Etteilla biography

History of tarot occultism from 18th century until WWII with hermetic tarot. History of tarot thought from WWII to the end of 20th century with modern tarot. A short introduction of oracle. The historic record shows that he married Jeanne Vattier inonly to separate from her six years later.

Etteilla biography: Jean-Baptiste Alliette (Etteilla is his last

At this time Alliette earned a living as a seed merchant. Contrary to frequent incorrect reports, no evidence exists to support the notion that he was ever a barber or wig-maker. Divination by Regular Playing Cards. B y Alliette was using the name by which he would be best known, Etteilla his surname spelled backwards. The piquet deck, which was a popular shortened pack typically used for gaming, employed the common French suit system Clubs, Spades, Hearts, and Diamonds.

To consult the cards one dealt them into a spread and interpreted each one, applying pre-assigned meanings. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. French occultist and astrologer — Personal life [ edit ]. Works [ edit ]. Publications [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. In assessing Etteilla the author of this article steers between the two extremes, wherein Etteilla is painted as: a an idiot or someone whose only feat was the popularization of Tarot; and b the savior of the esoteric Tarot without whom it would have been forgotten.

Clearly, Etteilla popularized Tarot, which is important, but he accomplished much more. To recapitulate, he was responsible for many firsts, including the first:. Thanks to his books, deck, and students he impacted leading Tarotists and continues to impact them today. For example, in The Influence of Etteilla and His School on Mathers and Waitethe etteilla biography of the profile you are reading found that although Waite expressed scorn for Etteilla, approximately one-half of the divinatory meanings in his The Pictorial Key to the Tarot depend from Etteilla and his students.

These are the divinatory meanings Etteilla assigned to these cards over two hundred years ago.

Etteilla biography: Etteilla, the pseudonym of Jean-Baptiste Alliette

Numerous other examples could be cited. To be honest, however, Etteilla had his faults and failings. His literary style was crude, turgid, and confusing. His writings make those of Waite appear absolutely lucid.

Etteilla biography: He was a French occultist

Certainly, like many occultists, Etteilla detracted from the factual history of Tarot with tall tales concerning its ancient Egypt origins. Finally, although he was responsible for many firsts most occultists eventually rejected the specifics of many of his approaches to Tarot. For example, although Etteilla first showed the way with regard to correspondences between Tarot, astrology, and the Elements, most occultists eventually discarded his system in favor of others.

He probably was not a profound thinker compared to them either.