Hunch Tarot · History & symbolism

The History of Tarot

Who invented it, when and why?

Tarot began as a card game in 15th-century Italy. Its use for divination and occult symbolism developed much later.

By Hunch Tarot · 4 November 2026

The history of the cards and the meanings people later gave them are two different stories. Understanding both makes the imagery more interesting.

Who invented tarot, and what was it for?

No single inventor is known. The earliest securely documented tarot decks come from northern Italy in the 15th century, with the game emerging around the 1430s–1450s. Some of the most famous surviving cards were made for the aristocratic Visconti and Sforza families.

These were beautiful objects as well as entertainment: hand-painted cards, sometimes decorated with gold, commissioned for wealthy courts. The Morgan Library & Museum preserves a substantial group of Visconti-Sforza cards, probably painted by Bonifacio Bembo. [1]

The game involved taking tricks, with higher-ranking cards beating lower ones. Alongside four suits were special trump cards and the Fool. The cups, swords, coins and batons of Italian cards are still recognisable in modern tarot decks. [2]

Emperors, popes, virtues, Death and the Last Judgement belonged to the cultural world of Renaissance players. An image that looks like a mysterious code today could have been a familiar social, moral or religious reference to them. The early imagery needs to be understood in that historical setting. [3]

When did tarot become a tool for divination?

The major shift came in late 18th-century France, centuries after the first Italian decks. This is when the interpretation of tarot as a system of hidden wisdom and fortune-telling began to develop into the tradition familiar today. [4]

In 1781, Antoine Court de Gébelin argued that tarot preserved ancient Egyptian wisdom. Together with an essay by the Comte de Mellet, his writing helped establish an occult interpretation of the cards. That Egyptian origin story was a theory, not a demonstrated historical discovery. [5]

Etteilla, whose real name was Jean-Baptiste Alliette, became another important figure. He developed methods of card reading and helped establish decks and interpretations intended specifically for divination. [6]

So “tarot was invented by ancient Egyptian priests” describes an influential esoteric origin story. The surviving historical evidence points to Renaissance Italy.

Who created the tarot deck we recognise today?

During the 19th century, occult writers increasingly connected tarot with astrology, numerology and other symbolic systems. Different authors developed different correspondences; tarot never became one universally agreed dictionary.

In 1909, the Rider–Waite–Smith deck was published. Arthur Edward Waite developed its concept, while artist Pamela Colman Smith created the illustrations. Rider was the publisher.

Smith's contribution matters enormously. Her scenes for the Minor Arcana gave readers people, gestures and situations to interpret, rather than only arrangements of suit symbols. Her visual language continues to influence many decks today. [6]

15th centuryCard games and painted decks in Italy

Late 18th centuryFrench occult interpretations and divination

19th centuryNew systems of esoteric correspondences

1909The Rider–Waite–Smith deck is published

To explore the deck's structure, see our introduction to tarot and tarot card meanings.

What is the difference between tarot and Kabbalah?

Tarot and Kabbalah are not the same thing. Kabbalah is a Jewish mystical tradition concerned with the divine, creation and spiritual life. Tarot is a card system with a documented history as a European game.

They became linked in later Western esotericism. Writers such as Éliphas Lévi developed correspondences between tarot and ideas drawn from Kabbalah, including connections between the 22 Major Arcana and the 22 Hebrew letters. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn subsequently developed these systems further. [7]

Two traditions, with a later historical connection
Tarot	Kabbalah
A deck of illustrated playing cards, later used for divination and reflection.	A Jewish mystical tradition with its own texts, teachings and practices.
Earliest documented decks: 15th-century Italy.	A separate history within Jewish religious thought.
Some later decks incorporate Hebrew letters and Kabbalistic symbolism.	Its symbols were adapted by Western occultists into their own systems.

Those later connections are part of tarot's history. They do not establish that tarot originated as an ancient Jewish system, or that modern occult tarot and traditional Kabbalah are interchangeable. [8]

Is tarot white magic or black magic?

Tarot has no universally agreed place in either category. “White magic” and “black magic” are labels used within particular belief systems, rather than objective properties of a deck of cards.

It helps to distinguish three uses: playing a game or appreciating the art; using images to explore your own associations; and treating the cards as a source of supernatural information.

For example, “Why does this picture remind me of loneliness?” is a question about your response. “This card proves my partner is hiding something” makes a claim about another person. The picture itself does not provide that evidence.

At Hunch, we approach tarot as art and reflection: a way to notice a feeling, explore an idea or ask a better question, while keeping decisions in your own hands.

You can learn how to read tarot through observation and context, or explore turning your photo into personal tarot art.

Sources and further reading

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