Epigraphers or epigraphists, who study epigraphs or ancient inscriptions, practice the methods of decipherment. The science of epigraphy made possible the decipherment of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, cuneiform writing, the alphabet and the tarot.

In my quest to decipher the Tarot cards, I deciphered the alphabet. Although the Tarot cards are not inscriptions carved into rock or scratched into bone, they are pictorial inscriptions and may be deciphered using the methods of epigraphic decipherment. Many researchers into the subject of the Tarot have suspected a connection between the ancient alphabet and the Tarot cards, but the actual correspondence between specific cards and letters of the alphabet has long been debated. It is the connection between the Tarot cards and the alphabet that led me to a satisfactory decipherment of the pictures on the cards, and of the order of the cards in the Major Arcana.

My research revealed that the Tarot cards were actually pictures of constellations that the ancient alphabet letters were also based upon. The story of the Tarot goes back thousands of years, although the cards themselves were based upon constellational figures that were popular in medieval times. My search for the origin of the cards revealed much more about the history of the alphabet than anyone had suspected.

I learned about epigraphic decipherment from Dr. Hugh Moran who was the author of The Alphabet And The Ancient Calendar Signs. Dr. Moran patiently taught me the techniques of decipherment and reviewed my research into the ancient alphabet in the mid seventies.

The thesis of his research on the alphabet was that the Hebrew alphabet was related to the Chinese lunar calendar. Without his pioneering effort into solving the riddle of the alphabet, my work may have never come about. Dr. Moran was in his eighties when I was in college, and he let me visit him at his home. He helped me with my college research and also taught me much about history. Dr. Moran was my mentor. Although our conclusions about the ancient alphabet are not in complete agreement, I believe that our findings are not contradictory, because we were both describing various parts of the ancient astronomical systems. This is a big subject and has many complexities, but the decipherment presented here will solve some of the world's ancient mysteries regarding the alphabet and other calendar systems, etc.

The tedious research I undertook required me to check out every possibility. This involved making hundreds of epigraphic drawings and numerous etymological studies. After a year, the threads of research began to take shape into a fabric of a worldwide system of astronomy, writing, religion, logic and communication. A sample of these epigraphic drawings are presented as links.

The ancient Chinese, Mayans, Phoenicians, Hebrews and others based their calendars and writing upon a set of constellations that are pictured in the Tarot cards. My excitement grew as each new detail began to fit into the great puzzle. The unity of the ancient astronomical systems is amazing, and can only be because of cross-cultural relations thousands of years ago. The epigraphic drawings presented here show how the ancient astronomical symbols were derived directly from constellations. The beauty of the decipherment of the ancient calendar symbols and the alphabet is something to wonder at.

Some of the world's most ancient writing has been discovered at Anyang in the Honan province of China. Inscriptions found there were etched onto the famous Oracle Bones and tortoise shells that were used by ancient Chinese for divination of the future. Primitive forms of Chinese astronomical symbols were apparently scratched upon the bones or shells and then the bone or shell was heated over a fire. The bone or shell would eventually crack or break, and those ancient fortune-tellers would then try to interpret the remaining fragments.

Among those ancient symbols used were included the Chinese ten stems and twelve branches, which are ancient astronomical symbols. The ten stems referred to ten polar constellations, and the twelve branches referred to the twelve zodiac constellations. According to my findings, these twenty-two constellational symbols are the basis of the ancient Phoenician alphabet and also the Major Arcana cards of the Tarot.

The ancient Chinese astronomers developed their system of constellational symbols in such a manner so that the symbols could be used for astronomical and astrological purposes as well as for their calendar and possibly even for celestial navigation. In time, a multitude of symbols were developed by the early Chinese and incorporated into their system of astronomical symbols.

