Tarot Deck Reviews

Mark Filipas reviews the decks in his collection through his research that a few forms of the Tarot might be a lexicon of the Hebrew alphabet.

A brief history of the origins of the Tarot and The Letter Symbolism of the Tarot.

The Tarot first appeared in northern Italy, during the birth of Europe�s cultural revolution. Those original decks were probably designed between 1420 and 1440, although the earliest extant cards date from later in the 1400s.

This Italian game eventually made its way throughout Europe, and countries such as France, Spain, and Germany soon became major cardmaking centers themselves. This spread and popularity resulted in a variety of different Tarot decks. But because there are few surviving early decks, and because the cards themselves were neither named nor numbered until several decades after their invention, it is uncertain which pattern represents the original sequence of allegories.

To help determine any influence the Hebrew lexicon may have had upon the Marseilles pattern, we must examine lexicography contemporaneous to that pattern. 

So from this, let us review the collection.