Tarot cards began as a simple game in 15th century Italy with no occult or spiritual attachments. It was, to put it simply, just a deck of cards. They grew beyond this purpose to tell stories such as the story of The Fool, who traveled on a journey and met the cast of characters and events found in the rest of the major arcana. Eventually, people began using the cards for more spiritual purposes following the qualities of the characters in these stories. The main purpose was for predicting the future. They were very quickly categorized as occult items following this usage, and they became taboo within many of the major religions. Today, the tarot has become more widespread and accepted, despite religious opposition.

The cards are separated into two major categories: the major arcana and the minor arcana. The cards in the major arcana are used to refer to the major events in one’s life, and are referred to as the “landmark cards”. The minor arcana is used to refer to the smaller, day-to-day events and the in-between moments. These cards are sometimes referred to as the “signpost cards”. This deck focuses only on the major arcana, which applies to all the major moments students experience while at the University of Michigan.