5,990.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab—Avalokitesvara $5,590.00 |
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AMERICAN FOLK ART PUPPET THEATRE QUEENS,NY $5,000.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting Cotton Pickin’ c1977 20×26.25 $5,000.00 |
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vincent van gogh sculpture outsider folk art Dale Teachout assemblage junk $5,000.00 |
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PAIR OF 19TH C FOLK ART PORTRAITS PAINTINGS SIGNED P MARTIN 1886 HUSBAND & WIFE $4,999.99 |
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Corbels Pair Wood Winged Griffins Victorian Old Paint Architectural Folk Art $4,500.00 |
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Exceptional Folk Art Painting $4,500.00 |
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Johnnie Swearingen! Great Folk Art!!! Peddling Melons $4,500.00 |
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New England Folk Art Portrait on Canvas Ca.1830 $4,500.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting Wash Day c1977 19.25 x 23.25in $4,500.00 |
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A Outstanding Early Trade Axe,Folk Art Hatchet, $4,500.00 |
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Yuri Gorbachev Original Oil Painting Russian Art Folk $4,490.00 |
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FANTASTIC FOLK ART CHEST $4,200.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting African Headdress c1977 25.5h $4,000.00 |
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ANTIQUE MINIATURE PRIMITIVE FOLK ART WOOD RURAL SCENE FRAMED 12 1/4″ UNIQUE $3,885.00 |
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*RARE TRAMP / FOLK ART Shoe Shine Box – Brass/Wood-Detailed-Ornate-Exquisite $3,800.00 |
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Antique KNOTTY Tree Root Twig FOLK ART CHAIR Set GOODY KOONCH West Virginia $3,750.00 |
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Original Mexican Folk Art Icons Retablo:18-19th century $3,650.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone-an old man finshing alone $3,590.00 |
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Unique/Exceptional Large Oval Folk Art Santa Claus Wood Carving signed Cobb 98 $3,500.00 |
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Painting Vintage 50s Cowboy Folk Art Levis Jeans Vinicur Little Buckaroo Parade $3,500.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab—Lofty aspiration $3,490.00 |
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Terrazzo Marble Micro Mosaic Latin Ethnic Musicians Mural Folk Fine Art $3,374.99 |
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Original Mexican Folk Art Icons Retablo:18-19th century $3,250.00 |
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FINE 19c EARLY FOLK ART PORTRAIT PAINTING $3,225.00 |
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MASTERPIECE FOLK ART PORTRAIT BY SHELDON PECK, 1797-1868 $3,000.00 |
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mud painting signed jimmy sudduth a real folk art outsider master piece $3,000.00 |
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fine Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab scenery $2,890.00 |
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Anonymous Folk Art Carving Figure with Crown in Skirt with Snake $2,799.99 |
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ANTIQUE OIL PAINTING FOLK ART NEW ENGLAND ‘HUGES’ 1892 $2,750.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab with dragon $2,690.00 |
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FOLK ART Antique Wood Polychrome Carved Asian Figure Sculpture $2,500.00 |
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HUGE 37″ Antique 19th American Folk Art Carved Gilt Wood Eagle Statue Americana $2,500.00 |
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Antique Primitive Folk Art Hand Carved Wooden Dough Bowl $2,500.00 |
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Ca. 1820 American Folk Art Painting Deformed Man $2,450.00 |
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James Harold Jennings Amazing and Colorful Folk Art! $2,400.00 |
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Doris Lee – Folk Art Painting – Signed and Titled – Original Condition $2,400.00 |
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DC: Prison Folk Art Matchstick Ship, HUGE 5′ Length $2,379.00 |
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Amazing ORIGINAL NAUTICAL AMERICAN FOLK ART PAINTING $2,285.00 |
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Early 20th Century Folk Art Sheep Painting/ Inside Barn $2,250.00 |
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FOLK ART COLLAGE/Presidential Stamp Collage $2,250.00 |
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Folk Art Handmade Ceramic Sculpture Plaque Dentist Pulling Tooth Dicker Vintage $2,200.00 |
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ANTIQUE Americana TRADE SIGN IMMIGRATION FOLK ART NYC ICE CREAM PUSH CART $2,200.00 |
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Ohio Pioneer Abraham Betz 1818 HANDWRITTEN LESSON BOOK with FOLK ART $2,150.00 |
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HAITIAN ART: Vibrant PAINTING, SIGNED by Renowned Folk Artist TOUSSAINT AUGUSTE $2,150.00 |
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Philippines National Artist Abdul Imao Brass Sculpture w/ Base Mindanao Folk Art $2,100.00 |
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Ellen Eilers Calico Country Folk Art Woodcut Ornamental Trees Rare Early Work $2,000.00 |
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ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD BALEEN CARVED SPERM WHALE GROTESQUE AMERICANA WOW $1,999.99 |
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AMERICAN FOLK ART GAMEBOARD TABLE WITH SWASTIKAS $1,999.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone peasant work on his land $1,999.00 |
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LAURA SIQUEIROS “POSEIDONS ADVENTURE” FOLK ART PAINTING $1,999.00 |
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Old Folk Art Cinderella pre Disney & Kincade Beautiful $1,995.00 |
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Clyde Connell 1943 Folk Art hooked rug signed LISTED $1,900.00 |
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ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD CARVING TOBACCO CIGAR TRADE SIGN ? DISPLAY WOW $1,899.99 |
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Chinese folk art sculpture carving stone inkstone for painting and handwriting $1,890.00 |
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Polly M. PICNIC, original acrylic painting, landscape Southern folk art $1,856.00 |
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Polly M. “Homestead” acrylic painting southern folk art $1,856.00 |
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WELSH AMERICAN SIGNED FOLK ART PAINTING JFK PT 109 $1,850.00 |
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ORIGINAL TEXAS ARTIST FERGUSON OIL PAINTING FOLK ART $1,822.50 |
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C Peterson ORIGINAL modern FOLKART sculpture SIGN ART painted OUT of WORK tools $1,817.00 |
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American Folk Art Painting of Little Girl Circa 1825 $1,800.00 |
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Emma Schrock Folk Art 16″ by 12″ $1,795.00 |
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c1920 Girl Knitting Folk Woman Antique Art Signed Oil Estate Painting $1,795.00 |
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Folk Art Wood Carving Listed Folk Artist Albert Hoffman $1,750.00 |
