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| My mother lived in Kelseyville, CA for many years, at the base of Mt. Konocti (elev 4,305 ft) |
'A Mountain Rose'
Her brood hailed from the highlands,
Tantamount to the sky's islands.
Now so very distant from those ancient shadows,
Still in the blood, she remains a wiley and radiant mountain rose.
For me, this woman was my teacher more than any other,
So proud that she was my mother.
The Temple of the Sun was a temple in the Campus Agrippae in Rome. It was dedicated to Sol Invictus on December 25, 274,[1] by the emperor Aurelian[2] and funded by spoils from his campaign against Palmyra. It was the fourth temple dedicated to the god in Rome – the other three were in the Circus Maximus, on the Quirinal Hill and in Trastevere.[3] If still in use by the 4th-century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
It is believed that the temple was already in ruins by the sixth century, as eight of its porphyry columns were apparently sent to Constantinople at some point to be used in either the construction or the rebuilding of Hagia Sophia during the emperor Justinian's reign.
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This temple was dedicated when the noonday sun was first observed to begin its return northward. The date of this dedication was later used by Christians as the date for Christmas.
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'The Bend in the Road'
We come to life's crossroads
And we view what we think is the end.
But God has a much wider vision
And He knows it's only a bend-
The road will go on and get smoother
And after we've stopped for a rest,
The path that lies hidden beyond us
Is often the path that is best
So rest and relax and grow stronger,
Let go and let God share your load
And have faith in a brighter tomorrow-
You've just come to a bend in the road
-- Helen Steiner Rice
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A stranger shared this with me a few days ago, who knew nothing of my current predicament.
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My late mother, now gone six months already, owned a book entitled 'A Treasury of the World's Best Loved Poems'. Now as I engage in the final steps of clearing out her house, a week ago, I came upon this book. With a soft leather cover, it was published in 1961 by Avenel Books. She probably had this book for a large portion of her life. As I opened it, almost magically it stopped at one page. As I looked down upon this page, I read the name of a particular poem: 'Invictus', by William Ernest Henley. Was it a message for me during this, a very trying time for me?
'Invictus'
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall finde me, unafraid,
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
-- William Ernest Henley
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Different small pagan groups communicate through symbolism
Last week while doing a night hike through a nearby low elevation trail, I discovered some elaborately painted twigs hanging by twine on some lower branches of a smaller brush-like tree. They were hanging in rows on two different branches, and were like wind chimes. I don't know as yet their meaning, although it may just be a type of decoration. Their painted patterns were more complex than the above image (more like the image below). There is some type of coven in the area, as I have seen their signs in the past, such as stacked stones, handmade wicker hearts, and little white rocks put in patterns on the side of the trail. I have gone over in the past the concept of different small groups sharing a park or mountain, and not knowing of each other's presence.
On two different occasions I believe that I spotted them, although this was some years ago. There had been a Satanic cult known to conduct rituals on this mountain in the 1970s, but I'm certain that this is not a continuity of that... as their signs are only of positive energy. Once I saw perhaps five individuals in black robes just entering the park at twilight on higher elevation, but their hoods were down and I just thought at that time that they may have been wearing matching coats of some type. I just didn't make the connection. At another point I came upon a woman after dark on a high elevation trail. She was wearing a dark cloak with a hood, and was interacting with a wild cat.
The only reason I saw her clearly was due to the light from a ranger station in the distance. She saw me walking down the trail towards them, stood up facing me for 3-to-4 seconds, then walked off the trail. I wrote about this experience a few years ago. When I made it to the spot where she had been, I then saw her walking off into the brush; her robe which was draped wide around her ankles made her appear to be just gliding along. Of course I'm wearing a light grey sweat outfit with sneakers, and probably looked to her like someone who would not understand her spirituality, and I unintentionally made the two of them depart. I suppose it would go without saying that she didn't expect anyone to show up at that time.
