A History of Tarot Cards The person who can be credited with the creation of the Tarot cards is not exactly known. It is however, widely recognised that this event occued some time in the first half of the 15th century, somewhere in northern Italy. This first set of cards were akin to the playing cards of the time. This set included many of the characteristics that appear in modern playing cards. The pack included numbered cards from 1 through to 10. As well as four suits, Court Cards, Page, Knight and King. In addition to this, the Tarot deck had more. These extra cards included a Queen which was added to each of the Courts. As well as this 22 special cards were added. These extra 22 did not belong to any suit and their artwork included symbolic pictures, with included such subjects as the Emperor, the Pope, The Wheel of Fortune, Death, the Devil, and the Moon. These cards added a extra aspect to the whole deck and allowed a reader to have even further insight into the person they performed the reading for. The cards were originally used to play a new type of card game that was very similar to bridge. But this game had 21 of the special cards serving as permanent trumps. These could be played regardless of what suit was led, and outranked all the ordinary cards. The game became known as the Game of Triumphs and slowly became more and more popular, especially among the upper classes of society who would play regularly. In time the game spread through northern Italy and many parts of France. Over time the game spread to other countries and with this came different variations with the pictures that was displayed on each card. In some cases even the ranking of the trumps was changed. It was not long before the game spread across the world with various changes to the pictures as it spread. During this time devotees of the occult arts in Europe who saw the Tarot began to see mystical, if not magical meanings in the symbolism of the cards. This developed in to a devotion towards the cards and they developed them as a divination tool of which we know the cards today. Because the cards give subconscious meanings to many who use them, the pictures on the cards have had many changes depending on the artists that developed each set. Through looking back we can see many various designs but the cards still remain the same and are used by thousands to unravel the mysteries of life. Today there are many different decks and I urge you to get a feel for them and use the set that you feel the most comfortable with. It is through your relationship with the cards that you develop the mental pictures feelings and ability to gain knowledge. No particular set of cards have a history of achieving better results. This is up to you through practice and your connection with the cosmic that will develop as you continue to use the cards.