Your Favorite Playing Card Decks

[Raggydoll]

2 hours ago, Eugenie said:

This is a fascinating topic! I hope to be able to join you after a while, when I feel that I have sorted out the RWS in my head sufficiently. 

I have ordered the House of Rising Spade deck for the pure pleasure of owning it. This is the playing card deck that served as a basis for the Keymaster tarot. But I am also looking at the old Soviet/Russian decks available locally thinking that I might buy one for nostalgic and training purposes. The Rising Spade deck is too chic to train on it. 

 

When I was a child, we used the decks like the one shown in the second photo. It is called Russian Standard but I am not sure it takes origins in Russia. Are you familiar with it?

 

 

Thanks for sharing! I have seen the Russian standard pattern before but never worked with it. I think it’s nice to use decks that we have a sentimental connection with. I’m still searching for the deck that I first started out with. Well, not that exact deck since it was in horrible condition (was super well used by my granddad) but one just like it. Despite having looked through so many patterns over the years I have never come across it. It was definitely not an expensive deck but I suspect it might have been an affordable import of sort. The courts were different from all the other ones I’ve seen and I really liked those courts as a child. Anyways, I’m glad to see pictures of other peoples special decks 🥰

[Raggydoll]

2 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

These beautiful backs! And I love the small size. Are there any downloadable decks in public domain? I might want one...

There are many! My favorite source is the British museum, you can search for specific time periods or just scroll through all the decks. Here is a direct link:

 

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x8454
 

The first page is mostly individual cards but keep scrolling and you’ll see complete decks. These are all allowed for personal, non commercial use. 
 

Then there is gallica:

 

https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&version=1.2&startRecord=0&maximumRecords=15&page=1&query=(gallica all "jouer aux cartes")&filter=dc.type all "image"
 

it’s a French site but you can switch to English in the upper right corner. Their pictures are also public domain but for non commercial use.

 

And if you need help with information about printing through an on demand site, just post on the forum (we have a deck creators area) and the rest of us will chime in. Many here have printed their own decks and can help with tips and tricks! 

[Scandinavianhermit]

3 minutes ago, Raggydoll said:

I’ve begun printing my own decks in mini size to allow for big spreads. I really like the smaller sizes too! 

How many old hand-painted decks from our part of Europe have you printed?

 

I'm also interested in how many 'families' of cartomantic methods you have identified, because, this far, I've identified three very broad umbrella-categories of cartomantic methods defined by how suites are defined. These are:

 

SUB-CATEGORY A

Cloves are most auspicious

Hearts are auspicious

Diamonds are not auspicious

Spades are least auspicious

 

The sub-category above seems related to Etteilla's piquet method from 1770, which has Cloves equalling tarot Coins and Diamonds equalling tarot Batons, which isn't how art historians view the development of French suit marks from Spanish-Italian ones. According to art historians, Cloves emerged from Batons, Diamonds from Coins. I suspect, that a lot of confusion in the cartomantic world is caused by opposed view about this matter.

 

SUB-CATEGORY B

Hearts are most auspicious

Diamonds are auspicious

Cloves are not auspicious

Spades are least auspicious

 

The sub-category above is sometimes found in Sweden, but more often in England. I would love to hear from those who use traditional methods in Wales, Scotland, the two parts of Ireland, US and the Commonwealth generally, whether some English-speaking methods diverge from this description.

 

SUB-CATEGORY C

Spades (Leaves) are most auspicious

Hearts are auspicious

Diamonds (Bells) are slightly neutral 

Cloves (Acorns) are least auspicious

 

The sub-category above is best known from Lenormand decks, but you have mentioned yourself, @Raggydoll, that one (or several) of the Swedish methods seems to belong to this sub-category, and cartomantic ideas in the German speaking world (and central and eastern Europe generally) seem to be behind it all.

[Guest]

I love me some transformation playing cards. Looking at some gilt-edged Cotta almanac decks and trying my darnedest to say no. 

[Raggydoll]

Just now, Akhilleus said:

I love me some transformation playing cards. Looking at some gilt-edged Cotta almanac decks and trying my darnedest to say no. 

I’ve been eying those too!! 😁

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Raggydoll said:

I’ve been eying those too!! 😁

 

Right now it's available at one of my local dealers at just $21 a pop and maybe just one deck won't hurt, right? 😖

[Raggydoll]

3 minutes ago, Scandinavianhermit said:

How many old hand-painted decks from our part of Europe have you printed?

I have not printed many Scandinavian decks at all, but I do have a handful of Swedish and Danish decks that I’m going to print later on. I’m also redoing one of my previous projects and turning it into mini size. 
 

