Tarot cards have always been a tool used by many people to seek guidance and predict the future, and in this long history, Etteilla, known as Jean-Baptiste Ayette ( Jean-Baptiste Alliette, one of the first occultists to introduce tarot interpretation to the world. He was not only the first person to commercialize tarot cards, but also the first professional tarot card reader. He had a profound impact on the world's understanding of tarot.
Since 1783, Etla began publishing his book "Manière de se récréer avec le jeu de cartes nommées tarots" (Manière de se récréer avec le jeu de cartes nommées tarots), which is considered the first Tarot card A standard reference work on divination. Through these works, Etra closely combined the interpretation of Tarot cards with astrology and the ancient correspondence between the four elements, making Tarot cards no longer just a tool for entertainment, but a deep mystical learning method.
Etela's influence cannot be underestimated, and many later diviners such as Marie Anne Lenormand were deeply inspired by her ideas.
Etela was born in 1738. As the child of a Parisian chef and a seed merchant, his upbringing is not well known. In 1763, he married Jeanne Valtier, but the marriage lasted only five years. During this time, he lived the life of a merchant until 1770, when he published his first book, Etela, the Method of Recreating Yourself with a Pack of Playing Cards. This book provided the basis for tarot card divination in later generations. This book first proposed the meaning of each card and discussed how to arrange the cards.
Etela described the divination techniques he learned from Italy in his book, but the symbology he devised was his own innovative contribution and is still the standard used by many diviners today.
After being influenced by the French-Swiss priest and occultist Antoine Court de Gébelin, Etela also wrote "Recreating with the Tarot" in 1783 yourself method”. This work is dedicated to Tarot divination techniques and is one of his greatest contributions to Tarot research. Etela maintained that he had been introduced to the art of card-diving in 1751, a claim that undoubtedly added weight to his professional status.
In 1789, Etla published his own Tarot deck. The structure and name of this deck were different from the traditional Marseille Tarot, showing his new understanding of Tarot cards. He divided these cards into "major" and "minor" arcana and introduced the concept of the four elements. By integrating the laws of society and nature into the divination process, his decks created a huge resonance in the occult circles of the time.
Etela was not satisfied with a single divination technology, so he founded the "New Magic School" (Nouvelle Ecole de Magie) in 1790, hoping to further explore the relationship between Tarot and other occult sciences. His book Cours théorique et pratique du Livre du Thot (Cours théorique et pratique du Livre du Thot) is the culmination of this process and provides an in-depth look at the use of tarot cards for prediction and divination.
Etra believes that tarot cards are not only a tool for predicting the future, but also a bridge to self-understanding and inner wisdom.
Etela's influence is still evident in today's fortune-telling culture, with modern tarot card readers commonly drawing on his semiotics and card-reading techniques. His books are not only widely praised in French-speaking areas, but have also been translated into many languages and have become valuable teaching materials for divination students. In an era of advanced technology, Etra's concept still makes people rethink the spirituality and use of Tarot cards.
Tracing Etela's contribution, we not only see the unique perspective of a pioneer, but also the beginning of a journey of introspection and self-purification. He redefined the very nature of tarot, transforming it from a simple tool of entertainment into a path to self-revelation. In this era of rapid change, have you ever thought about the true meaning and impact of Tarot cards in your life?