Minchiate
Encyclopedia
Minchiate is a late-medieval card game
, probably originating in 15th-century Florence
, Italy
. It is no longer widely played. Minchiate can also refer to the special deck of playing cards used in the game. The deck is closely related to the tarot
cards, but contains an expanded suit of trump
s. The game was similar to tarocchi and the game of tarot
. In the view of some, the larger number of trump cards may shed light on what the original intentions of the creators of the Tarot deck meant by the images they included.
and the Piedmont
regions of northern Italy; they spread elsewhere in Italy early on. The Minchiate represents a Florentine variant on the original game. The name first appears in Italian sources dated to 1466 in a "lost letter", 1471 in a case of prohibition and 1477, in which it is listed in a list of games permitted by law; literary references may date to around 1440 (documents). The game was later also known as Gallerini or Germini.
The word minchiate comes from a dialect word meaning "nonsense
" or "trifle." The word minchione is attested in Italian
as meaning "fool," and minchionare means "to laugh at" someone. The intended meaning may be "The Game of the Fool," considering that the card "The Fool," also called "The Excuse," features prominently in the game play of all tarot games.
) have almost doubled in number; there are forty trumps in the Minchiate, in addition to the unnumbered card the Madman, The Fool or the "Excuse".
The trumps of the Minchiate deck, and their corresponding Rider-Waite tarot cards are:
The ace to ten and the court cards (which occultists call the minor arcana
) resemble their standard counterparts more closely. There are the four standard Spanish and Italian playing card suits of swords, batons, coins, and cups; these contain pip cards from ace
to ten, and four court card
s: a jack, a knight, a queen, and a king. In the Minchiate deck, however, in the suits of cups and coins, the "knaves" or "pages" (Italian
fanti) have been replaced by "maids" (fantine). The knights, mounted figures in the Tarot of Marseilles
and similar designs, are centaur
s or sphinx
es in many Minchiate decks.
Significant differences exist also among the trumps between the Minchiate subjects and their Tarot de Marseille counterparts. As discussed below, the Pope and Papess
or High Priestess are absent from the Minchiate deck; instead, it contains a Grand Duke and two different Emperors. The card subjects depict a western and an eastern emperor.
The standard tarot card The Tower, or House of God, becomes the House of the Devil in the Minchiate deck; it depicts a nude figure fleeing a burning building. The Moon lacks the Tarot de Marseille lobster
and dog
s; it instead depicts an astrologer
studying the moon. The card corresponding to the Hermit is often called Time, or the Hunchback; it depicts an elderly man on crutches. All four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues appear only in the very early tarot decks called the Cary-Yale Visconti
tarot; the full series appears in no later deck, perhaps suggesting that the Minchiate series dates to early in the history of the game. The Minchiate version of the Hanged Man is called the Traitor; he carries bags in his hands as he hangs upside down, a symbol which may relate him to the medieval world's most notorious betrayer, Judas Iscariot
, and his thirty pieces of silver
. The final card in the series is not the World, but an angel blowing trumpets; this figure is sometimes called Fame.
including France
. By the eighteenth century, Minchiate had overtaken the original game of Tarot in popularity in Italy. Paolo Minucci published a commentary on the game in 1676, and the game is described in detail by Romain Merlin in Origine des cartes à jouer, published in Paris
in 1869. The game was still played in Genoa
in the 1930s, but its popularity declined in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The game, like other Tarot games, is a trick taking game in which points are scored by capturing certain cards and sets of cards. The lowest five trumps (Daddy, Grand Duke, Western Emperor, Eastern Emperor, Lover) were called papi, "popes", even though The Pope
does not appear among the Minchiate trumps. The highest five trumps (Star, Moon, Sun, World, Trumpets) were called arie ("airs") and have a special high scoring value in the game.
In fifteenth century Florence, at least, the Tarot was thought to contain religious
, allegorical
, and cosmographical
symbols. Justice
, Strength, and Temperance
were three classical "cardinal virtue
s" depicted in the more familiar Tarot trumps. The Minchiate supplies the remaining cardinal virtue — Prudence
— and also includes the three theological virtues, Faith
, Hope
, and Charity
. The sun, moon, star, and world figure in the Tarot de Marseille trumps; the Minchiate completes the series by adding all the zodiac
signs and the four classical element
s.