I have, however, done a few European fortune telling decks that I’ve never seen printed elsewhere. And I’ve done a tdM and.. well I need to check my stash to refresh my memory 😁 (many of my self printed decks are not historical or a mix of systems that I’ve created myself, some in a historical style).

 

I have come across decks and lists of keywords that align with multiple traditions like the ones you cite above. Some have clover as the worst (I think one source even had the Jack of clubs as a death card, but I could be wrong), and some have clubs as a positive thing. In Trefnadens källa they write that the meaning of the spades suit is unclear, but that it tends to promise good and nice things (I’m paraphrasing). I have also seen ace of spades as representing both money and tears in one source. (So it can be money in a neutral sense, not money that causes tears. Those meanings depended on the context). 

[Raggydoll]

2 minutes ago, Akhilleus said:

 

Right now it's available at one of my local dealers at just $21 a pop and maybe just one deck won't hurt, right? 😖

I meant that I’ve been thinking about printing one myself 😁 I rarely ever buy historical reproductions from anyone else, they tend to be more expensive than the ones I can print myself. But I guess 21 dollars is not much. Is the card quality good? If so, yeah it might be worth it! Thought would you read with it? That’s been the reason why I’ve put those projects on the back burner, I prioritize reproducing decks i know I’ll use. I’m unsure whether I’d actually read with a transformation deck 

[Raggydoll]

Since you asked @Scandinavianhermit here you can see some of my finished projects of historical decks. Only one is Scandinavian, the third one in the upper row. 

 

[akiva]

3 hours ago, Eugenie said:

These beautiful backs! And I love the small size. Are there any downloadable decks in public domain? I might want one...

There are sooo many, here's a good list:

 

https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&version=1.2&startRecord=0&maximumRecords=15&page=1&query=(gallica all "jouer aux cartes")&filter=dc.type all "image"

 

All can be printed for personal use as they're public domain 😁

 

My favourites are a tad boring:

 

 

The top is a piatnik that's 36 card, recently though it's giving me off readings, not sure why...

Below that is a random vintage deck I bought which I think is a grimaud deck (jolly joker)? It never came with a box, but it has the best cardstock of a deck I've ever used, cambric linen, but paper 😍

Next is what I'd call a micro deck which was advertised as mini, there's nothing special about it, but i can do GT's with it really easily! 😆

Under that is Ian Cumpstey's Rare Triumphs, it's a full tarot but with playing card minors I sometimes remove to read with.

Finally a bicycle large index deck. I was planning on writing meanings on it, but never did. It's a great reader!

 

All of them (except the last 2) are marked for reversals for when/if I need them.

[Eugenie]

@Raggydoll, @akiva, thank you very much for those links! I might print a deck for myself here, locally... I had one printed (an antique repro), the cardboard is linen 300 gsm, not the best but acceptable for practicing. Cost me about 15 dollars (it is a mini Tarot deck). So maybe I will print some playing cards, too. 

[akiva]

3 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

@Raggydoll, @akiva, thank you very much for those links! I might print a deck for myself here, locally... I had one printed (an antique repro), the cardboard is linen 300 gsm, not the best but acceptable for practicing. Cost me about 15 dollars (it is a mini Tarot deck). So maybe I will print some playing cards, too. 

No problem 😉 that linen cardstock sounds lovely! I'm a sucker for anything linen! 300gsm isn't too bad for a deck though, does it hold up well to use? 😁

[Raggydoll]

9 minutes ago, akiva said:

There are sooo many, here's a good list:

 

https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&version=1.2&startRecord=0&maximumRecords=15&page=1&query=(gallica all "jouer aux cartes")&filter=dc.type all "image"

 

All can be printed for personal use as they're public domain 😁

 

My favourites are a tad boring:

 

 

The top is a piatnik that's 36 card, recently though it's giving me off readings, not sure why...

Below that is a random vintage deck I bought which I think is a grimaud deck (jolly joker)? It never came with a box, but it has the best cardstock of a deck I've ever used, cambric linen, but paper 😍

Next is what I'd call a micro deck which was advertised as mini, there's nothing special about it, but i can do GT's with it really easily! 😆

Under that is Ian Cumpstey's Rare Triumphs, it's a full tarot but with playing card minors I sometimes remove to read with.

Finally a bicycle large index deck. I was planning on writing meanings on it, but never did. It's a great reader!

 

All of them (except the last 2) are marked for reversals for when/if I need them.

They are lovely. I adore the rare triumphs one! 

[Eugenie]

4 minutes ago, akiva said:

No problem 😉 that linen cardstock sounds lovely! I'm a sucker for anything linen! 300gsm isn't too bad for a deck though, does it hold up well to use? 😁

 

I haven't used it much yet because it is a tarocchi deck and I have no skills of using them yet. I shuffle it from time to time and look at the images lol. I am also not sure if it was okay to print it from the copyright point of view, I found the photos on some Russian (card selling) site and copied them to try printing out of interest. Maybe I should not do that again, there are sites with decks which are clearly public domain like the ones you shared, so I will stick to those. Honestly I was just bored because it takes weeks and months for cards to reach me.

