The Occult Revival (19th Century)

The Occult Revival (19th Century)

Introduction

For 300+ years, tarot was purely a card game. Then, in the late 18th century, something remarkable happened: French occultists looked at these game cards and saw hidden esoteric wisdom. This reimagining transformed tarot from entertainment to spiritual practice—a shift that defines how we use tarot today.

Understanding this history is crucial because it reveals what is authentically ancient (very little) versus what was creatively invented by 19th-century mystics (quite a lot). Both are valid, but knowing the difference keeps us grounded in truth.

Antoine Court de Gébelin (1781)

The transformation began with Antoine Court de Gébelin, a French Protestant minister and freemason, who published "Le Monde Primitif" (The Primordial World) in 1781. In volume VIII, he devoted an essay to tarot cards, making extraordinary claims:

His theory: Tarot cards were remnants of an ancient Egyptian "Book of Thoth," containing the wisdom of Egyptian priests encoded in symbolic images.

The appeal: This was an age of Egyptomania. Even before 1781, Enlightenment Europe was fascinated by ancient Egypt, fed by sources such as the speculative writings of the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher. Hieroglyphs were still undeciphered, allowing wild speculation about their meaning. Napoleon's Egyptian campaign (1798) and the discovery of the Rosetta Stone came later, further amplifying the Egyptian myth.

The truth: Court de Gébelin was completely wrong. As we now know from historical research, tarot originated in 15th-century Italy, not ancient Egypt. There is zero Egyptian connection.

The impact: Despite being historically inaccurate, his theory was wildly influential. It gave tarot a mystical pedigree and suggested that the cards contained ancient wisdom waiting to be decoded.

Jean-Baptiste Alliette (Etteilla) (1785)

The first person to actually use tarot for divination (rather than just theorize about it) was Jean-Baptiste Alliette, who reversed his name to create the pseudonym "Etteilla."

Innovation: Etteilla created the first tarot deck specifically designed for fortune-telling (1789), modifying the Marseille pattern to include divinatory meanings on the cards.

Method: He developed elaborate systems of card interpretation, astrological correspondences, and spread layouts.

Influence: Etteilla's approach was popular in France and established tarot as a divination tool. However, his system was highly idiosyncratic and didn't become the dominant tradition.

Éliphas Lévi (1810-1875)

The most influential figure in tarot occultism was Alphonse Louis Constant, who wrote under the name "Éliphas Lévi." A former Catholic seminarian who left before priestly ordination and turned to occultism, Lévi created the conceptual framework that modern tarot is built upon.

Key innovation: Lévi connected the 22 Major Arcana to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Why this mattered: In Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), the Hebrew letters are sacred and carry deep symbolic meaning. By linking tarot to Hebrew letters, Lévi gave tarot a structured esoteric system.

Other connections: He also associated tarot with:

• The four elements (Fire, Water, Air, Earth)
• Astrological signs and planets
• Alchemical symbolism
• Christian mysticism

The catch: These connections were creative inventions, not historical facts. But they were intellectually brilliant and created a coherent symbolic language.

Influence: Lévi's work was translated into English and became the foundation for the Golden Dawn's tarot system, which in turn influenced Waite and Crowley.

Papus (Gérard Encausse) (1865-1916)

Another major French occultist, Papus (Gérard Encausse), continued Lévi's work and popularized tarot in esoteric circles.

Major work: "The Tarot of the Bohemians" (1889), which presented tarot as a complete system of occult knowledge.

Contribution: Papus synthesized various occult traditions (Kabbalah, astrology, numerology, alchemy) and showed how tarot could serve as a unifying framework.

Legacy: His books were widely read and influenced the development of occult tarot in France and beyond.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1888)

The British occult society known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn took the French occultists' ideas and systematized them even further.

Innovation: Created the most detailed tarot correspondences ever:

• Each card linked to specific Hebrew letters, astrological signs/planets, Kabbalistic paths, elements, and more
• Color scales for each card
• Ritual uses for cards
• Detailed symbolic attributions

Key figures: MacGregor Mathers, A.E. Waite, Aleister Crowley, and others all learned tarot through the Golden Dawn system.

Impact: The Golden Dawn system became (and remains) the dominant framework for esoteric tarot in the English-speaking world. Most modern tarot books reference Golden Dawn correspondences, often without realizing it.

What Was Invented vs. What Was Traditional

It's important to understand what the 19th-century occultists created versus what existed before:

Traditional (pre-1781):

• 78-card structure
• Major Arcana archetypal images
• Four suits representing social classes
• Use as a card game

Invented (1781-1900):

• Egyptian origins (false)
• Hebrew letter correspondences
• Detailed astrological attributions
• Kabbalistic Tree of Life connections
• Specific divinatory meanings
• Occult ritual uses

Why this matters: Modern tarot is a beautiful fusion of Renaissance art, 19th-century occultism, and 20th-century psychology. Understanding what's ancient versus modern helps us appreciate both streams without confusing them.

The Shift in Tarot's Purpose

Before 1781: Entertainment, gambling, social game

After 1900: Spiritual practice, divination, self-reflection, occult study

This transformation is unprecedented in the history of games. Imagine if chess or playing cards suddenly became primary spiritual tools. That's essentially what happened with tarot.

Conclusion

The 19th-century occult revival invented tarot as we know it today. Court de Gébelin gave it a mythical origin story. Lévi gave it a symbolic structure. The Golden Dawn gave it detailed correspondences. And these creative inventions stuck.

This doesn't make modern tarot "fake"—it makes it a living tradition, constantly evolving. The symbols work because they tap into genuine archetypes and because generations of practitioners have invested them with meaning.

Understanding this history keeps us honest. We can honor both the actual origins (Italian game cards) and the esoteric overlay (French and British occultism) without conflating them. Truth and myth both have their place in tarot—as long as we know which is which.