(Tarot in) From Ritual to Romance by Jessie Laidlay Weston

Free eBooks - Project Gutenberg

Read about the author Jessie Laidlay Weston (1850-1928), a medieval literature scholar and folklorist with a focus on Arthurian legends, in Wikipedia.

From Ritual to Romance by Jessie Laidlay Weston is now in the public domain in the United States.

Subject: Grail -- Legends -- History and criticism

In this passage Jessie Weston discusses the suits of the tarot with a focus upon the Lance (Swords) and Cups as symbols of life. It is interesting that she believes the tarot "probably reached Europe from the East ... by a race speaking an Indian dialect" [Gypsies] who had been in contact with either the Greek Orthodox or the Russian Orthodox religion.



She calls the suit of Coins "Pentangles" and also refers to them as Dishes.

Here is the portion of Tarot in From Ritual to Romance:

… Lance and Cup.
Well known as Life Symbols.
The Samurai.
Four Symbols also preserved as Suits of the Tarot.
Origin of Tarot discussed. Probably reached Europe from the East.
Use of the Symbols in Magic. Probable explanation … independent of any appearance in Folk-lore or Romance. They exist to-day as the four suits of the Tarot.
Students of the Grail texts, whose attention is mainly occupied with Medieval Literature, may not be familiar with the word Tarot, or aware of its meaning. It is the name given to a pack of cards, seventy-eight in number, of which … Sceptre)--Diamonds. Sword--Spades. Dish (Circles, or Pentangles, the form varies)--Clubs. To-day the Tarot has fallen somewhat into disrepute, being principally used for purposes of divination, but its origin, … entirely distinct therefrom?[17] Some writers are disposed to assign a very high antiquity to the Tarot.

Traditionally, it is said to have been brought from Egypt; there is no doubt that parallel designs … of Medinet Abou, which is supported on twenty-two columns (a number corresponding to the 'keys' of the Tarot), and also repeated in a calendar sculptured on the southern facade of the same building, under a … supposed to have been connected with the periodic rise and fall of the waters of the Nile.[18]

The Tarot has also been connected with an ancient Chinese monument, traditionally erected in commemoration of … monument is divided up into small sections corresponding in size and number with the cards of the Tarot, and bearing characters which have, so far, not been deciphered. What is certain is that these cards … Sanskrit, or Hindustani, origin, and sums up the result of the internal evidence as follows: "The Tarot was introduced by a race speaking an Indian dialect. The figure known as 'The Pope' shows the influence … head-dress of a Russian Grand-Duke, and a shield bearing the Polish eagle. Thus the people who used the Tarot must have been familiar with a country where the Orthodox Faith prevailed, and which was ruled by … status of Grand-Dukes. The general result seems to point to a genuine basis for the belief that the Tarot was introduced into Europe from the East."

As regards the group of symbols in general, Mr W. B. … significance, and are to-day a part of magical operations. (2) The memory kept by the four suits of the Tarot, Cup, Lance, Sword, Pentangle (Dish), is an esoterical notation for fortune-telling purposes."[20] But … connection with the Egyptian and Chinese monuments, referred to above, is genuine, the original use of the 'Tarot' would seem to have been, not to foretell the Future in general, but to predict the rise and fall … these two latter, it is practically impossible to argue any connection between either group and the 'Tarot'; no one has as yet ventured to suggest the popularity of the works of Christien de Troyes among the … "are clearly drumsticks." (As a matter of fact they very closely resemble the 'Wands' which in the Tarot cards sometimes represent the 'Lance' suit.)

Miss Harrison suggests that the original shields were … 'the Endless Knot.'[29] In the previous chapter I have noted that the Pentangle frequently in the Tarot suits replaces the Dish; in Mr Yeats's remarks, cited above, the two are held to be interchangeable, … painter Charles Gringonneur, are really Tarots. [18] Falconnier, in a brochure on Les XXII Lames Hermetiques du Tarot, gives reproductions of these Egyptian paintings. [19] Journal of the Gipsy-Lore Society, Vol. II. … point in connection with the illustration is that the Chalice is surmounted by a Heart, and in the Tarot suits Cups are the equivalent of our Hearts. The combination has now become identified with the cult … … Lance and Cup. Well known as Life Symbols. The Samurai. Four Symbols also preserved as Suits of the Tarot. Origin of Tarot discussed. Probably reached Europe from the East. Use of the Symbols in Magic. …