Because of this allegorical and cosmological content, in recent years tarot occultists
have proposed systems of divination
and cartomancy
that use the Minchiate deck as well as regular tarot cards. In Charles Godfrey Leland
's book 1890 book Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches
, an incantation
is given that mentions the use of "forty cards," which are renamed in the spell as forty gods
who are being invoked to compel the goddess Laverna
to do the caster's bidding. Paul Huson
has speculated that these forty cards are the forty trumps of the Minchiate deck. He has also pointed out that Leland's book Etruscan-Roman Remains in Popular Tradition (1892) contains a spell that is cast with tarocco cards, to invoke Janus
.
The Italian publisher Il Meneghello offers a reproduction, in regular and mini sizes, of the "Minchiate Fiorentine", a woodcut Minchiate deck that originally appeared circa 1820 http://www.themysticeye.com/pics/fiorentine.htm.
The Tarot artist Brian Williams
has published a modern edition of the Minchiate deck, which accompanies his book referenced below.
Artist Constante Constantini has, though Italian publisher Solleone, published two different modern Minchiate decks http://www.tarothermit.com/decks.htm:
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
, probably originating in 15th-century Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is no longer widely played. Minchiate can also refer to the special deck of playing cards used in the game. The deck is closely related to the tarot
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
cards, but contains an expanded suit of trump
Trump
A trump is a type of card in some card games.Trump may also refer to:* Trump * Trump * Trumps * The Trump * HMS Trump , a British submarine* The Trump Organization, a business conglomerate...
s. The game was similar to tarocchi and the game of tarot
Tarot (game)
The French game of tarot, also jeu de tarot, is a trick-taking card game for four players using the traditional 78-card tarot deck. The game is enjoyed throughout France and also known in French-speaking Canada. French tarot is one of the older forms of tarot and has remained popular for centuries...
. In the view of some, the larger number of trump cards may shed light on what the original intentions of the creators of the Tarot deck meant by the images they included.
History
Scholars generally believe that the Tarot cards were invented in LombardyLombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
and the Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
regions of northern Italy; they spread elsewhere in Italy early on. The Minchiate represents a Florentine variant on the original game. The name first appears in Italian sources dated to 1466 in a "lost letter", 1471 in a case of prohibition and 1477, in which it is listed in a list of games permitted by law; literary references may date to around 1440 (documents). The game was later also known as Gallerini or Germini.
The word minchiate comes from a dialect word meaning "nonsense
Nonsense
Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous...
" or "trifle." The word minchione is attested in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
as meaning "fool," and minchionare means "to laugh at" someone. The intended meaning may be "The Game of the Fool," considering that the card "The Fool," also called "The Excuse," features prominently in the game play of all tarot games.
Deck
The Minchiate deck differs from the standard tarot deck in several particulars. The first and most obvious difference is that the trumps (which occultists call the major arcanaMajor Arcana
The Major Arcana or trumps are a suit of twenty-two cards in the tarot deck. They serve as a permanent trump suit in games played with the tarot deck, and are distinguished from the four standard suits collectively known as the Minor Arcana...
) have almost doubled in number; there are forty trumps in the Minchiate, in addition to the unnumbered card the Madman, The Fool or the "Excuse".
