On Apr 14, 2020, ddyment wrote:
Tarot cards are nothing more than a standard deck of playing cards with additional wild cards added (in order to play the game of Tarocchi). They were created with no mystical purpose whatsoever.

Those who ascribe divinatory or other supernatural attributes to the cards are free to treat them however they wish; others will be more likely to treat them as any other playing card deck.

On Apr 14, 2020, Rupert Pupkin wrote:
They open up all sorts of creative avenues and engaging presentations! Plus, they're just more interesting to look at.

On Apr 15, 2020, ddyment wrote:
Tarot cards are nothing more than a standard deck of playing cards with additional wild cards added (in order to play the game of Tarocchi). They were created with no mystical purpose whatsoever.

Those who ascribe divinatory or other supernatural attributes to the cards are free to treat them however they wish; others will be more likely to treat them as any other playing card deck.

His historical work on the use of the tarot pack in card games attempted to establish that the invention of Tarot could be set in 15th-century Italy. He laid the foundation for most subsequent research on the game of tarot, including exhaustive accounts of the rules of all hitherto known forms of the game.

Dummett's analysis of the historical evidence suggested that fortune-telling and occult interpretations were unknown before the 18th century. During most of their recorded history, he wrote, Tarot cards were used to play an extremely popular trick-taking game which is still enjoyed in much of Europe. Dummett showed that the middle of the 18th century saw a great development in the game of Tarot, including a modernized deck with French suit-signs, and without the medieval allegories that interest occultists. This coincided with a growth in Tarot's popularity. "The hundred years between about 1730 and 1830 were the heyday of the game of Tarot; it was played not only in northern Italy, eastern France, Switzerland, Germany and Austro-Hungary, but also in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and even Russia. Not only was it, in these areas, a famous game with many devotees: it was also, during that period, more truly an international game than it had ever been before or than it has ever been since.

On Oct 5, 2020, pulpscrypt wrote:
When taking about Tarot effects, don't forget the Black Hart! Kieth has some of the most amazing effect of this type, including my very favorite for something like 20 years (which will be KILLER for this year; The Curse of the Black Death!

Great thinker and dealer, and (from the few times I've corresponded with him) a great guy.