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| Camunian woman |
The incoming Teutons and Mediterraneans of thousands of years ago probably came into contact with many of these primordial people who were eager to join with them, while some were ether not so enthusiastic about them or were simply more isolated... usually in mountainous regions. There is no evidence that I know of that suggests any conflict between them, but only later were there attempts to bring the "holdouts" to heel; for example, the Roman conquest of the Alps.
These images were from Davide Mazzocchi's DeviantArt site. The woman's name is Teresa.
Sugar: The Bitter Truth
14,216,202 views
University of California Television (UCTV)
900K subscribers
con't....
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"This video should be shown in every school, every year. Shown in every institution, everywhere, every year." -- Dixie Wade, YouTube
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The body receives more than enough sugar from carbohydrates alone. Sadly, treats such as ice cream or brownies could actually be made without sugar. Fast food chains put a lot of sugar in everything! Processed foods are commonly loaded with sugar as well. It's like a license to poison for profit!
I'm not going to be able to post much here for perhaps the next six months. Mainly due to the passing of my mother, there is a great upheaval in my life, and my future is very uncertain. There are financial and legal issues abound. Life impacts.
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"Moon-Venus-Mars Trifecta"
Last night, during the early morning hours of August 26, I went for a late hike. I was very behind on my sleep, so I slept several hours early, and I left for several hours to hike. I observed what I call the "Moon-Venus-Mars Trifecta." All three were in a perfectly straight line from left to right: Moon, Venus, and Mars. This may be much more relevant to me here for a couple of reasons. First, in this mountain oasis amid vast urbanization, the number of stars and planets which are visible on a clear night is limited. We're lucky to see what we can see here! In this particular location between the San Francisco Bay and some mountains forming a little valley, the Moon and Venus are very visible on a clear night, and Mars tags behind a bit. Other times it can be left to right--for example--Venus, Moon, and Mars.... or really any combination.
Last night the Moon still had that almost-full look to it, so to see them in a straight line, close, and equally distanced apart was special. I suppose absolute perfection would be Venus, Full Moon, and Mars with the same straight line, close proximity, and equally distanced. Other conditions are special, such as a triangle or a wider straight line across the sky. As I have stated before, now I have taken to associate--only for myself--my mother as the Moon, my sister as Venus, and my ex-fiance as Mars. Mars of course symbolizes "war" and male energy, but since all three have passed on and that concept suits some aspects of her personality, I make the association. The Moon does symbolize "the Mother" and Venus symbolizes love and feminine energy.
To see them up there, it was like all three were sending me a message that they're keeping watch over me, and of course being amid the darkness, trees, and brush of the trail... it only enhanced that feeling. Also, they could be a perfect Triple-Goddes: My mother Janet as the Crone, my ex-fiance Rachel as the Mother, and my sister Katherine as the maiden as she was so young when she passed. Personality-wise, Rachel would be a much better fit as the Crone with her temper and occasional brooding. Needless to say, in a perfect world for me, all three would still be here; along with cousins who would never be born. My misfortune. At one point, in the direction of a particularly dark area of the canyon, coyote howls started up! It's hard to say how many that it sounded like, although it could have been only a half dozen. I'm only sorry that I couldn't just stay out there longer, but I had to get more sleep.
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Yesterday, upon visiting a columbarium, I noticed again the location for the remains of a woman defined as "Technocrat Vera MacKenzie" who passed away in 1944. The name "Technocracy, Inc." was at the bottom of it. The technocracy movement as been around since the 19th century. It's similar to other "-isms and -acies" in that it can be used for both the common good or evil, and defended tooth-and-nail by many. In other words, another undefined thing that the super wealthy planned out for us without our approval. "A better world through science," even though "science" is presented as just one thing. Just like Democracy, Religion, Capitalism, Socialism, Anarchism, Republicanism, Humanism, eugenics, etc., there are vastly different types within each!
