Etteilla: definition

Etteilla is the pseudonym of Jean-Baptiste Alliette (1738-1791), a major figure of cartomancy and of the esoteric reinterpretations of tarot at the end of the eighteenth century.

He deeply marked the history of French cartomancy and of the divinatory uses of cards, to the point of being considered one of the first professional cartomancers.

He proposed specific reading systems and methods, and even his own deck, which are not to be confused with the Marseille tradition: an autonomous branch within the history of tarot.

He was one of the first to widely spread correspondences between the cards and fixed divinatory meanings, laying the foundations of much of later cartomancy.

His work helped shift tarot from the field of the game toward that of divination, a decisive cultural transformation for the modern history of the cards.

His name is indispensable in a broadened history of card-reading practices: knowing him helps understand how and when tarot became a divinatory instrument.

His figure marks, in a way, the birth of tarot as many conceive it today: an instrument for reading life and not only a game. Understanding his contribution allows dating that shift and distinguishing the long history of tarot as a game from its more recent history as a divinatory and esoteric practice.