Fortune Telling

Tarot, traditionally known as "The Book of Troth", consists
of a deck of playing cards used for fortune telling. The
tarot was brought from the East to Italy in the Fourteenth
Century by gypsies or returning Crusaders. The origin of
the cards is obscure, and theories that the Tarot is based
on the Hebrew alphabet or on Egyptian or Hindu mythology
have not been conclusively proven. 

The tarot deck consists of 78 cards which are divided in to
two groups. The Minor or Lesser , Aracana, the precursor of
the modern deck, is made up of 56 cards that divided into
four suits. Each suit has fourteen cards, with numbered
cards from one to ten and four numbered face cards: king,
queen, knight, and knave. The Major, or Greater Arcana
consist of 22 cards, each bearing a title and a picture,
such as the hanged Man, the Wheel of Fortune, Judgement,
and the Moon, rich in occult and astrological symbolism.
Twenty-one of the cads are numbered. The twenty-second
card, the Fool, numbered 0, is analogous to the modern
joker. 

In fortune telling, either the full pack or the Major
Arcana alone is used. The relationship of one card to
another, as laid out in a number of different
configurations is as important as the significance of each
individual card. 

The Italian card game Tarrocchi from which the "tarot" is
probably derived, is still played in southern and central
Europe.