Tarot cards today are probably best known as tools for gaining a clearer understanding of our lives in the present and in our past, as well as gaining an insight into our future. This use of the cards has captivated people for centuries, so it is no surprise that it still pulls people towards the medium today. The earliest known examples of Tarot being used in occult purposes dates back to around the mid 18th century, so a few hundred years after the earliest known decks.

It is thought that the first example of Tarot being used for divination purposes was by French occultist Jean-Baptiste Alliette (also known as Etteilla) in the 1780’s. From then, this practice of using the cards for divination spread across Europe and into countless cultures and organisations including the Freemasons, the Romani people and even reportedly reached as high in society as Napoleon. With this, fear and misunderstanding of the cards also spread with the cards commonly being referred to as ‘the Devil’s picture book’ (check out the excellent book of the same name).

The legacy of Tarot in esotericism and the occult continued into the 20th century with the help of well-known occultists Arthur Edward Waite and Aleister Crowley. A.E. Waite was a member of the occultist organisation the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He released his deck in this period which created a resurgence of interest in Tarot for this purpose and lead to countless decks being designed using his same formula. Aleister Crowley created the Thoth tarot deck which has its roots in the ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth and is extremely rich in symbolism surrounding the occult.

Another area in which the Tarot has been closely linked to esotericism and the occult is with the Hermetic Qabalah. Followers of this tradition were known to view the Tarot as a key to the tree of life which is one of its core beliefs. The Golden Dawn had much of its roots based in the Hermetic Qabalah and so much of A.E. Waite’s work, such as the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, uses a lot of imagery and symbolism derived from the tradition. We recommend Robert Wang’s excellent book ‘The Qabalistic Tarot’ if you would like to read more in this area. The intricacies and history of Tarot’s use within the occult and as a divinatory tool would easily fill a book, indeed there are many. We therefore recommend that you see this brief introduction as a small insight into the transcendental esoteric world of Tarot and use it simply as a jumping off point.