Edited January 6, 2024 by Eugenie

[akiva]

8 minutes ago, Raggydoll said:

They are lovely. I adore the rare triumphs one! 

It's a really good deck, he even sells the playing cards as a seperate deck in Etsy 

 

6 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

I haven't used it much yet because it is a tarocchi deck and I have no skills of using them yet. I shuffle it from time to time and look at the images lol. I am also not sure if it was okay to print it from the copyright point of view, I found the photos on some Russian (card selling) site and copied them to try printing out of interest. Maybe I should not do that again, there are sites with decks which are clearly public domain like the ones you shared, so I will stick to those. Honestly I was just bored because it takes weeks and months for cards to reach me.

If it's for personal use it doesn't matter so much. There is a fair use policy around these things. It's not like you're selling it and profiting off of it. But it's always better to pick things that are public domain just to be on the safe side.

 

Out of curiosity, if it’s a tarocchi, is it a facsimile reproduction, or is it images of the old deck itself that you've printed off and used? 

[Eugenie]

3 minutes ago, akiva said:

It's a really good deck, he even sells the playing cards as a seperate deck in Etsy 

 

If it's for personal use it doesn't matter so much. There is a fair use policy around these things. It's not like you're selling it and profiting off of it. But it's always better to pick things that are public domain just to be on the safe side.

 

Out of curiosity, if it’s a tarocchi, is it a facsimile reproduction, or is it images of the old deck itself that you've printed off and used? 

 

I have just realized you have that deck by Cumpsey! I adore it, too! Hope he makes the tarot deck available again! He has the Parade deck but I am not as impressed with that one. 

 

As for the deck I printed, they are scans of the LoS deck I believe! so I feel somewhat ashamed, but I do have the authentic deck, too, and these are just to carry around, like to play with them on the go because of course they are not valuable. I have already got some muck (orange jam) on one of the cards and now it lacks a tiny bit of the upper layer. I am not printing them to sell or anything, of course. But in future I will stick to what you shared, I just didn't realised how to use those sites, but I have already found a perfectly good Grimaud deck. Thank you! 

 

 

 

 

[akiva]

4 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

I have just realized you have that deck by Cumpsey! I adore it, too! Hope he makes the tarot deck available again! He has the Parade deck but I am not as impressed with that one. 

I didn't realise it wasn't available anymore 😯 

 

5 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

As for the deck I printed, they are scans of the LoS deck I believe! so I feel somewhat ashamed, but I do have the authentic deck, too, and these are just to carry around, like to play with them on the go because of course they are not valuable. I have already got some muck (orange jam) on one of the cards and now it lacks a tiny bit of the upper layer. I am not printing them to sell or anything, of course. But in future I will stick to what you shared, I just didn't realised how to use those sites, but I have already found a perfectly good Grimaud deck. Thank you! 

Don't be ashamed, if you also bought the deck it's not much different to scanning the cards and then using that in place of the original to keep it safe from damage/too much use 😁

[Eugenie]

1 hour ago, akiva said:

I didn't realise it wasn't available anymore 😯  

 

Yes, imagine! Well, I am not really heart broken because I don't do pip decks yet, and in any case I will need to start with something very basic. But the deck is lovely, charming, fascinating!

 

1 hour ago, akiva said:

Don't be ashamed, if you also bought the deck it's not much different to scanning the cards and then using that in place of the original to keep it safe from damage/too much use 😁

 

Thank you for the consolation! I just won't do this again. I usually try to steer clear when I am not sure whether I am violating or not. Our society is still pretty much unaware of these things, me included, so I am learning but I am afraid I still misstep now and then. Gosh, it is hard to find any authentic Tarot deck in this city... they even fake the cheapest RWS and I happened to buy one. It is so terrible. My daughter still uses it to study the cards but then we'll discard that abomination. 

I am sorry I have written so many off topic posts here! On the topic, maybe I will buy me a vintage deck tomorrow, if it is not a 36 card one. 

[akiva]

38 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

Yes, imagine! Well, I am not really heart broken because I don't do pip decks yet, and in any case I will need to start with something very basic. But the deck is lovely, charming, fascinating!

For a long time it was my working deck, I even had a lovely chat with the creator about the symbolism in certain cards. Mainly his rendition of the Hangedman, as it looks so much like depictions of Nasreddin riding a donkey backwards 😆 it certainly is a charming deck. 

