The name "tarot" is said to be a French derivation from the Italian tarocchi, referring to the trick-taking games played with the cards in Italy around 1510.

There are 78 cards in a tarot deck, divided into four suits of 14 cards each - the "minor arcana" and 22 others, the "major arcana". There are numerous variations of decks, each with its own symbols. The symbols the cards bare are integral to how the deck guides the reader in accessing his or her intuition.

Patrick Wright, tarot card reader and founder of the Complementary Healing Centre in Terenure, Dublin, uses the Tolkein deck. Its symbols are inspired by The Lord of the Rings. At a reading he will ask the client to choose seven cards, three with the left, or intuitive hand, and four with the right, or rational, hand. The intuitively chosen cards allude to how the client is feeling and the rational to how they are thinking. If, for instance, a water symbol card was chosen by the intuitive hand, the client should perhaps make a journey to achieve what they want.