The real origin of the tarot may never be found, but what we do know is, the Tarot as we use them today date back to the renaissance. The history of both Tarot and plying cards can be dated as far back the T'ang dynasty (619-908), however we also know the Tarot is based on the “Torah” that  pre dates Christianity. It was probably because of the Moors invading Europe we have the Tarot today, as the Cabala an esoteric system used by alchemist introduced the Tarot as mystic system of discipline. The Tarot is comprised of a deck of 78 cards, which are divided  thus the major arcana and the minor arcana. The major being 22 cards that represent a journey human kind takes as we  learn the wonder of life in the world.  The minor arcana being the remaining 56, which are separated into four suits of Batons, Pentacles, Swords and Cups. Each suit has a king, queen, knight and page, the the ace through to the ten. Every individual card has a meaning that is unique, and there are a number of spreads that can be employed when using the cards for divination.