Today, Tarot cards are probably most well-known as a divination tool. Bookstores specializing in esoteric subjects stock shelves upon shelves of decks in a variety of styles, ranging from the classic Rider-Waite deck to decks focusing on various mythological pantheons, fictional characters, magical creatures, and even cats.

But when Tarot cards first appeared in 15th century Italy, they had no connection to fortunetelling. They were instead used to play various card games. Playing cards were circulating in Europe by the 14th century, probably via trade with the Islamic world, and the variations of the four standard suits (clubs, spades, diamonds, hearts) were well established. The first Tarot decks appeared in northern Italy in the middle of the 15th century, with the four suits accompanied by a set of 21 trump cards (the trionfi). The most well-known of these early decks are a group collectively known as the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, after Filippo Maria Visconti, the Duke of Milan, and his successor, Francesco Sforza.

These early Tarot decks are quite similar to the decks modern audiences are familiar with. Most of the key players from the Major Arcana are already there, albeit with some differences (e.g., the modern High Priestess was originally the Popess). These original cards were clearly born out of the northern Italian cultural milieu. They drew on the imagery that was part of Renaissance visual culture—e.g. depictions of the Virtues—and also on events and people that were connected to events that touched on the Visconti-Sforzas themselves—for instance, the Emperor cards wore the eagle sigil of the Holy Roman Empire. While the symbolism of these cards might seem obscure to 21st century observers, the meanings would have been clear to a Renaissance audience.  

The association of Tarot with mysticism and hidden knowledge is really a construct of the late 18th and 19th centuries. The 18th century French pastor Antoine Court de Gébelin was key in this development. He believed in the existence of a primitive world in which humankind shared one language and culture, and that this could be reconstructed by interpreting myths and studying language. According to him, the Tarot had Egyptian origins and were used for divination—and thus, the link between Tarot and the occultism was formed. 

Mystical applications of Tarot were explored by French occultists over the course of the 19th century, but the most famous Tarot deck was arguably created by English occultists associated with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Rider-Waite deck was first published in 1909, the work of Golden Dawn members A.E. Waite and Pamela Colman Smith. While Waite wrote the guide to the Tarot deck, the cards were illustrated by Smith. Her images, which incorporated aspects of 19th century esotericism into the Renaissance scaffolding, still serve as the basis for most modern Tarot decks.