Is "science" when a fossil and artifact is discovered which absolutely does-not-fit established theories and would destroy careers and halt funding... that it's packed away in cold storage... or sometimes just goes missing!? It is supposed to be defined as Scientific Method, but it doesn't always work out that way when someone's idea of an "improper conclusion" results from that established method. Just like Capitalism or Socialism, Technocracy theoretically could be fashioned in such a way as to be a great aid to humanity. I'm guessing that this woman would be of the mindset of the early benevolent thinking. However, all we get is Agenda 30, "corporate humanism," Globalism, "billionaires unions," unelected bureaucrats, lobbying from the highest bidders, and so many other things that are each massive in scope. What was discovered from the MK Ultra program of the CIA doesn't in any way show any path to a world utopia, but simply control by the few.
The Minds of Men | Official Documentary by Aaron & Melissa Dykes
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This here isn't the article, but she is really a charming lil gal. There are a few more photos in the above link. This is actually rare among particularly famous people. Most are just wierdos who thrive on being that. This really looks like genuine love. Too bad they didn't meet twenty years ago. Neat couple.
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Matt Flavel on The Patrick Ryan Show (2021)
Aug 25, 2021
AFA Alsherjargothi interviewed after the founding of Baldrshof in Murdock, MN January 2021.
www.runestone.org
www.twitter.com/folkasatru
www.vk.com/asatrufolkassembly
www.parler.com/asatrufolkassembly
www.odysee.com/@AsatruFolkAssembly
www.youtube.com/c/asatrufolkassembly
www.bitchute.com/channel/asatrufolkassembly/
www.rumble.com/asatrufolkassembly
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Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (with lyrics)
162,844,283 views - Dec 24, 2010
Zoe Tsolaki
THE LYRICS ARE HERE, PEOPLE, SO PLEASE DON'T ASK!
Guys, I know this isn't the original album cover, but I think it's an amazing picture, and I believe it represents Pink Floyd's legacy and success throughout these years.
This song was posted as a tribute to Syd Barrett.
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'Wish You Were Here' lyrics
So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skys from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade
Your heros for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found?
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.
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Dodge Challenger R/T "Muscle Car"
There's nothing like a red-orange Dodge Challenger with two black stripes down across the top and all-black rims and general accessories. There's that particular deep red-orange color, but also the deep medium blue is nice. This is the one automobile in which I think the modern version looks better than the classic 1970 Dodge Challenger convertable... which is saying a lot. The original Chrystler model was available from 1970 to 1974, the second incarnation under Mitsubishi from 1978 to 1983, before returning with Chrystler in 2008.
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The 1970 Dodge Challenger convertable
In the same league as a 57 Chevy Bel Air or 67 Ford Mustang.
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Yesterday after having two fillings replaced at my dentist's office, I tried eating at least something in the form of a few almonds and small celery sticks. At one point I bit my lip slightly without even noticing or feeling it at all. I can really see how someone could truly tear up their lip in this manner! The simple truth is: NEVER EAT ANYTHING AFTER YOU HAVE HAD NOVOCAINE AND YOUR MOUTH IS STILL NUMB! Never as in literally never never! It's not worth even tempting a terrible accident. Only liquid through a straw if necessary. I remember in the movie 'North Dallas Forty' where the issue of a player being given a shot to numb pain in his injured knee, and how he could tear up his knee simply by not feeling what's going on there!
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TV roundup
Creature Features (TV20 in northern California; Saturdays; check your local cable channels)
Reasonable Doubt (Investigation Discovery; Mondays; investigating possible innocent people in prison)
American Horror Story: Double Feature (FX; Wednesdays)
American Justice (A&E; Fridays; this classic cable program goes back to the 80's with Bill Kurtis)
Kids Behind Bars: Life or Parole (A&E; Thursdays)
Deadly Women (Investigatin Discovery; Thursdays)
Monsters and Mysteries in America (Travel Channel; Mondays)
Neighborhood Wars (A&E; Wednesdays; crazy neighbor videos)
Murder in the Heartland (Investigation Discovery; Thursdays; murders in rural America)
Ancient Aliens (History Channel; Fridays)
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Ghost Adventures is starting another season on the Travel Channel, and Court Cam (crazy videos taken inside of courtrooms) on A&E, are on very frequently on many nights and I catch a few episodes.
