{"id":21382,"date":"2015-09-15T16:20:46","date_gmt":"2015-09-15T16:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/waitesmith.org\/?p=21382"},"modified":"2016-04-13T15:44:04","modified_gmt":"2016-04-13T15:44:04","slug":"etteilla-decks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waitesmith.org\/index.php\/decks\/etteilla-decks\/","title":{"rendered":"Etteilla decks"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row row_type=”row” type=”full_width” anchor=”” in_content_menu=”” content_menu_title=”” icon_pack=”font_awesome” content_menu_fa_icon=”” content_menu_fe_icon=”arrow_back” text_align=”left” video=”” video_overlay=”” video_overlay_image=”” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_image=”” background_image=”” pattern_background=”” section_height=”” parallax_speed=”” background_color=”” border_color=”” side_padding=”” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” color=”” hover_color=”” more_button_label=”” less_button_label=”” button_position=”” css_animation=”” transition_delay=””][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Click here for a direct visual comparison between Etteilla\u00a0and Waite-Smith cards<\/a><\/h2>\n

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T<\/span>he Etteilla deck<\/em>\u00a0was the magnum opus of Jean-Baptiste Alliette, who took on the nom de plume<\/em> Etteilla (he spelled his name backwards). He is regarded as the first official tarot reader in history, and much has been written on him (links to various articles appear at the bottom of this page). His main contribution to the Waite-Smith deck is his trailblazing brazenness at rewriting the rules. Antoine Court de G\u00e9belin<\/a> paved the way for Alliette to transition from cartomancer to “tarot reader” a few years previous to the creation of this deck. While both men were ridiculously wrong<\/em>\u00a0on any number of metaphysical secrets and history itself, together these two laid the foundation for the tarot revolution in London and are the godfathers of the modern tarot. Their work was regurgitated without question by Levi, and thus Mathers, and even by Waite to an extent, and to this very day their hypotheses form the basis of most modern tarot teaching. Sadly, when it comes to the tarot “expertise” you don’t have to be right in this world\u2014you just have to be prolific, have a fierce\u00a0monotheistic conviction, and base all of your arguments on “ancient documents” no one but you can see. Others will flock to you\u00a0on bended knee, twisting the laws of physics to prove you right, and them experts of your methods. Of course it\u00a0also helps if you were born in the 17 or 1800s. If you can’t do this last part kiddies there is still hope: simply proclaim\u00a0yourself the defender and interpreter of some “expert” of that era and you will sell a lot of books<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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It is from “Etteilla” that Mathers gathered the bulk of his information about the tarot as a spiritual tool, and from Mathers that Waite gleaned much of his information. Waite’s deck idea sprang from several sources, as did Pam’s art for it, but central and paramount were the Marseilles deck variations<\/a>, the Sola Busca<\/a>, and this deck. While many images in the Waite-Smith deck closely follow the Marseilles versions of the tarot, those decks were sloppily printed and of little artistic value. This deck gave Art and Pam, quite literally, photo-quality images to source from. Below are two versions\u00a0of the\u00a0Etteilla deck<\/em>, and below that appear comparison examples, with links to more in-depth comparisons.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24px”][vc_text_separator title=”Circa 1840 Etteilla deck” title_align=”separator_align_center” border=”yes”][vc_empty_space height=”24px”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

This version is often referred to as an\u00a0Etteilla II\u00a0<\/em>and it was
\npublished by Z. Limson circa 1840-1890.\u00a0<\/em>These cards were
\n<\/em>hand-water colored at the time of publication.\u00a0<\/em>Each card measures
\napproximately 5″ by 3 1\/8″\u00a0<\/em>(click any image\u00a0below to enlarge it)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” type=”full_width” anchor=”etteilla_1890″ in_content_menu=”” icon_pack=”font_awesome” content_menu_fe_icon=”arrow_back” text_align=”left” pattern_background=””][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_empty_space height=”32px”][vc_text_separator title=”1890 Etteilla deck” title_align=”separator_align_center” border=”yes”][vc_empty_space height=”24px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” type=”full_width” in_content_menu=”” icon_pack=”font_awesome” content_menu_fe_icon=”arrow_back” text_align=”left” pattern_background=””][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

This version is often referred to as an\u00a0<\/span>Etteilla III\u00a0<\/em>and it was
\npublished in 1890 by B.P. Grimaud in Paris.\u00a0The colors on
\nthese cards are exquisite for the era.\u00a0Each card measures
\napproximately 4 5\/8″ by 2\u00a01\/2″\u00a0(click any image\u00a0below to enlarge it)<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

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