Tarot
Playing cards used for games and divination since the 15th century.
Tarot, first known as trionfi and later as tarocchi or tarocks, is a set of playing cards used in Tarot card games and fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play trick-taking card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, tarot games spread to most of Europe, evolving into new forms including German Grosstarok and modern examples such as French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen. Tarot is commonly found in many countries, especially in English- and Spanish-speaking countries where tarot games are not as widely played, in the form of specially designed cartomantic decks used primarily for tarot card reading.
- first_appeared
- mid-15th century
- region_of_origin
- northern Italy (Ferrara and Milan)
- original_name
- trionfi (later tarocchi)
- primary_uses
- trick-taking card games and divination
Lore & Background
Tarot cards, then known as tarocchi, first appeared in Ferrara and Milan in northern Italy, with the Fool and 21 trumps (then called trionfi) being added to the standard Italian pack of four suits: batons, coins, cups and swords. The oldest surviving tarot cards are the 15 or so decks of the Visconti-Sforza Tarot painted in the mid-15th century for the rulers of the Duchy of Milan.
Reader's Guide
Tarot holds significance as a dual-purpose set of cards: used for trick-taking card games across much of Europe and, from the late 18th century, for divination and cartomancy after French occultists made elaborate but unsubstantiated claims about their history and meaning. The emergence of custom decks for divination created 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 and the Swiss 1JJ Tarot, originally intended for playing card games, are also used for cartomancy. Tarot games experienced a renaissance in some countries and regions in the 20th century; for example, French Tarot became the second most popular card game in France, and Tarock games like Königrufen have seen significant growth in Austria with international tournaments. The legacy of tarot includes its continued use in regional games in Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, and Germany, as well as its widespread association with fortune-telling in English- and Spanish-speaking countries.
Did You Know?
- The oldest surviving tarot cards are the Visconti-Sforza Tarot decks painted in the mid-15th century.
- Tarot has four suits that vary by region: French suits are used in western, central and eastern Europe, and Latin suits in southern Europe.
- The emergence of custom decks for divination began after French occultists made elaborate, but unsubstantiated, claims about their history and meaning in the late 18th century.
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