The epigraphic drawings in this volume show how the Chinese developed their calendar symbols in order to picture certain constellations. In time their system of symbols was spread around the world, probably by sea-going merchants or boat people. The tables and diagrams in this volume show how the Phoenician alphabet is based upon the same constellations used by the Chinese in their astronomical ten stems and twelve branches. The Mayan calendar was also directly influenced by the Chinese ten stems and twelve branches, but with a few revisions, as we shall find out. Later the Hebrew alphabet was adapted from the Phoenician alphabet, but the Hebrew alphabet letters still retained the names of the constellations that they were based upon, i.e. the Chinese ten stems and twelve branches. In time most of the world's alphabets came to be based upon the Phoenician alphabet.

Most experts on the subject of the alphabet trace the letters back to the early Phoenician alphabet, but confusion arises when they try to determine the origin of those original Phoenician letters. There were various alphabet scripts in the Sinai Peninsula which borders on Egypt and Israel, so many authorities have concluded that the Sinaitic alphabet letters were directly derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs. There does appear to be some connection between Egyptian Hieroglyphs and the Sinaitic scripts, but it is my opinion that the Phoenician alphabet was based upon the constellations of the Chinese ten stems and twelve branches, but that the form of the Phoenician letters were patterned after the Sinaitic scripts. This means that the Phoenician alphabet retained its connection with the stars, but was adapted to the local form of writing. That would allow the Phoenicians to use their alphabetical symbols for their calendar as well as for writing and counting, for each letter was assigned a number.

It is common knowledge that the Hebrew, Greek and Roman alphabets were developed from the Phoenician alphabet, and throughout the centuries various cultures have adapted the alphabet to their own languages. Many books chronicle the evolution of the alphabet, but they all go back to the Phoenician alphabet as the beginning.

The correspondence between the alphabet and the Tarot cards has been the subject of speculation by many authors on the subject of the Tarot. The most obvious similarity that is observed is that there are twenty-two letters of the ancient Phoenician alphabet and there are twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana of the Tarot. There have been developed elaborate systems of correspondence between the alphabet and the Tarot, but there is some disagreement about the actual order of the cards and their correspondence to specific alphabetic letters. Some decks place the Magician card of the Major Arcana at the beginning and the Fool card at the end, while other decks place the Fool in the beginning. There is also speculation about the order of the Strength card and the Temperance card as well as the order of the Star, the Sun, and the Moon cards. All of these questions are resolved in this investigation.

Some authors writing about the Tarot tell us that their order and interpretation of the cards was passed down to them from some mystery school or by divine insight. The facts to be presented here will separate the grain from the chaff in regard to the correct correspondence the alphabet has with the Tarot cards by using the methods of epigraphic decipherment.

Some Tarot books contain correspondences between the Major Arcana of the Tarot and the alphabet, as well as correspondences to gems, colors, and astrological signs as well as a multitude of symbols. The Cabalistic and magical traditions also find their way into the Tarot symbolism, and though some authors have surmised correctly about these ideas, most of the written material is at best misleading. Some writers have suggested that the truth about the Tarot has been veiled or hidden intentionally by the secret mystery schools so as to keep the common person ignorant of the truth. It is time that the serious investigators of the Tarot have some hard facts to think about and use.

Of course, in an investigation such as this the facts revealed are just the tip of the iceberg so to speak. This work should be used as a stepping stone for researchers who can take up this study and find even more information about the Tarot and the ancient calendars and alphabets. I have only begun to investigate some of the important ideas that the Tarot contains. The connection between the ancient religions and the Tarot should be examined thoroughly. The ancient methods of navigation by the stars can also be related to the Tarot, because the Tarot cards represent constellations, which can be used for navigation. Experts in a multitude of disciplines should investigate the Tarot in order that the whole picture is revealed.

Let us investigate the actual pictures on the cards of the Major Arcana. It has been suggested by various authors that the pictures on the tarot cards were derived from Egyptian, Greek, or Roman Mythology, as well as Christian and Hebrew history. Throughout the ages one artist after another has pictured the tarot figures according to their particular interpretation of the tarot legends. My first task was to identify the pictures on the tarot cards, and from what culture or civilization the tarot drawings were derived from. Some of the Major Arcana cards have definite resemblance to characters from Greek and Roman mythology, while others appear to have Christian or Egyptian characteristics.

