Etteilla Tarot (Grand Etteilla)

The first deck in history created from the outset not for play but specifically for divination. Its author was the French cartomancer Jean-Baptiste Alliette, known by the pen name Etteilla (his surname read backwards). The 78-card deck links Tarot with astrology, the four elements and the Egyptian mysticism fashionable in the Age of Enlightenment. Each card carries keywords for the upright and reversed positions right on the image, which made the Etteilla system convenient for readings. This tradition gave rise to a whole family of 'Grand Etteilla' divination decks. Our gallery presents the surviving part of a historical copy of the deck.