Grand Etteilla ou tarots egyptiens

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Apr 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

psychic sue	05 Apr 2005
I was rummaging around my box of knick-knacks yesterday looking for something and I came across a deck of cards called "Grand Etteilla ou tarots egyptiens" - I think my auntie gave it to me about ten years ago. She had bought it but couldn't get on with it. I must have put it in this box and forgotten about it. All the cards are there along with the LWB, although the box is a bit battered. The side of the box says : "GRAND ETTEILLA - very ancient tarot created and played by the Ancients, Egyptians and Gypsies in the middle ages, also referred to in that great book the Cabala. Every card has its meaning from the "Evangelic Card" to the "Snake Card". The 118 figures give you the best interpretation of occult science and symbolism". Is anyone familiar with this deck? Sue x

rosyelf	06 Apr 2005
dear psychicsue, I have a copy of this-or something similar, I believe there are several Grand Etteilla decks. I haven't explored it much yet but intend to do so. Etteilla is simply Alliette backwards, and Alliette was the Frenchman in the late 1700s who was the first to develop the idea, now quite strongly held in some quarters, that Tarot was derived from Ancient Egypt and was, in fact, a code akin to the hieroglyphs (which had not yet been deciphered.) I bought it because it looked interesting and because I wanted to deepen my appreciation of Tarot history, see how iconography has evolved, and so on. I'll get it out in the next few days and post what I think. love rosyelf

The Grand Etteilla ou tarots egyptiens thread was originally posted on 05 Apr 2005 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.