Ancient Minchiate Etruria
Historical Minchiate variant with forty-one major arcana from sixteenth-century tradition.
by Pietro Alligo · 1820
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The record
Minchiate is a Tarot expansion probably dating back to the sixteenth century, and thus arising about a hundred years later than the commonly accepted origin of Tarot in fifteenth century northern Italy. Minchiate differs from a typical Tarot in having 41 Major Arcana or trumps rather than 22. Like the Tarot, there are 56 Minor Arcana, making a total of 97 cards in the deck. The Minchiate adds the remainder of the virtues, all the zodiacal signs, the four elements and the Grand Duke to the suit of trumps. The Emperor has been replaced by a Western Emperor and an Eastern Emperor. However, the Papess, Empress and Pope have been deleted - or as some would suggest - perhaps renamed. If reversals are used, Minchiate gives a resolution of 194 basic states, from which of course placement and intuition can lead one towards infinite depths of meaning. For those interested in further study of the Minchiate, the book accompanying the Brian Williams Minchiate Tarot has been highly recommended. The Ancient Minchiate Etruria is a photo-reproduction of a Florentine deck dated 1725. The graphics are smooth, attractive and artistic: the originals themselves were etched and then hand-finished in wate
The cards
