What is It and What’s It Worth? Tarot Cards

Having your fortune read by randomly selected cards certainly seems outlandish, but tarot cards have a history of more than divination. There are numerous collectors of tarot cards, and many serious deck collectors have well over a hundred tarot card decks in their collections.

Interested in learning more about tarot cards? Check out the WorthPoint Worthopedia® where there are over 40,000 results for tarot cards that were previously sold. Keep reading to take your knowledge of tarot even further.

Using cards for divination dates back to the 14th century. Mamluk game cards were introduced to Western Europe from Turkey. Players were dealt random cards and used thematic associations to write verses about one another. The first tarot decks were commissioned by wealthy Italian families, were played similarly to bridge, and were originally called “triumph.” Though different from today’s tarot cards, these decks incorporated the suits of cups, swords, coins, and polo sticks. Polo sticks were eventually changed to wands, and coins became pentacles. There was also a king for each suit as well as two male underlings, and later Queens, the fool, and trumps were added to tarot decks.

Many aspects of the history of tarot cards and their readings are difficult to discern, in part because several prominent tarot enthusiasts have written history books that were not accurate. In the mid-18th century, Antoine Court de Gébelin wrote a book that claimed that tarot was based on an Egyptian holy book, which was untrue. Regardless, his book influenced many, and subsequent books were later published connecting the tarot cards to different types of Egyptian mysticism. Many types of cards, in addition to tarot, have also been used throughout the ages for divination. Some oracle decks were made, and some even used normal playing cards to read fortunes.

Today, many tarot readers use the cards to learn how to address problems in their lives, to look into what their futures may hold, or to gain insight into specific questions. Most tarot readers believe that the cards offer information about what possibilities could be waiting for you, or what choices are available, but do not offer visions of the future. Some readers think that the cards offer a way to bring what you’re thinking subconsciously to the forefront and that the conclusions you jump to based on your readings can help give insight into what you’re truly thinking. Others think that Carl Jung’s theories of synchronicity explain the readings on tarot cards. According to this theory, the tarot cards are moments of coincidence reflecting truth that can help us guide our lives.

Typically, tarot card decks are made up of 78 cards, 56 in the minor arcana, and 22 in the major arcana. The minor arcana is made up of cards numbered one through ten in each of the four suits (cups, wands, pentacles, and swords). Each of these suits also has a knight, page, king, and queen. The major arcana is made up of picture cards that represent ideas or concepts, and they are unassociated with a suit. In a reading, the deck is shuffled, and then random cards are put into a “spread” or formation of cards to then help determine which card is related to each aspect of the question being asked.

Though most decks feature the same cards, many people choose to collect tarot cards for various reasons, one being that the artwork on different decks varies greatly. Some tarot readers believe that different decks give different meanings to cards based on these images, even if they represent the same card, and that these changes can affect the reading as a whole. While oftentimes these different interpretations are similar, these differences should be explored through different readings. Additionally, the variety in tarot artworks allows many decks to be collected for aesthetic reasons.

Another reason individuals collect tarot decks is to showcase how tarot cards have evolved. The Tarot de Marseille was first designed in the 16th century and made using wooden prints. The deck has been reprinted many times since its original unveiling, and old decks can be sold for hundreds of dollars. Individual cards from Tarot de Marseille decks from the 1700s, hand-painted and printed with wooden presses, occasionally go for auction, often selling for hundreds of dollars.

Another historically significant deck of tarot cards is the Book of Thoth tarot deck, originally published in 1789 and designed to reference the Egyptian mysticism that some tarot readers believed was the origin of tarot cards. Aleister Crowley redesigned these cards in the 1980s and wrote several books on Egyptian mysticism’s relation to tarot cards. Crowley’s Book of Thoth cards can be quite collectible, and full decks can sell for over $300 (see top photo).

In the 1970s, Salvador Dali was commissioned to create his own custom tarot cards for the James Bond film Live and Let Die. The contractual deal fell through, but Dali continued working on the cards for ten years and eventually released them to purchase in 1984. These cards have since been rereleased, lowering the value of the original set, but the cards are still desirable. Additionally, original lithographs signed by Dali of the artwork for these cards can sell for thousands of dollars on eBay.

Collectors also continue to be interested in new decks that are unique and have different interpretations of tarot reading. Because of this, collecting tarot continues to evolve as tarot reading does.

If you’d like to learn more about tarot cards, we have a WorthPoint Dictionary page on playing cards to check out next, and you can read more from the WorthPoint Library. There is a book that mentions collecting tarot cards in the Library, and with your WorthPoint MAPS and Library subscription, you can read all of our books for free!

Kendall Aronson is a 2019 graduate of Berry College, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Public Relations with a minor in English. She has served as the Editorial Assistant for Berry’s Alumni Magazine, the Social Media, PR director, and Assistant Arts & Living Editor for the Campus Carrier. She offers an up-to-date look at collectibles for the Millennial audience.

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