The first examples of Tarot, in the Visconti-Sforza Tarot cards, from the mid-15th century, are un-numbered and un-titled. The first enumerated list is the Sermones de Ludo Cum Alis from the late 15th century (Kaplan, Encyclopedia of Tarot). |
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Semantic Drift in the Tarot: 1450 to 2000 | |||||||||||
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Sermones: 15th |
Metropolitan: 15th |
Rosenwald: 16th |
Maison Academique: 1659 |
Vievil: 17th |
Marseilles: 18th |
Levi: 19th |
Rider-Waite: 20th |
Crowley: 20th |
Revived Tarot: 21st |
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-- | Fool | Fool | Fool | Fool | Fool | Fool | 1 | ||||
1 | Juggler | Magician | Magician | Juggler | Magician | Magician | Magician | Magician | Magician | World | 2 |
2 | Empress | Empress | Popess | Popess | Popess | Popess | Popess | Priestess | Priestess | Wheel | 3 |
3 | Emperor | Popess | Empress | Emperor | Empress | Empress | Empress | Empress | Empress | Tower | 4 |
4 | Popess | Emperor | Emperor | Empress | Emperor | Emperor | Emperor | Emperor | Star | Emperor | 5 |
5 | Pope | Pope | Pope | Pope | Pope | Pope | Pope | Hierophant | Hierophant | Hierophant | 6 |
6 | Temperance | Temperance | Lovers | Lovers | Lovers | Lovers | Lovers | Lovers | Lovers | Lovers | 7 |
7 | Lovers | Chariot | Temperance | Justice | Chariot | Chariot | Chariot | Chariot | Chariot | Chariot | 8 |
8 | Chariot | Lovers | Justice | Justice | Chariot | Justice | Justice | Strength | Strength | Strength | 9 |
9 | Strength | Strength | Strength | Hermit | Strength | Hermit | Hermit | Hermit | Hermit | Hermit | 10 |
10 | Wheel | Wheel | Chariot | Wheel | Wheel | Wheel | Wheel | Wheel | Wheel | Sun | 11 |
11 | Hermit/Time | Hermit/Time | Hanged Man | Strength | Old Man | Strength | Strength | Justice | Justice | Justice | 12 |
12 | Hanged Man | Hanged Man | Hermit/Time | Hanged Man | Hanged Man | Hanged Man | Hanged Man | Hanged Man | Hanged Man | Hanged Man | 13 |
13 | Death | Death | Death | Death | Death | Death | Death | Death | Death | Death | 14 |
14 | Devil | Devil | Wheel | Temperance | Temperance | Temperance | Temperance | Temperance | Temperance | Temperance | 15 |
15 | Arrow | Tower | Devil | Devil | Devil | Devil | Devil | Devil | Devil | Devil | 16 |
16 | Star | Star | Tower | House of God | Lightning | House of God | House of God | Tower | Tower | Empress | 17 |
17 | Moon | Moon | Star | Star | Stars | Star | Star | Star | Emperor | Star | 18 |
18 | Sun | Sun | Moon | Moon | Moon | Moon | Moon | Moon | Moon | Moon | 19 |
19 | Angel | Angel | Sun | Sun | Sun | Sun | Sun | Sun | Sun | Magician | 20 |
20 | Justice | Justice | World | Judgment | Judgment | Judgment | Judgment | Judgment | Judgment | Judgment | 21 |
21 | World | World | Judgment | World | World | World | Fool | World | World | Priestess | 22 |
-- | Fool | Fool | World | ||||||||
Source: Stuart Kaplan, Encyclopedia of the Tarot, Vol 2, p.191-196 US Games Systems, 1994 + Sepher Yetsira | |||||||||||
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A few notes. The early renditions have both planets and signs out of place (and two or three of three elements). The obviousness of the astrological system embedded in the Tarot took 300+ years to sink in, and the Tarot de Marseilles in the 18th century still got the Lion and the Scales reversed, finally corrected in the 20th by Rider-Waite (and the order screwed up again by the wannabe fake magician Crowley). Only two Tarot are consistently accurate: The Pope/Hierophant and Death. And we're only talking about the signs. The planets remained displaced/encoded despite their obvious symbolism, enabled by an ignorance of the Hebrew and astrological sources, even as simple as the geocentric order of the planets. See: Traditional Tarot Sequencing and Mis-Interpretation and The Revived Tarot: Obscuring the Origins and Contaminating the Sources. Yet the myth goes on, entranced minds unaware of their inner structure, teetering on the edge of the revelation of the images in front of their eyes. |
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