The actual origins of the Tarot cards is unknown. The earliest decks that we know of date back to the early 14th Century in Italy. (A lot of people say that the real origin dates back to Eygptian times, but of this I am not sure.) The Catholic church banned the use of Tarot cards, labeling them as "The Devil's Picture Book", somewhere around the 1350's which almost led to the cards extinction. The word "Tarot" is thought to have originated from the Italian card decks called "Tarocchi" which means "trump" or "triumph". The decks are beleived then to have moved to France where the name was altered to "Tarot".

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