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Autumn Equinox
Occurs from Tuesday, September 21 to Wednesday, September 29
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Killing Me Softly With His Song | Roberta Flack | Lyrics ☾☀
18,070,425 views - Mar 16, 2016
Megan Smith
132K subscribers
Released | January 21st, 1973
Album | Killing Me Softly
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Full Harvest Moon 2021
The Full Harvest Moon will occur on the evening of Monday, September 20 and the early morning hours of Tuesday, September 21.
The start of the Autumn Equinox and the Full Harvest Moon coincide after midnight on Tuesday, September 21. That's a truly special occurence!
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| Battle of Lexington |
Patriot's Day - The somewhat forgotten American holiday
April 19, 2021
Patriots Day is an annual event, formalized as several state holidays, commemorating the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy, some of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. The holiday occurs on the third Monday of April each year, with celebrations including battle reenactments and the Boston Marathon.
Observed by Massachusetts, Main, Wisconsin, Connecticut (since 2018), North Dakota (since 2019), and encouraged in Florida.
Bunker Hill Day
Evacuation Day (Massachusetts)
Minor American Revolution holidays
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Berlin - Take My Breath Away (Official Video)
195,721,779 views - Feb 8, 2014
Berlin
263K subscribers
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| Albula Alps |
I discovered that my grandmother had a cousin who emigrated from Lombardia and settled in northern Wisconsin, where she married a man whose surname was Manni. When hearing of this in the past, or reading it on some family biography or obituary, nothing in particular registered with me. Manni is an Italian surname. After poking and prodding around recently, partly to examine where the Manni family originated, I found out that they were not from say Lombardia or the Veneto as expected... but were from Switzerland! My very next thought was TICINO! That would have been a very curious connection since the Swiss Italians are historically Lombard in culture and language, and especially the more particular Alpine cultural aspect of it. Of course, the migration of Ticinese were a California phenomenon, not at all what one would expect in Wisconsin.
Well, as it turns out, the Manni's were Romansh! The Romansh were an ancient people who clearly have a linguistic connection to Latin/Roman and historical Rhaetia. Sandwiched between Swiss and Austrian Germans to the north, and Lombardo-Venetians to the south, their particular identity has been marginalized and they've lost ancestral territory and sovereignty over the centuries. Actually the Romansh in Albula are surrounded by German speaking communities, so there's a slight geographical disconnect between the Romansh and Lombard speaking areas (they do connect on the northern Ticino border to the east). Jim Caviezel is one very famous American who is half Romansh and half Irish. The Manni family was from the Albula District or Albula Alps of Graubünden, with links to the Maloja District as well. I really don't know anything about this particular family of whom I share an affinity, but from sifting around their family tree I noticed that they have the coolest names! Men named Ivan, Jacob, and Emil; women named Veronika, Mimi, Naoma, and Sabina; surnames like Manni, Accola, and Bandli. My immigrant ancestors were more like Basilio, Santo, Bertillo, Giovanna, Coronata, and Theresa; with surnames like Calvetti, Brunelli, Fornoni, and Bellicini.
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| Engadin Valley |
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| Rhaetian Railways snaking through the Albula and Bernina Alps |
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| The Manni family and related clans were from the third (L-R) of the four Romansh areas above |
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| The Albula Alps of Graubünden |
The Great Alps,
Its massive mountains and valleys,
Its majestic peaks,
Its mighty forests, rivers, and lakes,
The land that shaped us!
