by Last Updated on September 20, 2024 by Avia
Whether you’re a believer or not, you most likely have had your cards read at some point in time. And when that happened you might have noticed that tarot cards and playing cards share a lot of similarities. But have you ever wondered why? Let’s take a closer look at the connection between tarot and playing cards for answers.
The History of Tarot and Playing Cards
One of the most beloved forms of entertainment is playing card games like baccarat. In fact, its popularity warranted digitization, which means that they’re now also available online via casino platforms. This has then been taken a step further in the modern era through options like live baccarat, a variant of baccarat where players get to enjoy it with a human host, thanks to the live audio and video feeds.
But cards have been a part of human history for much longer than most of us may even think. Of course, when it comes to things that have had such a long-standing history, it is hard to pinpoint the exact details of their creation, but the earliest documented reference we have of them dates back to 10th-century China. But it’s more than likely that their existence far precedes that.
As cards spread from China to the Middle East and then to Europe, more and more variants of card games started appearing, with each area adding something unique to them. This leads us to Tarot cards, which were created in Italy in the 14th century. Originally, they were just playing cards, but later evolved in around 1780 in France as a tool for divination. From there on it spread like wildfire, and reading tarot cards became a common practice globally for believers in the occult.
Similarities and Differences Between Tarot and Playing Cards
Both types of decks follow quite similar structures, just with different imagery and symbolism. This means that they are technically interchangeable, meaning both can be used for fortune-telling and for playing card games, with slight adjustments required due to their differences.
Tarot decks consist of 78 cards, with 22 being part of the major arcana, and 56, which are considered to be the minor arcana. While a standard playing deck has 52 cards, with an added two or four jokers, meaning that they can total up to 56 cards.
The minor arcana and a standard deck are both divided into four suits. The cups are the hearts, the pentacles are the diamonds, the swords are spades, and the wands are clubs. Each suit for both types has aces and court cards: king, queen, and jack in playing cards, and king, queen, knight, and page in Tarot. The rest of the cards are numbered, going from two to ten.
To the untrained eye, tarot and playing decks may seem completely different, but it’s clear as per the above that their shared history has ensured they have many things in common. So, whether you plan to become a tarot reader or are simply an avid fan of playing cards, it’s nice to know about their history. And, at the very least, it’s a fun little fact you can now share with friends.
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