The Origin of the Tarot with Robert M. Place

Two-hour classes taught online via Zoom
Sunday, September 6, 2026
Sunday, September 13, 2026
10:00 AM Pacific | 1:00 PM Eastern | 19:00 CET

Member price: $100 (Discount automatically applied at checkout)
Non-member price: $120

19th-century occultists, such as Eliphas Levi, Paul Christian, and Papus, considered the Tarot an indispensable component of their magical tradition and, to give the deck an appropriately impressive pedigree, invented several imaginative versions of its history.

They most often asserted that it originated in ancient Egypt or other ancient cultures. These spurious origins of the Tarot became such an accepted part of Tarot literature that they were often reported as fact.  The Tarot, however, was a creation of Renaissance artists in northern Italy, and these occult fantasies can block us from truly appreciating the mystical heritage depicted in the cards.

In this class, Robert examines the known facts and existing examples of cards. You'll follow playing cards from their creation in 10th-century China to their introduction in Western Europe in the 14th century. We learn how, in 15th-century Italy, the addition of a trump suit to the existing deck gave birth to the Tarot, and how the Italians passed it to France.

Robert discusses the symbolism of early decks and how the cards expressed Hermetic philosophy. He'll look at the earliest evidence of the Tarot’s use in divination. And he'll end with a discussion of the occult theories that led to the creation of the Waite-Smith Tarot and the modern fascination with the deck.