 

38 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

I am sorry I have written so many off topic posts here! On the topic, maybe I will buy me a vintage deck tomorrow, if it is not a 36 card one. 

Do they sell many 36 card ones where you are? In the UK it's hard to source them, I have a whole bag filled with cast off 2-6 pip cards (I tend to read with 32 card decks) it's so much easier finding decks that you don't have to remove cards from!

 

Just remembered another favourite of mine, the bicycle stargazer deck:

 

This gets used for the polish 24 card method more than anything else 😁

 

Not sure if it counts, but I also sometimes read with Napoletane cards. They're Italian playing cards (that vary greatly region to region) used for playing games like Scopa, which is quite fun!

The decks are reduced down to 40 cards 1-7 + lady + knight + king. They tend to use Sticks, Cups, Swords and Coins in place of the French suits. Though the Tuscany deck uses French suits and they're much prettier than a standard deck of cards:

This is an antique Tuscany deck selling for £398 on abebooks 😱

 

Here's the Napoletane cards I own:

Much cheaper and affordable 😆

Edited January 6, 2024 by akiva

[Eugenie]

55 minutes ago, akiva said:

For a long time it was my working deck, I even had a lovely chat with the creator about the symbolism in certain cards. Mainly his rendition of the Hangedman, as it looks so much like depictions of Nasreddin riding a donkey backwards 😆 it certainly is a charming deck. 

 

Do they sell many 36 card ones where you are? In the UK it's hard to source them, I have a whole bag filled with cast off 2-6 pip cards (I tend to read with 32 card decks) it's so much easier finding decks that you don't have to remove cards from!

 

My jaw dropped when I saw that mention of Nasreddin! He's our national character; Uzbeks believe he was Uzbek. Of course he's actually international, but I think many nations try to appropriate him lol. And yes, that card reminds of him! Overall, the deck doesn't look easy to me as a novice so I won't be thinking much of it now. I am still learning RWS minors lol, finding myself lost every day in some card combination. 

And yes, Russian decks are often short. I am going to one woman tomorrow, want to buy a large used plush blanket for her to make dog bed covers, and I saw that she also had an ad with an old Soviet deck - see below. I didn't love these decks when I was a teenager, but now I think it is not bad, only I thought of not buying it if it is short. But maybe I will and later look at your methodology. 

 

I have seen the Stargazer, it is beautiful and very unusual to me. And those Napoletane cards are stunning!  
 

Edited January 6, 2024 by Eugenie

[akiva]

29 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

My jaw dropped when I saw that mention of Nasriddin! He's our national character; Uzbeks believe he was Uzbek. Of course he's actually international, but I think many nations try to appropriate him lol. And yes, that card reminds of him! Overall, the deck doesn't look easy to me as a novice so I won't be thinking much of it now. I am still learning RWS minors lol, finding myself lost every day in some card combination. 

I love his stories, they're such a great read! Unfortunately the Rare triumphs was based off of quite a few historical decks so takes some getting used to the different symbolism. The Nasreddin card had me stumped for a long time, in true Nasreddin fashion! 😂

 

29 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

And yes, Russian decks are often short. I am going to one woman tomorrow, want to buy a large used plush blanket for her to make dog bed covers, and I saw that she also had an ad with an old Soviet deck - see below. I didn't love these decks when I was a teenager, but now I think it is not bad, only I thought of not buying it if it is short. But maybe I will and later look at your methodology. 

I love those court cards 😍 is that the deck you'll be buying? If it is short, @Raggydoll and I can point you to some great resources 😉 there's some Russian methods you'd might like to try 😊

Edited January 6, 2024 by akiva

[Eugenie]

@akiva yes, it is the deck that I think of buying, only I was thinking that a short one was useless. For some reason I thought most folks here were using long decks. 

[Raggydoll]

3 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

@akiva yes, it is the deck that I think of buying, only I was thinking that a short one was useless. For some reason I thought most folks here were using long decks. 

I prefer smaller decks! I like to do large spreads and it takes up too much space on the table if I use standard size cards! 

[Eugenie]

Just now, Raggydoll said:

I prefer smaller decks! I like to do large spreads and it takes up too much space on the table if I use standard size cards! 

 

Ah, I have missed that. In that case, I will get that deck if it is complete and in good condition, can totally be used for practice. Thank you!

 

[akiva]

19 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

@akiva yes, it is the deck that I think of buying, only I was thinking that a short one was useless. For some reason I thought most folks here were using long decks. 

Its very situational, in the UK/America and places like that they usually use a 52 card deck, but in Europe all the way to Russia it's more popular to use 24/32/36 card decks. Each country has it's own styles and methods. In the age of the internet, it's more about picking what you want to work with 😊

Edited January 6, 2024 by akiva