Tarot (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
modern games such as French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen. In the late
18th century French occultists made 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 packs in
circulation: those used for card games and those used for divination.
However, some older patterns, such as the Tarot de Marseille, originally
intended for playing card games, are occasionally used for cartomancy.
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