[color=green][b][u]Letters to Leonardo the Renaissance Lion: #5[/u][/b][/color] ---------- Translations provided by the Avenger Rat; both letters were originally written in Italian. ------------ [i]Dear Leonardo, When we hear of tarot cards, divinity is the first thing that comes to mind. As we already know, in the world of Christianity, divinity is forbidden because Christians put their faith in God, regardless of the sect. Most people don't know about the origins of tarot cards, which are traced right back into your hometown of Bologna, the historically, culturally, and economically rich regional capital of Emilia-Romagna. Tarot cards were originally not made for divinity; they started off as playing cards for the game of tarocchini back in the 16th century. The designs for the original tarot playing cards are similar to the modern casino playing cards, which are associated with gambling. Tarocchini of course has no gambling element to it, just a set of playing cards for fun. Variants of this game has entered in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany, where their statesmen at the time played tarocchini. Tarocchini is a very complex game, but the rules have changed very little over the years. Today, very few people still play this game, but at least we know its still alive throughout the centuries. But how did tarot become associated with divinity and occultism? That was way until the 18th century, when French occultists believed tarot cards have meanings, so they started to experiment them through divinity. Throughout the French Empire, these occultists spread out across the world with their own divine practice with their tarot cards before teaching local students who are interested in their practice. And this is how the practice of tarot card readings became popular around the world. Of course, it's met their oppositions, and they're not limited to just Christian opposition. When practitioners of tarot readings started charging people for their services, many people questioned their ethics. It was indeed an opportunity to scam people to provide them their readings. It has gotten to the point that a significant number of governments around the world started enforcing legislation on charging for tarot readings by controlling their prices or in extreme cases, outright banning the sale of tarot readings. In the American state of Pennsylvania, it is illegal to charge for tarot readings, meaning that tarot readings are legal, but must be free of charge, to keep scammers out from performing these readings. Personally, I agree that tarot readings must be free of charge. At the same time, our culture discourages us from seeking divinity, because we are a Catholic country. So what do I think of tarot card readings? I think it can be easily abused to fool with someone's spirit, and that has a lot of ethical challenges. But at the same time, if someone takes part in this kind of stuff, then that's them. So what do you think about the fact that modern tarot cards as we know of today have their origins in your hometown as playing cards? Costanzo Evangelisti, age 23 (grey wolf) Turin, Piedmont, Italy[/i] ------------ Leonardo's response: [color=white][i]Dear Costanzo: Tarot cards are a difficult subject for me to talk about because reading them or using them in any way is forbidden in the G-52 organization. It does not surprise me to discover that my hometown is the birthplace of such sinful things, but as you said, that was not their original purpose. The original purpose was making a different game altogether: tarocchini. The most popular variation of this game is ottocento, a game my current neighbors admitted they have played every now and then, but just as a game. They don't use the game for fortune telling purposes. Because it is a trick-taking game, it reminded me of the traditional card games people play today that involve taking tricks, such as hearts, spades, and contract bridge. I've chosen not to let it bother me; what bothers me instead is that it's not just unbiblical to start with, but the fact people make money off of this. To me, that is extortion, but perhaps I'm just overreacting. In the end, all I would do is make it worse if I tried to intervene, so it is better I just let them make idiots of themselves and let the Lord judge them in the end. Our culture does indeed discourage us from seeking divinity, but we can still seek a new life in Jesus Christ. His divine forgiveness and His gift of salvation are open to everybody. I would rather people have nothing to do with tarot cards, but I don't control them. Only they control them. And besides, if they hadn't started in my hometown, they would have started someplace else. Hope that helps; if it doesn't, let me know where I goofed. Yours truly, Leonardo di Catio, a.k.a. Leonardo the Renaissance Lion[/i][/color]