The Magician has the appearance of Hermes or Apollo from the Greek tradition, while the Papess or Female Pope appears to have a definite Christian look, and could portray the mythical Pope Joan of medieval legend.

The Empress and Emperor are clearly from Greek and Roman mythology and picture the Empress Cassiopeia and the Emperor Cepheus, which still appear upon our modern star maps as the King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia.

The Pope card appears to be the Pope Sylvester who was pictured over the constellation of Bootes in medieval Christian star maps. The Christian star map makers sought to replace the ancient pagan gods with Christian heroes, but because the Pope objected to being portrayed in a deck of cards, the artists thereafter replaced the Hierophant with the Pope card.

The Lovers appear to picture Perseus and Andromeda of the Greco-Roman star maps. The Chariot card appears to picture the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer of the Greco-Roman star maps.

The Strength card pictures Hercules who overcame a great lion in his youth, and later defeated the Nemion Lion. The Hermit card pictures the Christian Saint Benedict over the constellation of Ophichius, which was known as the Serpent Holder in Greek star maps.

The Wheel of Fortune pictures the Italian goddess Fortuna spinning the wheel of northern polar constellations. The Justice card pictures Astra, the Greek goddess of Justice, who holds the scales of Justice, which is seen in the sky as the constellation of Libra, the scales.

The Hanged Man pictures Jesus on the Northern Cross, which was seen as Cygnus the Swan in the Greek star maps. The Death Card pictures the Grim Reaper of Death over the constellation of Sagittarius.

The Temperance card pictures the Archangel Michael over the stars of Draco the Dragon, possibly because the Archangel Michael threw the Dragon out of heaven in the biblical tradition.

The Devil card pictures Pan over the stars of Capricorn, the fish-goat. The Tower card pictures the string of stars called Serpens Caput in the form of a tower, with the constellations Bootes and Ophiuchus appearing to be falling from the tower. Above the tower is the radiant crown of Corona Borealis.

The Star card pictures Isis or her attendant Anabuts from the Egyptian tradition, and in the background are the stars of Canis Major with the dog star Sirius. In the background of the Star card the dove Columba is seen.

The Sun card pictures Phaethon, the son of Helios, the Sun God from Greek Mythology, who rode his father's sun chariot, but lost control of the horses. The Moon card pictures the crab of Cancer with the moon above in the sky between the Gates of Mem.

The Judgement card is a portrayal of Delphinus as a coffin, as rendered by medieval Christian star map makers. In the background is the Archangel Gabriel blowing a trumpet.

The World card pictures Demeter over the stars of Virgo the Virgin. The Fool is pictured as a shepherd over the stars of Bootes the Herdsman. The dog or dogs with the Fool are called Canis Venetici.

The tarot card pictures were derived from several traditions, which were fully developed by the time the cards were first drawn, but there are clues that give us some indication of the approximate date that the first cards were drawn.

Some schools of thought maintain that the tarot cards were developed in ancient Egypt, possibly in Alexandria. Others say the Gypsies brought them to Europe or that they were invented in Italy. Although not all of the facts are clear, there are some significant clues. For many centuries authors have written books and articles about the Tarot cards, but most of the material has been commentary on the work of pervious authors or else it was pure speculation. The popular publications about the Tarot cards are often a simplification of earlier writings or else simply nonsense.

Although there is some reasonable information concerning the Tarot cards in publication, the contradictions and confusion concerning the Tarot cards has increased with each new book on the subject. Now there are dozens of decks that have some connection to the Tarot deck, but the newer decks are anything but traditional. Too many people give up the study of the Tarot simply because of all of the conflicting opinions about the cards Tarot must wade through each system of interpretation and eventually make up his own mind about the cards or else accept one system over another.

One aim of this study is to reveal the origin of the Tarot cards, and to present the reader with a logical system of interpretation. This author has spent years in research into the actual origins of the Tarot cards, and will herein present the reader with the first true decipherment of the alphabet and the Tarot.