Project V Community

Hello Dear Readers,

The topics covered in this blog post are:

1. Tarot History

2. Differences between Oracle & Tarot

3. Different Types of Divination

4. Basics & Etiquette

5. How to Use

6. Major Arcana

7. Minor Arcana

   
   

The History of Tarot:

• The standard deck has 78 cards which 56 of them are minor arcana while the other 22 cards known as the major Arcana (trump cards). These decks before started off as a courtly game in the 15th century Italy for the aristocrats. The oldest deck like the incomplete Visconti di Modrone which is painted on gold foil are rare to come by. Some cards have been lost to history so they are a rarity to come across. One of Italy's last great tarot artisans works at a workshop in Milan called I!

Meneghello. Not all of artisans believed in the spirituality side of these cards rather the artistry and the thirst to understand the images upon them.

• To figure out the dates of tarot decks, A team managed by Federica Pozzi who is a director of scientific laboratories at the Center for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage used advanced imaging techniques. One of them is called macro-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy which uses a raster scanning the surface with a X ray beam. It analyzes the emitted fluorescence radiation from said object. In Yale they managed to figured out the water marks by the stationers to date the decks as well.Tarot Historians argued that it was a game of showing people what is called 'scala mistica' of morals and ethics where fools can trump popes.

• With the creation of the Visconti deck, it spread to France during the 17th and 18th century. There it's significance turned into deep and occult for hidden wisdom. Jean-Baptiste Alliette wrote the world's first cartomancy guide in 1770 while Antoine Court de Gebelin rewrote the origins of tarot in 1773 to 1782. He suggested that tarot was more than a game. He tied the decks with Roma stereotype of fortune tellers when there is no such evidence of this in history. In conclusion fuck that guy.

Fun Facts:

• The World's most oldest tarot deck is said to be believed to made between 1437 and 1442.

• Menegazzi was the first to reproduce a historic deck in nearly 600 years in 2021.

Resources:

• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/colorful-history-tarot-mesmerizing-decks-themseles-180986811/, https://scienceforart.northwestern.edu/projects-proposals/projects/ma-xrt.html