Pack of Tarot cards. Multicolored designs printed on heavy paper; 78 in number; designs vary from card to card (see back of this card; stored in card package). Each card is 12.1 cm long by 7.7 cm wide. Cards are used for divination, fortunetelling, “games”. Tarot has a long history, dating at least as far back as medieval times, and possibly as far as Egyptian civilization; made famous because of their use by and connection with Gypsy fortunetellers; these particular cards are modern, newly designed versions of old cards; poplar interest in divination in the late 1960’s has caused the spread of this form of divination. The Tarot deck consists of 78 cards, divided into two major groups; Greater Arcana and Lesser Arcana; the Lesser Arcana consists of four suits: swords, cups, pentacles and wands -- each suit contains 14 cards; ace, two through ten, page, knight, queen and king; the greater Arcana consists of 22 cards as follows: 0, The Fool; I, The Magician; II, The High Priestess; III, The Empress; IV, The Emperor; V, The Heirophant; VI, The Lovers; VII, The Chariot; VII, Strength; IX, The Hermit; X, Wheel of Fortune; XI, Justice; XII, The Hanged Man; XIII, Death; XIV, Temperance; XV, The Devil; XVI, The Tower, XVII, The Star;, XVIII, The Moon; XIX, The Sun; XX, Judgment; XXI, The World. All the cards, both Greater and Lesser Arcana, contain numerous symbols depicted on them; as reference for the symbols a useful book is J.E. Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols, translation by J. Sage, Philosophical Library, NY 1962.
Donor:
Thomas D. Lanagan and W. H. Lawson
Collection place:
United States
Verbatim coll. place:
recent USA
Culture or time period:
United States Historic
Collector:
Thomas D. Lanagan
Collection date:
1960s-1970s
Object type:
ethnography
Function:
5.2 Magic: Objects Associated with Practices reflecting confidence in the ability to manipulate supernatural agencies
Accession date:
July 27, 1972
Context of use:
Cards are used for divination, fortunetelling, “games”. Tarot has a long history, dating at least as far back as medieval times, and possibly as far as Egyptian civilization; made famous because of their use by and connection with Gypsy fortunetellers; these particular cards are modern, newly designed versions of old cards; poplar interest in divination in the late 1960’s has caused the spread of this form of divination. The Tarot deck consists of 78 cards, divided into two major groups; Greater Arcana and Lesser Arcana; the Lesser Arcana consists of four suits: swords, cups, pentacles and wands -- each suit contains 14 cards; ace, two through ten, page, knight, queen and king; the greater Arcana consists of 22 cards as follows: 0, The Fool; I, The Magician; II, The High Priestess; III, The Empress; IV, The Emperor; V, The Heirophant; VI, The Lovers; VII, The Chariot; VII, Strength; IX, The Hermit; X, Wheel of Fortune; XI, Justice; XII, The Hanged Man; XIII, Death; XIV, Temperance; XV, The Devil; XVI, The Tower, XVII, The Star;, XVIII, The Moon; XIX, The Sun; XX, Judgment; XXI, The World. All the cards, both Greater and Lesser Arcana, contain numerous symbols depicted on them; as reference for the symbols a useful book is J.E. Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols, translation by J. Sage, Philosophical Library, NY 1962.