Kabalah & Tarot

AmounrA

It strikes me that there does not need to be a physical connection to explain why Tarot and Kabaalah align together so well.

Both are meant as tools to communicate with universe. If both are making these connections at there 'deepest' levels, You would expect to find similarites. They both lead to the same space.

(My believe is, the symbol - tree of life- was the trigger that led to jewish Kabalah, but the symbol itself is not Kabalistic, and dates far further back in time.)
 

Cerulean

Here's a bit of historical commentary

Quote:
While it is true that the primary texts of a specifically Christian Cabbalah (I am thinking Mirandola, Kircher?) belong to a later period I think it is maybe an over simplification to say that 'Christian Cabbala is a later development'
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Pico di Mirandella's origins were near the Ferarra circle of Modena, but he was in other places when he made his 900 thesis. When he suggested (to our modern eyes) the mild concept of 'o what a wonderous thing is man' as an extension of a humanistic concept as well as some rather radical notions, he had to flee to France.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10352a.htm

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/pico.htm

http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Mirandola/pater.html

I do not know who else took up from his beliefs...but if you wish to use this as a start, it is worthwhile to go from here and then trace Christian Cabbalaists. Perhaps that is one of the early seeds that will assist you in finding cross cultural influences.

I am guessing it might be hard to trace cross-cultural Jewish and Italian Catholic influences from the time of 15th century tarot, at least if Ferarra is typical of its immigrant population.

The northern Italian mileau of Ferarra, frequently mentioned in connection with the courts of Milan, Naples, Mantua and linked to Rome, Florence and Venice.
Unfortunately, I do not see that from what I've read in Ferarra and Modena history--as the tarocchi verse and epic poet Matteo Maria Boiardo was governor of Modena until his death in 1494. They were very appreciative of their Jewish population that contributed considerable sums to the wealth of the duchy. Duke Ercole maintained protection of them in his names against extreme Catholic persecution, but they were kept separate in populations. Some Christian men were punished for forceable assault of a Jewish woman in part because such intimacy was against the law.

But you might find the case as of the 1400s were different in other duchies, that would be of interest to me.

France and other countries may have had more an intermingling, culturally or otherwise and there might have been later links, as JMD has pointed out in his remembered heritage. I do know that in the 20th century, the intermingling of Asian populations in the U.S. came from those who emigrated--and so cultural barriers among them fell away.