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'The masked invader strikes again: the conquest of Italy by the Northern raccoon'
Hystrix: The Italian Journal of Mammalogy - vol. 26 - January 2015
The Northern raccoon Procyon lotor is a species native to North and Central America, but alien populations have established in Europe, several Caribbean islands, and Japan, being introduced for fur farming, hunting, or as pets/attraction in animal parks. In the introduced range, raccoons may impact on breeding birds and amphibians, exert crop damages and transmit pathologies to wild species and humans. The species has been introduced also in Italy, where the only known reproductive population is observed since 2004 in Lombardy, along the Adda river.
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Slowly but surely, the North American raccoon is literally spreading across the planet. First introduced into Germany, Japan, and Cacucus during the last century, they are quick to adapt and reproduce. Their habitat is typically northern moderate, but they're native to tropical Mexico and Central America as well. Alaska and northern Canada are too harsh. However, their potential to inhabit territories far and wide exists. In Japan, they have done much damage to ancient temples by sheltering up within the the area around the rafters (urinating for example). The love affair with the raccoon in Japan seems to have ended, as the government is trying to eradicate them. In Europe, they started out in Germany, and have spread heavily into Denmark and Switzerland, and also into France and central Europe, and now into Lombardy.
In Europe, raccoons don't seem to be any more of a nuisance than in North America. Since they have working hands, including opposable thumbs, they can open garbage cans to get at leftover food. There is insufficient data on the Alpine region of Lombardy (Sondrio for example), so it would seem likely that they are there as well. It is known that there are breeding populations in south-central Lombardy. The following link actually has some expanded information, including two good maps; one of Italy and Switzerand, and one of Lombardy: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Current-distribution-of-Northern-raccoon-in-Lombardy-red-triangles-with-respect-to_fig2_278962437 The Italian/Swiss map clearly shows the considerable extent to which raccoons have inhabited that country, and in turn the potential for the same thing to happen in Italy. An entirely separate breeding population of Raccoons has even taken root in Belarus.
I'm not suggesting that this is something good. Invasive species can cause lots of problems. We have seen the damage done by giant rodents from South America--called nutria--have done in states like Louisiana. Another example are the farm factory pigs which sometimes escape into the wild and breed with with wild boars (an invasive species) of which they descended from before genetic modification. The offspring quickly regain their old DNA and become hairy with tusks again, while becoming even bigger. Some can be up to seven or eight hundred pounds! One "monster pig" was shot in Alabama in 2007; 9 feet 4 inches, and 1,051 pounds. Then of course there are the killer bees from the African bees who escaped in the 1950s and cross-breeding with local Brazilian honey bees, and they migrated to the United States years ago.
So what does invasion of raccoons mean to Lombardy? It would seem highly likely that they will increase rapidly because of the ideal climate and environment there.
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| Cards from the Pierpont Morgan Bergamo deck |
Final thoughts
Apparently the Tarot came into Europe via Marduk, Egypt (Egypt, the Levant, and Hejaz), and the first European records of them were in Milan, Ferrara, Florence, and Bologna. With such an obscure origin, they may be a remnant of the old mystery schools which stretched from ancient western Europe (Druids?) to Greece to Egypt to India to China at one point. Also, it was very dicey with the Medieval power of the Church, and the Islamic world looming so large. The old knowledge and teachings of Hermeticism and similar ancient traditions were already present when Christian and Muslim despots arrived on the world stage as societies transitioned from native paganism to Abrahamic systems (the Middle East had been largely Indo-European with spiritual systems such as Zoroastrianism).
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| Queen Theodelinda fresco at Monza |
Where the Tarot may have fit in within the ancient wisdom... I'm sure someone from some level of initiation knows. It's very curious that the modern incarnation of Tarot got its name from Brescia. The artisans of Brescia--whether producing fine clothing, luxurious silk accessories, leather products, brilliant weaponry, the finest textiles, etc--were second to none. They exported their crafts to the Near East during that time period, and perhaps that's how the Tarot came in. Brescia was then part of the Venetian Republic, and Venetian ships exported the goods overseas.