The trumps of the Minchiate deck, and their corresponding Rider-Waite tarot cards are:
| Card number | Italian name | depicted on the Minchiate card | corresponding divination tarot card |
|---|---|---|---|
| (0) | Il matto | The Madman | 0 - The Fool The Fool (Tarot card) The Fool or The Jester is one of the 78 cards in a Tarot deck; one of the 22 Trump cards that make up the Major Arcana. The Fool is unnumbered... |
| I | Papa uno; l'Uno; il Papino; Ganellino | 1 - The Magician The Magician (Tarot card) The Magician, The Magus, or The Juggler is the first trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination... |
|
| II | Papa due | The Empress; the Grand Duke | 3 - The Empress The Empress (Tarot card) The Empress is the third trump or Major Arcana card in traditional Tarot decks. It is used in Tarot card games as well as divination.- Description and symbolism :... |
| III | Papa tre | The Western Emperor | 4 - The Emperor The Emperor (Tarot card) The Emperor is the fourth trump or Major Arcana card in traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description and symbolism :... |
| IV | Papa quattro | The Eastern Emperor | 5 - The Hierophant |
| V | Papa cinque | Love | 6 - The Lovers The Lovers The Lovers is the sixth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Interpretation :... |
| VI | Temperance | 14 - Temperance Temperance (Tarot card) Temperance is the fourteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description :... |
|
| VII | Fortitude | 8 - Strength Strength (Tarot card) Strength is a Major Arcana Tarot card, and is numbered either XI or VIII, depending on the deck. Historically it was called Fortitude, and in the Thoth Tarot deck it is called Lust. This card is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description and usage as in divination :A. E... |
|
| VIII | Justice | 11 - Justice Justice (Tarot card) Justice is a Major Arcana Tarot card, numbered either VIII or XI, depending on the deck. This card is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description :... |
|
| IX | Wheel of Fortune | 10 - Wheel of Fortune Wheel of Fortune (Tarot card) Wheel of Fortune is the tenth trump or Major Arcana card in most Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.-Description:To the right is the Wheel Of Fortune card from the A. E. Waite tarot deck. A. E... |
|
| X | Chariot | 7 - The Chariot The Chariot (Tarot card) The Chariot is the seventh trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.-Description:... |
|
| XI | Il gobbo; il tempo | Hunchback; time | 9 - The Hermit The Hermit The Hermit is the ninth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description :A. E. Waite was a key figure in the development of modern Tarot interpretations... |
| XII | L'impiccato | The hanged man | 12 - The Hanged Man |
| XIII | Death | 13 - Death Death (Tarot card) Death is the thirteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks.It is used in Tarot, tarock and tarocchi games as well as in divination.-Description:... |
|
| XIV | Il Diavolo; il Demonio | The Devil | 15 - The Devil The Devil (Tarot card) The Devil is the fifteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Symbolism :... |
| XV | Il casa del Diavolo | The house of the Devil | 16 - The Tower The Tower (Tarot card) The Tower is the sixteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most cartomancy Tarot decks. It is not used as part of any game.- History :... |
| XVI | Hope | - | |
| XVII | Prudence | - | |
| XVIII | Faith | 2 - The High Priestess | |
| XIX | Charity | - | |
| XX | Fire | - | |
| XXI | Water | - | |
| XXII | Earth | - | |
| XXIII | Air | - | |
| XXIV | Libra | - | |
| XXV | Virgo | - | |
| XXVI | Scorpio | - | |
| XXVII | Aries | - | |
| XXVIII | Capricorn | - | |
| XXIX | Sagittarius | - | |
| XXX | Cancer | - | |
| XXXI | Pisces | - | |
| XXXII | Aquarius | - | |
| XXXIII | Leo | - | |
| XXXIV | Taurus | - | |
| XXXV | Gemini | - | |
| XXXVI | La stella | The star | 17 - The Star The Star (Tarot card) The Star is the seventeenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.- Description :... |
| XXXVII | La luna | The moon | 18 - The Moon The Moon (Tarot card) The Moon is the eighteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.-Symbolism:* Two large, foreboding pillars are shown... |
| XXXVIII | Il sole | The sun | 19 - The Sun The Sun (Tarot card) The Sun is a trump card in the tarot deck. Tarot trumps are often called Major Arcana by tarot card readers.-Rider-Waite symbolism:A. E. Waite suggested that this card is associated with attained knowledge. An infant rides a white horse under the anthropomorphized sun, with sunflowers in the... |
| XXXIX | il Mondo | the World | 21 - The World The World (Tarot card) The World is a trump or Major Arcana card in the tarot deck. It is usually the final card of the Major Arcana or tarot trump sequence. In the tarot family of card games, this card is usually worth five points.- Description :... |
| XL | Le trombe | The trumpets | 20 - Judgment Judgement (Tarot card) Judgement , or in some decks spelled Judgment, is a Tarot card, part of the Major Arcana suit usually comprising 22 cards.-Rider-Waite symbolism:Very clearly, it is modeled after the Christian Resurrection before the Last Judgment... |
The ace to ten and the court cards (which occultists call the minor arcana
Minor Arcana
|thumb|[[King of Swords]] card from a Minor Arcana deckThe Minor Arcana of occult or divinatory tarot refers to the portion of a Tarot deck that consists of 56 cards. The Minor Arcana are roughly similar to the cards found in a common deck of playing cards...
