Swiss Tarot

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Jupiter, the fifth trump Tarot 1JJ - Jupiter.png
Jupiter, the fifth trump

The Swiss Tarot deck is a 78-card deck used for the tarot card games Troccas and Troggu. It is also sometimes called the JJ Tarot due to the replacement of the usual second and fifth trumps with cards depicting Juno and Jupiter, or as 1JJ Tarot in reference to the catalog number of a common release of the deck by A.G. Müller. [lower-alpha 1]

Contents

History

The deck is derived from the Tarot de Besançon, which itself comes from the Tarot of Marseilles. [1] [2] It is an Italian suited pack which substitutes the figures of Juno and Jupiter in place of the Popess and Pope of the Tarot of Marseilles. The first version was produced between 1831 and 1838 in the card factory of Johann Georg Rauch. It was the first tarot pack made by the factory and was unexpectedly successful in the American market. The first version was manufactured, unaltered, by his successor, Johannes Müller in Diessenhofen until 1860. [3]

In 1965 the Swiss card game firm, A.G. Müller, issued a reprint which is distinguished by its cleaner lines. The alternative name for the pack comes from this edition, the "1" simply being a number within the product line and "JJ" the replacement of 2 trumps by Juno and Jupiter (see below).

Cards

The face cards are not double headed and both the trumps and pip cards use additive Roman numeral indexing. The lack of modern features like vertically symmetrical face cards, corner indices, and Arabic numerals has made this deck unpopular for tarot players outside of their native communities. For example, the French-speaking Swiss (Romands) prefer using the Tarot Nouveau to play French tarot. It is still the official deck for Troccas tournaments.

Troccas players use the French-language version but refer to their cards with their Romansh (Rhæto-Romanic) nicknames. [4] Troggu players use the German version. The names of the trump cards are as follows:

NumberCaptionRhæto-Romanic
FrenchGermanEnglishName(s)Translation
OLe MatDer Narr The Fool il mattoThe Fool
ILe BateleurDer Magier The Magician il bagatthe shell game player
II Junon
  • la gaglina
  • la biua
  • the chicken
  • the chicken (baby-talk)
IIIL'ImpératriceDie Herrscherin The Empress l'imperaturathe empress
IIIIL'EmpéreurDer Herrscher The Emperor igl imperaturthe emperor
V Jupiter
  • il da Cuoz
  • il Diu fauls
  • the man from Cuoz (a suburb of Disentis)
  • the false God
VIL'AmoureuxDie Liebenden The Lovers ils inamuraithe lovers
VIILe ChariotDer Wagen The Chariot
  • il carr
  • la Catrina en crotscha
  • the carriage
  • Catherine's chariot
VIIILa JusticeGerechtigkeit Justice
  • la giustia
  • la stadera
  • Justice
  • the scales
VIIIIL'ErmiteDer Eremit The Hermit il paderthe monk
XLa Roue de FortuneRad des Schicksals Wheel of Fortune
  • la roda dalla fortuna
  • la ventira
  • the wheel of Fortune
  • fortune
XILa ForceKraft Strength la forzastrength
XIILe PenduDer Gehängte The Hanged Man il pendiuthe hanged man
XIIILa MortDer Tod Death la mortdeath
XIIIITempéranceDie Mässigkeit Temperance
  • la tempronza
  • igl aunghel
  • Temperance
  • the angel
XVLe DiableDer Teufel The Devil
  • il giavel
  • il da cornas
  • il naucli
  • il bab dallas femnas
  • the devil
  • the one with the horns
  • the Evil One
  • the Father of Women
XVILa Maison de DieuDer Turm The Tower
  • la casa da Diu
  • il tiaratriembel
  • il cametg
  • la Cadi
  • la claustra barschada
  • the house of God
  • the earthquake
  • lightning
  • the Church
  • the burning monastery
XVIIL'ÉtoileDer Stern The Star las steilasthe stars
XVIIILa LuneDer Mond The Moon la glinathe moon
XVIIIILe SoleilDie Sonne The Sun il suleglthe sun
XXLe JugementGericht Judgment
  • la dertgira
  • ils bluts
  • la giuventetgna
  • (divine) Judgement
  • the naked ones
  • youth
XXILe MondeDie Welt The World
  • il mund
  • la vaca
  • la biala
  • il min
  • il miau
  • la ferma
  • the world
  • the cow
  • beauty
  • the cat (baby-talk)
  • the cat
  • beauty

Footnotes

  1. "Swiss Tarot" is the name recommended by the International Playing-Card Society. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 Swiss Tarot at i-p-c-s.org. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  2. Mann, Sylvia (1990). All Cards on the Table. Leinfelden: Deutsches Spielkarten-Museum. pp. 166–168, 172.
  3. Ruh, Max (2005) Schaffhauser Spielkarten. Schweizer Pioniere der Wirtschaft und Technik. Verein für wirtschaftshistorische Studien, Zurich 2005, ISBN   3-909059-32-5, pp 27–31, 52 and 73.
  4. McLeod, John. Troccas at pagat.com. Retrieved 13 February 2018.