Most of what you will find about the history of Tarot credits it as an invention originating in Italy. In truth, many different Black and brown cultures of magic from all over the world are blended into the deck. Chinese playing card games date back to the ninth century and were used for divination. The cards passed through Persia and India and then became Mamluck playing cards, created in Egypt. The Mamluck, which were also used for divination, became the basis for Tarot’s pips. The Tarot is not an invention of white culture alone.

We have the Romani peoples to thank for the cultivation of Tarot as magical practice of survival. As reparations and gratitude for their role in Tarot, which has been largely stolen, appropriated and misattributed as a European (Italian & French) invention, portions of every reading are donated to Romani feminist collectives, groups and/or causes. Anti-Roma racism and the criminalization of survivors has meant the Roma people have been targeted and persecuted for their magical strategies. Join me in solidarity with Romani feminist activists by learning more about their resistance. For more about the history of Tarot, I strongly recommend reading the "Foundations" chapter of 78 Acts of Liberation; Tarot to Transform our World by Lane Smith; History [Mystery] of the Tarot by Sanyu Estelle Nagenda found in Tarot for Tarot for Pregnancy A Companion for Radical Magical Birthing Folk by Brittany Carmona-Holt. Please check out Romani Tarot readers like Jezmina Von Thiele  & Paula Stevens and their amazing book The Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling.