In Europe the Christian church was trying to eradicate paganism and anything that they thought was heresy. There were a few cults that survived and they became known under the term Gnosticism. One thought is that the tarot came from the gnostic beliefs. As the church believed that all playing cards were evil, the tarot became associated with black magic, in attempt to scare people away from it. Unfortunately it is an opinion that some staunch Christians believe today.
In the 18th century a clergyman called Antoine Court de Gebelin was fascinated with Ancient Egypt, and he started the idea that this is where the tarot originated. He also stated that the secrets of the Egyptian priests had been hidden within the cards to keep it safe. The cards were brought to Europe by the gypsies, who were thought to have come from Egypt. Antoine Court de Gebelin wrote a book called 'The Primitive World Analysed and compared the Modern World', which connected the Major Arcana to the hidden Egyptian secrets. He was responsible for bringing the mystical side of the tarot to people's attention.
In the 19th Century a French Rosicrucian and abalist called Eliphas Levi, renumbered the tarot cards according to his belief that there was a link, between the 22 Major Arcana and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The tarot grew in popularity, and now there are many versions of the tarot cards that can be purchased and used. It is thought that the modern deck of cards is derived from the tarot deck, and the spades represent the swords, the diamonds the pentacles, the clubs the wands and the hearts the cups.