Marseille Tarot
The Tarot de Marseille is a French model of 78-card tarot, fixed between the 17th and 18th centuries in Lyon, Marseille and the Vaucluse region. It serves both for card games and for cartomancy, and forms the classical reference of the French tradition.
Origin and etymology
The expression Tarot de Marseille is a late one: it appears in the 19th century, popularized by Papus and then by Paul Marteau, director of the Grimaud card company. The decks that make up this model are however much older. The tarots of Jean Noblet (Paris, c. 1650), Jean Dodal (Lyon, 1715), and especially that of Nicolas Conver (Marseille, 1760) are its founding examples. With Marseille being a major port and printing center, its name came to designate this family of decks. Court de Gebelin, in 1781 in Le Monde primitif, was the first to present this tarot as a symbolic book of Egyptian origin — a thesis now invalidated.
Evolution and tradition
The classical Tarot de Marseille was codified in the 18th century with the Conver edition. In the 20th century, Paul Marteau published in 1930 with Grimaud a unified version that became the commercial standard. In 1997, Philippe Camoin and Alejandro Jodorowsky restored the Conver from the original woodblocks. Other historical restorations exist: Pierre Madenie 1709, Jean Dodal 1715, Yoav Ben-Dov in 2011. The French divinatory tradition, from Papus to Jodorowsky and including Kris Hadar, draws primarily on this model. The Minor Arcana retain their abstract geometric motifs, whereas the Rider-Waite introduced figurative scenes.
Practical use
Reading the Tarot de Marseille requires specific training: the Minor Arcana do not carry scenes, so one must rely on the number, the element and the orientation of the motifs. The French-speaking tradition favors pair reading and the breathing of suits between cards. Classical spreads (cross, line, pyramid) apply perfectly. On Tarotoui, the Tarot de Marseille is one of the main decks, presented with its 78 cards and their upright and reversed interpretations. It is particularly suited to structural questions and contemplative readings.
Going further
The Egyptian origins of the Tarot de Marseille, spread by Court de Gebelin and then Etteilla, have been refuted by historians of playing cards, notably Michael Dummett. The first tarots come from northern Italy in the 15th century. Note that the expression Tarot de Marseille actually covers several related but distinct decks: a Conver is not read exactly like a Noblet. Historical precision matters to serious practitioners.