The living tarot....

Each tarot card is in its essence, a living Being. Tarot cards are breathing a lucid beauty representing the book of our souls. The first 22 cards, 0-21, all represent the stages of our lives. But I wonder, if when ever one chooses to see as the time Tarot really started, lets say 700 years as an example, if there may have more distractions than there are now. I would imagine mere survival, having one meal, is far more a necessity than a text is now. I say this because to me,  a lot of what the Tarot is all about is the attainment of the complete I AM. Was tarot all about achieving balance and harmony 700 years ago the way some of us may see it now.