The middle card in the image above looks much like depictions of the Lombard Queen Theodelinda, and perhaps the figure on horseback as well. Compare those images to the example of the art depiction of Theodelinda on the left, from the Cathedral she had constructed at Monza, Lombardia. What other monarchical figure in Lombardia appeared like that... blonde.. monarchical.. so grand? Clearly someone important, a queen. I can't think of too many others. Was there a Queen Theodelinda card(s) on the Pierpont Morgan Bergamo deck? She ruled some seven centuries earlier.
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| Milanese tarocchi, c. 1500 |
A terrific head of state, Theodelinda could very well have been declared a Catholic saint. The Pierpont Morgan Bergamo card image would be very consistent with her artistic portrayals, downplaying her beauty, and depicting her as merely stately. Early historians had clearly described her as tall and beautiful, and she was later depicted as somewhat shorter as well. I guess it wasn't acceptable to show a woman as beautiful and physically imposing, especially if she was such a great head of state. Things were very touch-and-go when she took over alone as Queen of the Langobards. She was extremely loved by her people, and proceeded to patch things up with the Vatican and other surrounding states, pragmatically codified laws, defined the culture, and was a great patron of the arts. One of the great underappreciated female rulers in world history; one of the great underappreciated heads of state, period!
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| Arms for the Visconti-Sforza family |
Trionfi (Italian: 'triumphs') are 15th-century Italian playing cards with allegorical content related to those used in tarocchi games. The general English expression "trump card" and the German "trumpfen" (in card games) have developed from the Italian "Trionfi". Most cards feature the personification of a place or abstraction.
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History
Many of the motifs found in trionfi are found in trionfo, theatrical processions that were popular in the Italian Renaissance. The Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara, once owned by the ducal House of Este, contains many murals depicting these floats. Petrarch wrote a poem called I Trionfi which may have served as inspiration.
The earliest known use of the name "Trionfi" in relation to cards can be dated to 16 September 1440 in the records of a Florentine notary, Giusto Giusti. He recorded a transaction where he transferred two expensive personalized decks to Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta.
In a letter from 11 November 1449, Antonio Jacopo Marcello used the expression triumphorum genus for a deck that was produced sometime between 1418 and 1425. It was commissioned by the duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, painted by Michelino da Besozzo and described in an accompanying text by Martiano da Tortona.
Two decks from June 1457 seem to relate to a visit at Ferrara of the young Milanese heir of the dukedom Galeazzo Maria Sforza in July/August 1457. Each deck consisted of 70 cards — the modern Tarot deck typically has 78.
The earliest known appearance of the word "Tarocho" as the new name for the game is in Brescia around 1502).
[Depaulis, Thierry (2008). "Entre farsa et barzelletta: jeux de cartes italiens autours de 1500". The Playing-Card. 37 (2): 89–102]
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Tarocchini (plural for tarocchino) are point trick-taking tarot card games popular in Bologna, capital city of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and has been confined mostly to this area. They are the diminutive form of tarocchi (plural for tarocco), referring to the reduction of the Bolognese pack from 78 to 62 cards, which probably occurred in the early 16th century.
The games of Tarocchini are very complex, yet the rules have changed little over the years.
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The Visconti-Sforza tarot is used collectively to refer to incomplete sets of approximately 15 decks from the middle of the 15th century, now located in various museums, libraries, and private collections around the world. No complete deck has survived; rather, some collections boast a few face cards, while some consist of a single card. They are the oldest surviving tarot cards and date back to a period when tarot was still called Trionfi ("triumphs" i.e. trump) cards, and used for everyday playing. They were commissioned by Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, and by his successor and son-in-law Francesco Sforza. They had a significant impact on the visual composition, card numbering and interpretation of modern decks.
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The surviving cards are of particular historical interest because of the beauty and detail of the design, which was often executed in precious materials and often reproduce members of the Visconti and Sforza families in period garments and settings. Consequently, the cards also offer a glimpse of nobiliary life in Renaissance Milan, which the Visconti called home since the 13th century.
