The tarot (/ˈtæroʊ/, first known as trionfi and later as tarocchi or
tarocks) is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th
century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as
Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, tarot playing cards spread to most
of Europe evolving into a family of games that includes German
Grosstarok and more recent games such as French Tarot and Austrian
Königrufen which are still played today. In the late 18th century,
French occultists began to make elaborate, but unsubstantiated, claims
about their history and meaning, leading to the emergence of custom
decks for use in divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy.[1]
Thus there are two distinct types of tarot pack: those used for playing
games and those used for divination. However, some older patterns, such
as the Tarot de Marseille, originally intended for playing card games,
have also been used for cartomancy.