Tarot History 101:
An Interactive Quiz
By James W. Revak

Correct!  The answer is A.  The preponderance of evidence indicates that individuals used Tarot during its first three centuries primarily for gaming, specifically for playing trick-taking games similar to bridge.  Despite contrary claims by many occultists and popular books, little evidence exists of extensive, regular use of the cards for occult or esoteric purposes (e.g., divination or fortune-telling, ceremonial magic, and discussion of esoteric philosophy) prior to the late 18th century. Illustration: Detail of a frescoe, commonly called The Tarocchi Players, by Giovanni da Vaprio (mid-15th century) (from The Game of Tarot by Michael Dummett, copyright © 1980 Dummett).  Click the image for a larger one.

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Copyright © 2000 James W. Revak.  All rights reserved.  Version 1.0 (8/9/00).