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Pierpont Morgan Bergamo (card deck)
This deck, also known as Colleoni-Baglioni and Francesco Sforza, was produced around 1451. Originally composed of 78 cards, it now contains 74, i.e. 20 trumps, 15 face cards, and 39 pip cards. The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City has 35, the Accademia Carrara has 26 in its catalogue, while the remaining 13 are in the private collection of the Colleoni family in Bergamo. Trumps and face cards have a gilt background, while the pip cards are cream-coloured with a flower and vine motif. The two missing trumps are the Devil and the Tower. Modern published reproductions of this deck usually contain attempted reconstructions of missing cards.
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[The Tarot] first known as trionfi and later as tarocchi or tarock, is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play games such as Italian tarocchini; many games are still played today; in the late 18th century, some tarot decks began to be used for divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy leading to custom decks developed for such occult purposes.
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History
The first documented tarot packs were recorded between 1440 and 1450 in Milan, Ferrara, Florence and Bologna when additional trump cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the common four-suit pack. These new decks were called carte da trionfi, triumph cards, and the additional cards known simply as trionfi, which became "trumps" in English. The earliest documentation of trionfi is found in a written statement in the court records of Florence, in 1440, regarding the transfer of two decks to Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta.
The oldest surviving tarot cards are the 15 or so Visconti-Sforza tarot decks painted in the mid-15th century for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan. A lost tarot-like pack was commissioned by Duke Filippo Maria Visconti and described by Martiano da Tortona probably between 1418 and 1425, since the painter he mentions, Michelino da Besozzo, returned to Milan in 1418, while Martiano himself died in 1425. He described a 60-card deck with 16 cards having images of the Roman gods and suits depicting four kinds of birds. The 16 cards were regarded as "trumps" since in 1449 Jacopo Antonio Marcello recalled that the now deceased duke had invented a novum quoddam et exquisitum triumphorum genus, or "a new and exquisite kind of triumphs". Other early decks that also showcased classical motifs include the Sola-Busca and Boiardo-Viti decks of the 1490s.
In Florence, an expanded deck called Minchiate was used. This deck of 97 cards includes astrological symbols and the four elements, as well as traditional tarot motifs.
The expansion of tarot outside of Italy, first to France and Switzerland, occurred during the Italian Wars. The most important tarot pattern used in these two countries was the Tarot of Marseilles of Milanese origin.
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Etmology
The word Tarot and German Tarock derive from the Italian Tarocchi, the origin of which is uncertain but taroch was used as a synonym for foolishness in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The decks were known exclusively as Trionfi during the fifteenth century.
[Depaulis, Thierry (2008). "Entre farsa et barzelletta: jeux de cartes italiens autours de 1500". The Playing-Card. 37 (2): 89–102]
During the 16th century, a new game played with a standard deck but sharing a very similar name (Trionfa) was quickly becoming popular. This coincided with the older game being renamed tarocchi. In modern Italian, the singular term is Tarocco, which, as a noun, refers to a cultivar of blood orange. The attribute Tarocco and the verb Taroccare are used regionally to indicate that something is fake or forged. This meaning is directly derived from the tarocchi game as played in Italy, in which tarocco indicates a card that can be played in place of another card.
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Gaming decks
The original purpose of tarot cards was to play games. A very cursory explanation of rules for a tarot-like deck is given in a manuscript by Martiano da Tortona before 1425. Vague descriptions of game play or game terminology follow for the next two centuries until the earliest known complete description of rules for a French variant in 1637. The game of tarot has many regional variations. Tarocchini has survived in Bologna and there are still others played in Piedmont and Sicily, but in Italy the game is generally less popular than elsewhere.
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Tarocco Piemontese: the Fool card
These were the oldest form of tarot deck to be made, being first devised in the 15th century in northern Italy. Three decks of this category are still used to play certain games:
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Card reading
The earliest evidence of a tarot deck used for cartomancy (fortune telling) comes from an anonymous manuscript from around 1750 which documents rudimentary divinatory meanings for the cards of the Tarocco Bolognese.
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