Wouldn't this require its own thread? Well, anyway, I have a thought.
...what does the Egyptian origin of Tarot achieve?
- great antiquity (4,000 years or more and a connection to Tep Zepi (Egypt's 'First Time'))
- hieroglyphic status (the sacredness of pictorial glyphs; pictures speak louder than words; Divine creation via Thoth)
- exotic and 'special' qualities (it rescues us from the mundane or everyday)
It gives those who work with the cards 'special' access to:
- wisdom (continuity with a Golden Age with a more direct (intuitive) connection to the Cosmos)
- magic and power (Egypt as the source of Western magic and alchemy, where Magicians performed miracles)
- mystery and secrets (we can't really know all that the Tarot means and can do; it's a clue/key to the universe)
- freedom (it frees us from normal social and physical constraints)
In essence, it guarantees supremacy of the imaginal (in the highest sense) over the mundane, and, ultimately, suggests that spirit transcends matter.
I think this explains why we are so attracted to this story. Please add more things that it achieves.
These attractions explain a lot about the human psyche (or at least the psyche of many tarotists). But, they don't explain where the notion of Egypt+Tarot came from. Once the notion was here it filled a perennial longing or need among certain groups of people.
...
I'm focusing on this:
"These attractions explain a lot about the human psyche (or at least the psyche of many tarotists)."
You may be right. I think it's interesting. It'd be nice to discuss it here. But.
Look what happens if we apply the same standards that you prescribe for other contributors to the History forum.
Your exploration of why people like the Egyptian Origin story attributes a complex set of conscious and unconscious desires to others, lying on the border between psychology and social psychology. Psychology and social psych are real sciences.
Without evidence and a description and explanation of how the idea of Egyptian origins "achieves" these things, it's purely speculative.
To make this rigorous, at the outset it's necessary to address the following.
** What is the definition of the "Egyptian Origin of Tarot" theory relevant to this hypothesis? Is it a single story? How developed must the story be, to serve the functions you're describing and to fit within the confines of the hypothesis? (For example, insofar as the Mamluk cards are the oldest known relatives to tarot, it is in fact historically accurate to tie Tarot origin to Egypt.)
** What is the evidence that Egyptian origin is believed widely enough by "those who work with the cards" to be worth such exploration? (For example, it may be a throwaway line in the lwb believed by very few, and not necessarily those who work with cards, however "working with cards" is defined.)
** What is the proposed method for gathering unbiased evidence that belief in Egyptian origins serves these functions, consciously or unconsciously, for individuals or for groups?
In short: Prove it.