The Tarot as Material Religion

Abstract

Originating in fifteenth-century Christian Europe as a playing-card game, the Tarot (from the Italian tarrochi) has evolved over the centuries into a tool for self-knowledge, psychological insights, spiritual development, and entertainment in Western culture. By the end of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, Tarot decks have proliferated, becoming more and more popular as Tarot artists and producers draw imagery and symbolic meaning from across the world’s religious traditions to create new versions of the Tarot deck for new audiences. As a tool for spirituality, Tarot decks may be seen as a form of material religion since they incorporate embodied ritual actions, invoke deep religious and spiritual meanings through their imagery, and serve as a means for building both physical and virtual communities. This chapter explores the ways that Tarot decks are simultaneously popular culture and material religion by examining the ways that two well-known Tarot decks, The Rider-Smith (Smith-Waite Tarot Deck) and The Mythic Tarot, demonstrate connections to religious actions, symbolic meanings, and spiritual development while also bridging Renaissance origins with contemporary popular meanings in the form of new Tarot decks, Tarot merchandise, Tarot websites, and Tarot communities.