Historical Tarot Decks

The Cary-Yale Visconti Tarot Deck

Perhaps the first Tarot deck, this hand painted deck from Italy has an unusual structure, containing 6 court cards per suit and the additional Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity.

The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Deck

The most complete 15th Century Tarot deck. The deck has 74 of the assumed original 78 cards, the missing cards are The Devil, The Tower, three of swords and knight of coins.

The Mysterious Cary Sheet

Housed in the Cary Collection at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, is a rare find... an uncut sheet of Tarot cards, probably produced in Milan, dating as far back as possibly the year 1500. This sheet has come to be known as the “Cary Sheet”. Is it the "missing link" between the hand-painted Italian decks and the Tarot of Marseilles?

Tarot Picture Page

The Archetypal Tarot

The Artwork of Modern Tarot Project

This site focuses on the artwork and symbolism found on modern tarot decks.

Gumpenberg Tarot, ca. 1810.

The Mind of the Magus ...The primary function of the magus in history, whether the exemplar is Hermes, Jesus Christ, Faust or Paracelsus, is to open a path between Heaven and Earth, and then lead worthy human souls along it, back to our origins in God...

History of Tarot