The connection between Tarot and the Egyptian culture (that Tarot is from the book by a priest king Hermes Trismegistus) was explored by a Frence intellectual of the 18th century, Court de Gebelin (real name: Antonie Court). He developed the theory that there existed a link between Tarot and 'the Book of Thoth', Thoth being the Egyptian god of science.
According to legend, Hermes Trismegiustus is said to have provided the wisdom of light in the ancient mysteries of Egypt. "He carried an emerald, upon which was recorded all of philosophy and the caduceus, the symbol of mystical illumination."
Surviving Hermes Trismegistus is the wisdom of "Hermetica", 42 books that is believed to have profoundly influenced the development of Western occultism and magic.
So what/who is this Hermes Trismegistus?
First, the name means thric greatest Hermes, and is the title given by the Greeks to the Egyptian god Thoth; a lord of wisdom and learning according to one source.
And others, we have accounts claimed that Hermes Trismegistus ia a representation of a cult (worshippers of Temple of Thoth) in Khemnu (near modern El Ashmunein). Other claims that Hermes trismegistus was an Egyptian priest King, or thrice great on account of being the greatest priest, philsopher and king.
Many Christian writers (including Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Augustine, Campanella) considered "Hermes Trismegistus" to be a wise pegan prophet who foresaw the coming of Christianity. By this account, Hermes Trismegistus was either, a contemporary Moses or the third in a line of men named Hermes (i.e. Enoch, Noah) according to the fathers of the Christian church. "Trismegistus" meaning "Thrice Great" is derived from statements both in the "The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus", that he knows the three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe. The three parts of the wisdom are alchemy, astrology, and theurgy.
