It is known that the playing cards consisting of four "suits" penetrated into Europe around 1200, probably from the Middle East. Around 1400 they had already used a vengeance as popular gambler. Tarot Cards (but with the easy tarochchi, tarot or tarok) includes all four of these suits, but also have a fifth, a trump, or "elder", a suit consisting of a more cards. Maps of the suit first appeared in Northern Italy in the era of quattrocento (XIV century). As a table game. It is still played in southern Europe and French North Africa, with pictures Marselskogo Taro, which can be seen in these maps were created in the late XV century. Around that time, was standardized and the order of their numbering.

First mention of the game in color pictures, which is called trionfi ("Triumph") and came into vogue in the Sovereign yard Ferrara, dated 1442 The oldest surviving deck a painter Bonifacio Bemba as a gift for the wedding, joined the family of Sforza and Visconti. Around 1500 the first printed deck, and Tarot has become a popular game of the broad popular sectors.

First text on divination at Taro is dated 1526 year. While these were, mainly, the Roma - the Indo-European nomadic people who infiltrated into Europe in the XV century .. Gypsies were considered to be from Egypt, and this has created an extremely romantic legend of the "Ancient Egyptian" origin Taro. Mysterious characters Taro has long been seen as keys to the ancient Mystery, but the first of the said 1781 French Protestant priest Antoine Cours de Zheblen (Kurt De Gebelin). By studying the ancient myths, he came to the conclusion that this "easy game" is nothing more than a lost Egyptian Book of Toth, can open the secret mysteries of civilization disappeared.

Another prominent researcher and sistematizatorom Taro was a Parisian hairdresser Alete, younger contemporary and disciple of Cours de Zheblena. He seriously passion Occult, abandon their craft and took the nickname Eteylla (read your own last name in Hebrew, that is, from right to left). Being not very educated man, Eteylla not fond of "philosophical" aspect of symbolism Taro, a systematized and polish system cartomancy. His final appearance, this system, and with it, and maps purchased by 1780 (according to other sources, to 1783) year. Perhaps then Eteylla one of the first opened in Paris, specialized salon conjectural.

In 1850, a provincial French publisher Baptiste Paul Grimaud published the most popular of the decks Eteylly - the so-called Egyptian Tarot. Thus, the system Taro adopted its modern look.

Further research, explore and develop at the Tarot divination , has come from developments Eteylly. However, in the XIX century. divination came into vogue in the normal playing cards, Taro retreated into the shadows and became the privilege of mystics and occultists. These people were not interested in the use of predictive maps: much more attention they give "philosophical" and "mystical" aspects of their symbolism. At this stage Taro (and, in particular, the 22 cards of his "elder suit") has become a symbolic alphabet and a unique encyclopaedia of European mysticism. In the second half of the XIX century. famous French occultist Elifas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant) identified 22 Senior Arkan from 22 Jewish alphabet letters, which formed the basis of an extremely influential mystical system каббалы. This greatly expanded the system of values Tarot, and finally turned the old deck of cards in a very respectable and influential mystical system.

Final processing Taro in the spirit of High Magic ritual was performed at the end of the XIX century. English Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It was in this milieu emerged the most popular in our time Tarot Deck - Rayderovskoe Tarot, (named after its publisher). This deck was created by designs of Christian occultist Arthur Edward Ueyta painter-decorator Pamela Coleman Smith. It was published in millions of copies and greatly influenced the modern perception of Taro. Usually it is a "basic" version, with which compare all the innovations in this field.

One of the main reasons for its popularity was a radical innovation in design. Traditional Taro consists of 22 "trump cards" (or the Senior lasso) and 56 normal cards. Senior Arkan was the traditional pattern, and normal maps - only numbers and symbols colors. Pamela Smith rejected this custom. She provided all the card images of the symbolic scenes in which her mimic until now. Figures are sometimes much easier interpretation maps and make available to divination, not only for professionals.