Reading Tarot

The Visconti-Sforza Tarot

The Visconti-Sforza tarot deck is the oldest surviving deck of tarot cards in the world. Most scholars agree that it dates from the mid-to-late fifteenth century and was commissioned by Filippo Maria Visconti, the duke of Milan. The courtly game of Tarocchi was very popular during that time in Italy, having most likely been introduced to Europe during the Moorish invasion of Spain several centuries earlier. During the Medieval period, Tarocchi was played as a game of trumps, in which each player attempted to win hands by beating the other cards in a given suit. Most historians believe that tarot was not widely used as a divination tool until it was popularized in Britain and America at the close of the nineteenth century.

Only 67 cards from the original deck survive today, and these are housed in the Yale University Library. Artist Luigi Scapini was commissioned to recreate the missing cards in the deck, based on the imagery contained in the surviving cards. This deck is available for purchase through U.S. Games Inc.

Golden Tarot

Not to be confused with the golden Dawn tarot deck, the Golden Tarot is based on medieval and particularly renaissance works of art. Original paintings and imagery are combined in the form of a collage, giving the cards an abstract and yet classical appearance. Even the decorative border of the cards is taken from a 1435 painting by Swiss artist Conrad Witz. Because of the popularity of religious iconography during the period of art used, many Christian images such as the Madonna and other saints populate the cards. Australian artist Kat Black used scenes and characters depicted in lesser-known paintings from the early renaissance to create each card. Unlike other medieval tarot decks, however, the Golden Tarot closely follows the symbolic system of the Rider-Waite deck. As a result, the Golden Tarot is more suitable for beginners who may already be familiar with the symbolic imagery used in Rider-Waite.

Scapini Tarot

Another deck by Luigi Scapini, the Scapini tarot uses medieval imagery but was created entirely from the imagination of the artist. As a result, Scapini’s symbolism does not correspond to more modern, traditional card systems like the Rider-Waite. There is a logical consistency to his symbolic system, however, and this is explained in a companion book that can be purchased alongside the deck of cards. The clothing, backgrounds, and characters depicted in these ornate paintings are all taken from medieval or renaissance period artwork. In fact many cards, such as the Magician pictured at left, are directly inspired by the earlier Visconti-Sforza images. The Scapini deck is less ornate and features more vibrant colors than the historical reprint, however. The shape of the Scapini tarot cards is also different from modern decks; each one is long and narrow in keeping with the style of actual medieval tarot cards.