Playing Cards

I would like to see everyone’s favorite decks, and if you feel like featuring your whole collection - go for it 😀!! I have a very small collection. When I grew up I used to only work with my grandfathers old deck but sadly it fell a part and I don’t have it anymore. I tried to find an exact one just like it but haven’t been able to. It doesn’t matter though, I’ve come to terms with it. For some time I was really determined to find the ‘perfect’ vintage deck, but I have given up that search too. Vintage decks are wonderful but I realized that it’s mainly a certain look that I’m after and that it doesn’t necessarily have to be an older deck. So I ha…

I started out reading Tarot. I went through several different actual Tarot decks over time and still have a couple of my favorites. Along the way, I found I had a knack for reading with playing cards and it eventually became my preferred medium. However, I have always read them in a fashion similar to the way I read regular Tarot. The deck I have been designing is actually centered around this method. I even self published a book using this method on Amazon several years ago. (Although some of my interpretations have changed since then and I really need to publish an updated version.) Now looking through this forum, I see that there are whole other systems for re…

Hi everyone! A question for those of you who use playing cards, regardless of the method or system that you use: do you consider the people/court cards to represent only individuals? Or have they, in your experience, also represented situations? I ask this because recently I did a reading involving the K♦️ and the J♦️, and I couldn’t really recognise them as people in the events that followed. However, there were situations involving money that could have been represented by them… news about unexpected money (which made me think about the J♦️) and then help from a man through the donation a larger sum (making me think of the K♦️). The K♦️, of course, could represent …

Hello All, Does anyone have any insight into the system of Ana Cortez ? It is radically different from other Playing Card reading systems I hear, but nothing either Pro or Con. There are courses on her website and such but I am looking more for the “between we Reader’s info” rather than the Creator’s. Not looking to high praise or rip the system, just again any insight you may have. Thanks in advance if you can help out!

Hello, I've started looking into playing cards (because of the Lenormand card insets, which led me to this part of the forum, and down the rabbit hole). There are different systems and the meanings are not consistent (the 8 of Hearts doesn't keep the same meaning from one method to the other for example). Do you end up learning different methods, and if so, do you get confused ? Or do you manage to tell yourself "I'm reading this way therefore this card means this" and when switching you can easily switch to the other meaning of the same card ? And on a slightly different aspect, Boroveshengra's meanings for the card insets don't …

I'm seeking a deck of playing cards to use alongside the Happy Tarot by Selina Ficca from Lo Scarabeo. I'm hoping to find something with illustrated cards, but I'm open to all suggestions whether it's the art or the vibe or a little of both. Thank you so much in advance!

I was reading "Symbolism; a treatise on the soul of things" by Milton Alberto Pottenger the other day and came across the following pages which peaked my interest (btw, the book is available on Internet Archive for free, so I suppose including its pages in this post would be ok): The thing that confuses- and baffles me at the same time- is the association of the suit of spades with the acorn... which, I'll be honest, makes sense. It reminds me of the suits depicted on the petit Lenormand cards, and how one might read them according to the German tradition as stated in books like Andy Boroveshengra's and Caitlin Matthews'.…

The HedgeWytchery system is something I come to again and again. Some don't like its fixed meanings and more strict way of reading cards. I use some of the meanings, not all. But I find myself interlacing HW meanings in my TdM readings often, along with other meanings. I couldn't find a thread that links Dawn's website, so I'm providing it here. I also thought that there may be some interest in having a study group start-up. The Wise and Subtle Arte of Reading Cards For the Witch of Middling Memory For the Witch of Exceptional Memory

Out and about this weekend I went to a book sale out of a man’s old barn/garage. He had some fabulous books and I managed to obtain a few on divination. Two of them were Fortune Telling with Playing Cards by Jonathan Dee and What the Cards Tell by Minetta. I’ve loved playing card games in general my whole life and I’ve collected some unique decks here and there just because of the court images. I don’t know to what degree I will use these books, but I am fascinated. Anyone have experience with either of them? Please share.

Hello everyone! Recently I’ve started studying the meanings of playing cards and how to use them as a complete separate system for divination. I had read a bit about it ages ago in Caitlin Matthew’s Lenormand Oracle Handbook but quickly forgot about it since I found the playing card insets to be too complex at that time. I wanted to see if there are any well known books that solely focus on teaching playing cards and used by most practitioners? The first book I read about it was Playing Card Divination by Stephen Bell but the reading style just didn’t resonate with me to be honest. I’ve also saved Read Like The Devil by Camelia Elias for when I get more advan…

The late Dawn R. Jackson's Hedgewytchery method is back online in its full and original form. https://spells.neocities.org/cartomancy.html As is Ms. Jackson's general witchy info. https://spells.neocities.org/ I'm trying to find out if the reposting has some kind of posthumous blessing on it. If not, and those in the know disapprove, I'll ask a mod to delete this.