) resemble their standard counterparts more closely. There are the four standard Spanish and Italian playing card suits of swords, batons, coins, and cups; these contain pip cards from ace
Ace
An ace is a playing card. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the Ace of Spades...
to ten, and four court card
Court card
Court card or court sized card was the name given to a size of picture postcard, mainly used in the United Kingdom, which were approximately 4.75 x 3.5 inches and predates the standard size of 5.5 x 3.5 inches....
s: a jack, a knight, a queen, and a king. In the Minchiate deck, however, in the suits of cups and coins, the "knaves" or "pages" (Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
fanti) have been replaced by "maids" (fantine). The knights, mounted figures in the Tarot of Marseilles
Tarot of Marseilles
The Tarot of Marseilles , also widely known by the French designation Tarot de Marseille, is one of the standard patterns for the design of tarot cards...
and similar designs, are centaur
Centaur
In Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...
s or sphinx
Sphinx
A sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
es in many Minchiate decks.
Significant differences exist also among the trumps between the Minchiate subjects and their Tarot de Marseille counterparts. As discussed below, the Pope and Papess
La Papessa
La Popessa, also written as La Papessa, is a term used in tarot to refer to The Papess or The High Priestess playing card...
or High Priestess are absent from the Minchiate deck; instead, it contains a Grand Duke and two different Emperors. The card subjects depict a western and an eastern emperor.
The standard tarot card The Tower, or House of God, becomes the House of the Devil in the Minchiate deck; it depicts a nude figure fleeing a burning building. The Moon lacks the Tarot de Marseille lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
and dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s; it instead depicts an astrologer
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
studying the moon. The card corresponding to the Hermit is often called Time, or the Hunchback; it depicts an elderly man on crutches. All four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues appear only in the very early tarot decks called the Cary-Yale Visconti
House of Visconti
Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...
tarot; the full series appears in no later deck, perhaps suggesting that the Minchiate series dates to early in the history of the game. The Minchiate version of the Hanged Man is called the Traitor; he carries bags in his hands as he hangs upside down, a symbol which may relate him to the medieval world's most notorious betrayer, Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
, and his thirty pieces of silver
Thirty pieces of silver
Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the Christian New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas went to the chief priests and agreed to hand over Jesus in exchange for 30 silver coins...
. The final card in the series is not the World, but an angel blowing trumpets; this figure is sometimes called Fame.
Game
The game spread from Florence to the rest of Italy and to other areas of EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
including France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. By the eighteenth century, Minchiate had overtaken the original game of Tarot in popularity in Italy. Paolo Minucci published a commentary on the game in 1676, and the game is described in detail by Romain Merlin in Origine des cartes à jouer, published in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1869. The game was still played in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
in the 1930s, but its popularity declined in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The game, like other Tarot games, is a trick taking game in which points are scored by capturing certain cards and sets of cards. The lowest five trumps (Daddy, Grand Duke, Western Emperor, Eastern Emperor, Lover) were called papi, "popes", even though The Pope
The Hierophant
The Hierophant , in some decks named The Pope, is the fifth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.-Description and symbolism:...
does not appear among the Minchiate trumps. The highest five trumps (Star, Moon, Sun, World, Trumpets) were called arie ("airs") and have a special high scoring value in the game.
Tarot
While the game of Minchiate died out during the early twentieth century, in more recent years the Minchiate has become the subject of further speculative interest. It is arguably a sister deck to the early Tarot, and the expanded set of trumps added to the Minchiate may, in the view of some, shed light on what the Tarot deck was originally intended to signify.In fifteenth century Florence, at least, the Tarot was thought to contain religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
, and cosmographical
Cosmography
Cosmography is the science that maps the general features of the universe, describing both heaven and Earth...
symbols. Justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
, Strength, and Temperance
Temperance (virtue)
Temperance has been studied by religious thinkers, philosophers, and more recently, psychologists, particularly in the positive psychology movement. It is considered a virtue, a core value that can be seen consistently across time and cultures...
were three classical "cardinal virtue
Virtue
Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality subjectively deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being....
s" depicted in the more familiar Tarot trumps. The Minchiate supplies the remaining cardinal virtue — Prudence
Prudence
Prudence is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of the four Cardinal virtues .The word comes from Old French prudence , from Latin...
