The Devil’s Picture Book

Tarot History Chronology

1215.  First paper mills in Italy

1356-74.  Petrarch writes the poem I Trionfi, partly while at Visconti Court in Milan. The concept of a procession of allegorical figures “triumphing” or defeating the preceding figure was the basis of the game of Trionfi.

@1370.  Block printing on paper begins in Germany and appears in Italy several decades later.

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1984.  Mary Greer publishes Tarot for Yourself, a workbook that guides the reader through forming personal meanings for the cards rather than memorizing received card meanings. Golden Dawn astrological and elemental attributions are disseminated.

1980s-’90s.  Golden age of small, individually-owned tarot magazines such as Tracy Hoover’s Winged Chariot, Crystal Sage’s Tapestry and Geraldine Amaral’s Celebrating the Tarot.

1990s.  Several artists and publishers update the Tarot de Marseilles: Fournier, Major Tom, Rodes & Sanchez, and Hadar.

1990s.  Llewellyn, founded in 1901 as an astrological publishing house, becomes a major tarot deck publisher, and in 2000 forms a partnership with Lo Scarabeo, a major Italian tarot deck publisher.

1991.  First BATS (Bay Area Tarot Symposium) organized in San Francisco by Thalassa.

Mid 1990s.  The Tarot community goes global thanks to the internet. Alt_Tarot and Tarot_L (Yahoo) are pioneering discussion lists

1996.  The books A Wicked Pack of Cards followed by The History of Occult Tarot in 2002, as well as research into tarot history by Michael Dummett and independent researchers who share their findings online, debunk occultist theories of Tarot’s ancient origins.

1997.  First World Tarot Congress in Chicago organized by Janet Berres.

2002.  First Reader’s Studio organized in New York by Ruth and Wald Amberstone.

FULL CHRONOLOGY HERE.