The History and Origins of the First French Tarot de Marseille

Those familiar with tarot cards are aware that the deck comprises 78 cards, divided into two groups: the major suit and the minor suits. The major suit consists of 22 cards, also known as major arcana, featuring intricate illustrations depicting individuals, animals, and symbols drawn from social life, mythology, and religious motifs. The remaining 56 cards are further divided into four suits that are called the minor suits. Each of the Minor suits consist of three parts: one ace card, 14 numbered cards and four court cards identified by their rank: page, knight, queen, and king. The mystery is that the two parts of tarot deck seems to have come from different sources. The minor suits resemble playing cards popular in China, later India and then Islamic countries during middle ages before reaching Italy. The major suit, however, points to the late European medieval or early Renaissance era with its images of traditional political and religious figures, angels, demons and a skeleton with a scythe. We know that the combined 78 cards tarot deck was used from the fifteens century onward to play games. But after the eighteens century it was used mainly by fortunetellers and mystics.