The Marseille Tarot Pattern
Thursday, April 30th, 2009While today’s tarot readings are usually done off the more popular decks such as the Rider-Waite, few know of its history. The earliest decks were actually hand-painted and were of limited availability. Only during the advent of the printing press did it become more accessible to the public.
One of those that survived the test of time came from the French city of Marseille. The Tarot de Marseille is a standard pattern of design form which may of today’s decks are derived.
The name of the pattern was coined only in 1889 by Gerard Encausse in his book le Tarot des bohemiens. It was popularized by the Paul Marteau, who used the name to refer to designs produced in the city of Marseille.
