THE TAROT WHEEL
INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY PAGES
On these first pages we will look at the history of card playing as it relates to the Tarot. The aim of these pages is not to give full historical details and references of all the facts that are near or far related to the Tarot. Rather, it is to give some background information. Most of the information I have comes from internet sources. The internet has many sites, some with detailed information, some without, some very scientific with references to almost every word. Others are more descriptive, like a story. Some give only clear and proven facts, others give the personal conviction of the writer. I have often found very informative sites that have disappeared after some time. I will provide links to specific sites when necessary, but if you find that a link is broken, please inform me by e-mail so that I can restore or remove the link. Also, don't hesitate to surf the web if you want to delve deeper into some of the information that appears on my pages. Surfing the web is fascinating, but it is also full of dark pitfalls. Most of the time you don't know if what you're reading is fact or fantasy, with all sorts of variations in between. Especially with Tarot cards, people are not very objective. Tarot has to do with divination, magic and other more spiritual things. People can say that Tarot was brought to Europe by gypsies, that the message in the cards comes from ancient Egypt, that the trump cards are linked to the Hebrew alphabet, any opinion can be wrapped up in a text that says that what you are reading is nothing but the truth, the only truth and the whole truth. But that is, at the very least, very misleading. I will try to remain as objective as possible, but that is sometimes difficult. Tarot is about intuition and sometimes it is necessary to express my intuition rather than follow other 'realities' and 'facts' expressed in books and on the internet. So if you find something in this text that you think cannot be true, feel free to start a discussion with me in the comments or by e-mail, and of course try to research the subject on the internet or wherever else you have access to more information.