— and also includes the three theological virtues, Faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
, Hope
Hope
Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or...
, and Charity
Charity (virtue)
In Christian theology charity, or love , means an unlimited loving-kindness toward all others.The term should not be confused with the more restricted modern use of the word charity to mean benevolent giving.- Caritas: altruistic love :...
. The sun, moon, star, and world figure in the Tarot de Marseille trumps; the Minchiate completes the series by adding all the zodiac
Zodiac
In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
signs and the four classical element
Classical element
Many philosophies and worldviews have a set of classical elements believed to reflect the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based. Most frequently, classical elements refer to ancient beliefs...
s.
Because of this allegorical and cosmological content, in recent years tarot occultists
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
have proposed systems of divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
and cartomancy
Cartomancy
Cartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. Forms of cartomancy appeared soon after playing cards were first introduced into Europe in the 14th century...
that use the Minchiate deck as well as regular tarot cards. In Charles Godfrey Leland
Charles Godfrey Leland
Charles Godfrey Leland was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe....
's book 1890 book Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches
Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches
Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches is a book composed by the American folklorist Charles Leland that was published in 1899. It contains what he believed was the religious text of a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, Italy that documented their beliefs and rituals, although various historians and...
, an incantation
Incantation
An incantation or enchantment is a charm or spell created using words. An incantation may take place during a ritual, either a hymn or prayer, and may invoke or praise a deity. In magic, occultism, witchcraft it may be used with the intention of casting a spell on an object or a person...
is given that mentions the use of "forty cards," which are renamed in the spell as forty gods
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
who are being invoked to compel the goddess Laverna
Laverna
In Roman mythology, Laverna was a goddess of thieves, cheats and the underworld. She was propitiated by libations poured with the left hand. The poet Horace and the playwright Plautus call her a goddess of thieves. In Rome, her sanctuary was near the Porta Lavernalis.-References:Michael Jordon,...
to do the caster's bidding. Paul Huson
Paul Huson
Paul Huson is a British-born author and artist currently living in the United States. In addition to writing several books about occultism and witchcraft he has worked extensively in the film and television industries.-Family:...
has speculated that these forty cards are the forty trumps of the Minchiate deck. He has also pointed out that Leland's book Etruscan-Roman Remains in Popular Tradition (1892) contains a spell that is cast with tarocco cards, to invoke Janus
Janus (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past...
.
Minchiate decks
The Italian publisher Lo Scarabeo offers a reproduction of the "Ancient Minchiate Etruria", an engraved Minchiate deck that originally appeared in 1725.The Italian publisher Il Meneghello offers a reproduction, in regular and mini sizes, of the "Minchiate Fiorentine", a woodcut Minchiate deck that originally appeared circa 1820 http://www.themysticeye.com/pics/fiorentine.htm.
The Tarot artist Brian Williams
Brian Williams
Brian Douglas Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, the evening news program of the NBC television network, a position he assumed in 2004...
has published a modern edition of the Minchiate deck, which accompanies his book referenced below.
Artist Constante Constantini has, though Italian publisher Solleone, published two different modern Minchiate decks http://www.tarothermit.com/decks.htm:
- Minchiate Fiorentine: modern redrawing of a woodcut design
- Nuove Minchiate Fiorentine: modern redrawing
Books
- Dummett, Michael: The Game of Tarot (U. S. Games, 1980) ISBN 0-7156-1014-7
- Huson, Paul: The Devil's Picturebook (G. P. Putnams Sons, 1971, BackInPrint, 2003) ISBN 0-595-27333-5
- Huson, Paul: Mystical Origins of the Tarot (Destiny Books, 2004) ISBN 0-89281-190-0
- Williams, Brian: The Minchiate Tarot (Destiny Books, 1999) ISBN 0-89281-651-1
Web sites of interest
- Tarot and Minchiate of Florence by Tom Tadfor Little
- The Minchiate at Andy's Playing Cards
- Early notes about the Minchiate
- Regeln des Minchiatta-Spiels Rules for the Minchiate game (in German)
- Rules in English for Minchiate and other tarot games
- Images from Fiorentine Minchiate deck
- Images from Etrurian Minchiate deck
- Titles of and images from French Minchiate deck