Perhaps it is fitting that a tool used to canvass the multiple paths of past, present and future, has itself a mysterious and contradictory history. There are countless myths concerning the origin of tarot cards, many of which should be taken with a grain of salt.

One theory is that Tarot is the last surviving ‘book’ from a great fire that burned down the legendary libraries of ancient Egypt.

Some argue that Tarot originates from roots in early Islam.

Others believe that the cards were carried into the early Arab world by Mamluk slaves who themselves adopted it from the ancient Chinese Dynasties they previously served.

There are even theories that the first tarot deck was a gift to an Italian medieval priest from the Devil himself.

It is generally thought and most historically accepted that Tarot simply evolved from primitive forms of playing cards somewhere in early renaissance Western Europe, and was adopted by occultists in the late 18th century French and English ‘decadent’ eras.

But the honest truth is that no one can really say for certain where the cards came from or who the originator was. We think this is all part of the charm.