I. Introduction: The Problem of Tarot Origins and the Need for Impartial Inquiry

Manly P. Hall begins by acknowledging the long-standing fascination with the Tarot’s possible religious and philosophical significance. He emphasizes that the subject has been clouded by wishful thinking, dogmatism, and insufficient scholarship, noting that “the lack of a sober scholarship in the spheres of esoteric arts and sciences has led to a confusion rather than a clarification of the issues involved”. His stated aim is to reconstruct the mystical traditions surrounding the Tarot’s origin and then compare them with historical evidence.

Hall insists on impartiality, arguing that devotion should not override truth. He warns that most writers on the Tarot “have promised that which they could not give; namely, the original keys to the meaning of the cards”. The article thus positions itself as a corrective to centuries of speculation.

II. Eastern Origins: The Desert Custodians of Ancient Wisdom

1. The Arabian Mysteries and the Dervish Tradition
Hall recounts a persistent tradition that Tarot-like pictorial devices circulated among the wise men of Fez and Damascus, forming part of the symbolism of the Arabian Mysteries. He writes:
“It is reported that pictorial devices, arranged in the form of a deck of cards, were in circulation among the mysterious wise men of Fez and Damascus.”

These adepts are linked to the legendary Rosicrucian founder, Father C.R.C., suggesting a continuity between Near Eastern esotericism and later European secret societies.

2. The Flight of Egyptian Wisdom into the Desert
Hall frames the destruction of Egyptian sanctuaries as a pivotal moment: the arcana of Isis, Osiris, and Serapis fled into the deserts of the Near East. He parallels this with Revelation’s image of the woman fleeing into the wilderness, writing that this may symbolize “that the ancient arcana was in danger of extinction”.

3. The Dark Ages and the Preservation of Wisdom
Hall describes the collapse of classical learning and the rise of theological dogmatism, culminating in the Inquisition. During this period, he argues, the intellectual life of Europe waned while “the beacon fires of a higher and more sufficient concept were kept alight in remote parts of Syria, Arabia, and adjacent lands”. These communities preserved Platonic, Orphic, Hermetic, Zoroastrian, and early Islamic mysteries.

III. The Crusades and the Transmission of Esoteric Knowledge to Europe

1. Cultural Exchange Through Conflict
The Crusades brought Europeans into direct contact with Near Eastern culture. Hall emphasizes the shock experienced by crusaders who expected barbarism but found refinement among the Saracens. This encounter became a conduit through which suppressed Eastern knowledge flowed back into Europe.

2. The Knights Templars as Esoteric Intermediaries
Hall devotes significant attention to the Templars, describing them as students of Syrian mysteries and initiates of the Brotherhood of Mt. Lebanon. He asserts they discovered that “the Jesus of the Church was not the Jesus of Nazareth”, implying a deeper initiatory understanding of Christianity.

The Templars, he argues, became a threat to European political and religious institutions, leading to their destruction. Yet their martyrdom amplified their influence:
“The sword of the Templar was broken to become the poniard of the Revolution.”

3. The Templars and the Tarot
Hall cites Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer’s research suggesting that returning crusaders brought playing cards to Europe. He writes: “The Templars are said to have brought these cards with them because they realized that all the knowledge of the ages was epitomized in this little loose-leaf picture book.”

This establishes the Tarot as a portable compendium of esoteric doctrine, preserved through the innocuous medium of gaming.

IV. The Tarot as a Sacred Book: Symbolism, Structure, and Esoteric Purpose

1. Tarot as an Eclectic Philosophical Text
Hall argues that ancient books often consisted of loose leaves bound between boards, making the Tarot’s structure consistent with ancient formats. He describes the deck as “a picture book of essential truths” uniting multiple philosophical systems.

Eliphas Levi’s famous assertion is quoted: “If a man were imprisoned in a dungeon with nothing but a deck of the Tarot…he could reconstruct from them alone the entire body of learning.”

2. The Problem of Interpretation
Hall stresses that the Tarot cannot be understood solely through its imagery because the symbols have been repeatedly redrawn: “Each succeeding generation has redrawn the Tarots, until frequently only the roughest outline of the original idea remains.”

Thus, only a student versed in ancient philosophies, cabala, mythology, and symbolism can hope to understand the system.

3. The Tarot as a Mirror of the Interpreter
Hall notes that symbolic systems inevitably reflect the interpreter’s own viewpoint. This does not diminish their value; rather, symbolism draws from the seeker’s inner resources. Nature itself is the greatest symbolic book.

V. False Traditions and Misinterpretations: The Egyptian Hypothesis Rejected

Hall critiques the 18th–19th century French occultists who claimed Egyptian origins for the Tarot. He calls the so‑called Egyptian Tarot “a modern fabrication” and mocks the extravagant claims of Paul Christian and Vaillant, who imagined Tarot cards carved in pyramids or carried by archangels.

He writes:
“It is quite impossible to disillusion these Tarot enthusiasts who seem to consider it not only probable but demonstrable that the gods on high Olympus played celestial cribbage with these remarkable pasteboards.”

While acknowledging that some symbols are ancient, Hall insists the cards themselves do not predate medieval European costumes and customs.

Gypsy Traditions
Hall entertains the possibility that gypsies preserved Egyptian magical lore, including the Book of Thoth, but warns against conflating this with the Tarot. Even if gypsies used divinatory cards, they are not identical to modern “Egyptian” decks.

VI. Secret Societies and the Esoteric Preservation of Tarot Knowledge

1. Freemasons, Rosicrucians, and Alchemists
Hall suggests that medieval Tarot designs may have been influenced by Freemasonic craftsmen and enriched with archaic symbolism. He notes that secret societies often circulated symbolic materials privately.

Cagliostro believed the Tarot was the “sacred and supreme symbolic book” of these movements, and Pike considered Cagliostro a Templar emissary.

2. The Rosicrucian Book M
Hall connects the Tarot to the Rosicrucian legend of a book containing all knowledge. He cites an anonymous 1792 accusation that Rosicrucians possessed a volume in which they could learn “all that is to be found in other books” and references “the philosophical, theosophical, and microcosmic cards”.

He also notes that Francis Bacon’s dream of a universal encyclopedia may have influenced the French Encyclopedists, suggesting a broader tradition of symbolic condensation of knowledge.

VII. The Limits of Historical Knowledge and the Need for Caution

Hall concludes by emphasizing three major obstacles:

1. The original number of Tarot cards is unknown.
The modern deck may lack vital cards.

2. The original order is uncertain.
Hebrew-letter correspondences may be coincidental.

3. Early writers intentionally obscured the keys.
“There is no doubt that such intentional confusion does exist in the most prominent texts.”

He warns against dogmatism and urges scholars to treat the Tarot as a relic of antiquity, probably of sacred origin, whose philosophical value was deliberately concealed.

VIII. Final Assessment

Hall’s central thesis is that the Tarot is not a medieval invention nor a mere divinatory tool, but a fragmented remnant of a once-coherent esoteric book, transmitted through Near Eastern mystery schools and preserved by European secret societies. Its present form is incomplete, altered, and obscured, yet still capable of revealing profound truths to those equipped with the proper keys.