Between 1783 and 1787, five booklets titled How to Relax with the Card Game Called Tarot were published in Amsterdam and Paris. The author, Etteilla, claimed that the Tarot was actually the legendary Book of Thoth, a mystical text from ancient Egypt associated with Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom and magic. According to Etteilla, this book was created in 2170 BC, and he sought to restore the Tarot to its original form. In around 1789, he designed a deck, which he named the Book of Thoth, or the “Great Game of 78 Egyptian Tarot Cards.” Although only a few cards from that deck survive today, a complete version was reprinted in 1804. This edition, known as the Etteilla Tarot – The Book of Thoth, is reproduced here.
