Book of Thoth Etteilla
Historical tarot based on Etteilla's 18th-century divinatory innovations.
creator unknown · Lo Scarabeo · 1870
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The record
Jean Francois Alliette, better known to us by his pseudonym Etteilla, was an important figure in the development of modern Tarot. In the late eighteenth century, he published the first known book focusing on the use Tarot for divinatory purposes and created the first set of Tarot cards specifically for occult and divinatory use. Few cards remain today from Etteilla's original deck, but it served as a template for later versions created by his students. One of these, published in 1870 as 'Grand Jeu de Oracle des Dames' - Great Game of the Oracle of Ladies and known to academics as 'Grande Etteilla III', has been reproduced by Lo Scarabeo as the Book of Thoth Etteilla Tarot. While based on Etteilla's cards and concepts, the 1870 deck differs somewhat from the original cards. It has medieval-styled images, and modifications were made to the imagery of some majors, but the titles and keywords remained unchanged. As it is a reproduction rather than a re-creation, the art of these cards looks old and age-toned in hue. A deck of 78 cards with 22 majors and four suits of 14 cards each, the cards are numbered from 1 to 78 with the title appearing on the left and right hand borders. The top
The cards
