Le Grand Etteilla
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Etteilla, the pseudonym of Jean-Baptiste Alliette (March 1, 1738 - December 12, 1791), was a French psychic and tarot researcher. He was the first person to develop a system for interpreting tarot cards and made significant contributions to popularizing tarot mysteries among a wider audience (starting around 1783). Etteilla is also known as the first professional tarot reader in history, earning a living by predicting fortunes through tarot cards .
His work influenced Marie Anne Lenormand, a French female psychic. Between 1783 and 1785, Etteilla published “Manière de se récréer avec le jeu de cartes nommées tarots” (“How to Amuse Yourself with the Deck of Cards Called Tarot”), which remains a standard reference for tarot cartomancy. He introduced the idea of correspondences between tarot, astrology, and the classical four elements and four human temperaments. In 1789, he also published his own tarot deck, which significantly differed in structure and card names from classic decks like the Tarot de Marseille .
Although little is known about Jean-Baptiste Alliette’s early life beyond his birth in Paris in 1738, he was the son of a butcher father and a seed merchant mother. After marrying Jeanne Vattier in 1763, he worked as a seed merchant before publishing his first book, “Etteilla, ou manière de se récréer avec un jeu de cartes” (“Etteilla, or How to Amuse Yourself with a Deck of Cards”), in 1770 .
more info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etteilla