I was browsing wopc when I found this: https://www.wopc.co.uk/usa/uspcc/ye-witches Part cartomancy, part transformation deck, and while it has "Witches" in the title, it's decidedly not a new age purple pentagram deck. Originally published in 1896, it's purely old fashioned cartomancy - and I like that. It can be had here. https://playingcarddecks.com/products/ye-witches-fortune-cards-uspcc There's a link to a downloadable scan of the leaflet that came with the original deck there, too. You can get a set of two decks with broomstick and cauldron backs, a single deck, or the same with gilded edges. I opted for one deck, gilded edges, and cauldron backs. …

Does tarot inherently carry the capacity to be “deeper” than playing card cartomancy? I am just getting my feet wet in cartomancy in general, both tarot and with playing cards. I’m curious if, in your experiences, tarot has the capacity of giving deeper, more complex readings than playing card decks because of the major arcana and added court card. People often speak with fondness of the “folky” and “down to earth” nature of reading playing cards compared to using tarot cards, but I’m wondering if it isn’t just a feel, but also a literal limitation of playing cards that they don’t have the major arcana. I don’t have enough experience to answer, but I a…

Hi,! I was wondering what members think about the blog here: https://artofcartomancy.blogspot.com From one point of view he has put so much effort into this... Yet from another... Members mentioned they use the finding items/pets approach from here. And it looks solid at first glance, have meaning of all cards for that here: https://artofcartomancy.blogspot.com/2019/09/locating-lost-objects-with-cartomancy.html But then if we look at his example of that that is used in practice here: https://artofcartomancy.blogspot.com/2019/10/cartomancy-answer-spread-for-finding.html He doesn't seem to use any of the card definitions he se…

Hello everyone, I had a tarot reading but I am a bit confused with its interpretation. If I write the cards that were withdrawn and the question that I asked, could someone give me his/her interpretation of them? Is this the right section? Thanks!

As mentioned on one of my older posts, my mother was quite adept at reading with playing cards, a system she learned as a child from her aunt. I watched her read, as a child, and I recall she had a rhyme/chant which she always recited when dealing the cards. I cannot recall it verbatim but it was something like : To seal you, To crown you, What’s sure to come true, For those who you love, For those who love you I’m not sure how local or universal this mantra was and wondered if anybody recognised it and/or could clarify the actual words? Best, Jay

I would be ever so grateful if someone could help me out with a translation: https://archive.org/details/EynLoszbuchAusDerKartenGemacht/page/n20/mode/1up?view=theater This book has poems and meanings for all the german playing cards, if you scroll down the document it looks like this (random screenshot) I know this is a very big ask, but I was hoping that someone else would be equally interested in these poems as me. The whole book is 36 pages but not all of it consists of these poems. That bit starts at page 15 and ends around page 28. Anything you could help me with is greatly appreciated!

Hey, I am trying to learn gypsy playing cards techniques and was doing a reading on myself about my my general future. I am very confused so I need help. I did 16 card reading with my inner circle including: Bouquet - Dog - Snake Mice - rose - tree Whip Cloud - woman - Cupid Book Honor - Bear - Lion Ship Wine Bird I see in my near future I might suffer small loss (mice) related to my romantic life (rose) and health (tree) leading me to have uncertainty (cloud) about men who are att…

As I said in a different thread, I thought it would be nice to share some of the older methods found in books from the late 1800's and the early 1900's that seemed to of died out in more modern times. This particular method can be found in most books from that era, and seems to be a staple spread used by cartomancers of old. As it is a folk practice, there is a fair bit of variation to the actual method depending on the author. So I've tried my best to condense it down into something more streamlined. This method can be used with any deck (even Lenormand), though it was commonly found in books utilising the piquet deck (32 cards). The method is as…

I’ve recently begun reading with playing cards. I just can’t seem to interpret the spreads because there’s no fixed meaning to anything. Can anyone help?

Are there topics on numbers with reversals? I know the upright system using numerology, but the decks differ to bring me to question another: Does the numerology lie within the original rider waite 0-77? Wands, cups, swords, pentacles?

Hi I was wondering how many people use elemental dignities, in there spreads. I have been surprised how informative they can be when no specific question has been asked.....

OK, so I found these while I was searching for interesting playing cards on Amazon. (Yes, I know Jeff Bezos is really Lex Luthor in a bad disguise.) Palekh Cards The description says 55 cards even though the box says 36? Everywhere else I have looked says the deck contains 55 cards. So..... What the heck is the 55th card??

In my opinion you can have more discretion when you read playing cards but the level of accuracy is inferior to tarot

Hello all, This is my very first post on the forums! I wasn't quite sure which sub-forum would best frame my query so, as it generally relates to Cartomancy + Divination, I thought it best to post here. If the post has indeed been misplaced, a helpful moderator may move it on by behalf. I know a little about reading both Tarot and Oracle cards and find that, in addition to the symbolic meanings in the Tarot deck and the guidebook which accompany the many Oracle decks (which I actually rarely consult), there is an added layer of 'intuition' involved. I believe this to be particularly true with regards to Oracle cards. I have always interpreted this …