Tarot originated around the year 1440 in Italy. The original cards were hand painted and used in the courts of the nobility.
Around the year 1500 these cards became known as tarocchi in order to differentiate them from ordinary trumps, or what we know as playing cards. The French form of this word is "Tarot".
Folklore says that the gypsies, specifically Romanies, brought Tarot to Europe. This idea was actually started by writers from the mid 19th Century. Gypsies only started using tarot cards during the twentieth century. Prior to this they told fortunes by reading palms and interpreting ordinary playing cards.
Ordinary playing cards came to Europe from Muslim Spain around 50 years before Tarot cards arrived. These cards had four suits with kings and pages and the Tarot added The Fool and the Queens to this. These cards were originally used to play a game similar to bridge.
Around 1781 occult writers like Comte de Mellet started to mention Tarot as a divinatory tool. Interest in the cards as a system grew rapidly and they became an integral part of occult philosophy. They do in fact tell a story which goes from the "Fool" to enlightenment.
In the 21st century these cards are still used for prediction and interpretation of events and situations. There are some who consider the whole idea of prediction to be ridiculous and others who fear the power of the Tarot and it's advocates. They have been called "tools of the devil" and are said by some to be banned by the Christian churches. This is not true. The ban imposed by the church was solely on the "Pope" and "Popess" cards of the old decks. These were replaced by more acceptable images.
The cards themselves hold no power as they are merely cards which originated as part of a game. The real power comes from the reader's ability to interpret the cards and relate them to situations. Those individuals who have a gift for this could do equally well using baseball cards!
