Divination with plain playing cards

I hope this is the appropriate part of the forum to post this, mods if it isn't please feel free to move it.

Some time back I discovered that I could divine with plain playing cards (not lenormand), during an emergency when I didn't have my tarot deck with me and I couldn't just go out and get one. For card meanings I relied on whatever interpretations came up on Google, and the information isn't always consistent.

Just wondering if anyone here uses playing cards to divine as well? Where do you get your interpretations from? Is there info on this site re playing card interpretations that I'm missing because I did a search and the search engine crashed on me...

Yes, Yannie, I started out reading playing cards. I had actually gotten my meanings for each card from a variety of sources--and adopted a bit from here and there that just made sense to me. Its been many years though, since reading the playing cards, as I made the jump to reading tarot and now making the jump into reading Lenormand.

There use to be a good site about reading playing cards--Hedgewitch, (though I can't recall the site now), that I did frequent when reading playing cards. I am not even sure if it is still up and running. However, I didn't agree with all of their meanings either, but overall liked their site. Someone else here may know more on that site then I can remember.

The one thing that they did have was this delightful little poem that I always kept regarding the rules to reading playing cards. I will share it below:

“The firstmost rule is easily had
Red cards are good and black cards are bad
The secondmost rule shall bring greater fruits:
It deals with the meanings of each of the suits.
The Hearts count as love, family, and friends.
Diamonds are money, wealth, means, and ends.
Clubs shall mean work, callings, and plans,
And Spades are the troubles that plague every man.
The thirdmost rule toward number inclines;
Just note the card’s pip and read here their signs;
An Ace brings beginnings
And Two gives exchange;
Three shows things growing,
But Four does not change.
Five is the body,
Its health and its stead,
Six shows a path
That the Seeker shall tread.
Seven brings troubles
That Fate has assigned,
While Eight shows ideas
And thoughts in the mind.
Nine heralds changes,
And Ten is the end,
While Kings are the symbols
Of power and men,
Queens are the emblems
Of women and truth,
A Knave is a message,
A girl, or a youth.”

I just never agreed that all red cards are good and all black cards are bad. I am of the mind that there is good and bad with every card--depending on the circumstances of the reading, the cards around it, etc. But, I've always been one (even in tarot) to figure out my own meaning for each card. This takes time and if you do this too, you'll see that you also change with the times too. At any rate, we have many playing card readers here on A.T. and a few threads sharing their views and readings as well. You can start by checking out here:

http://www.tarotforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=174

The one thing about playing cards is that they are easily accessible and inexpensive and you can also easily carry them in your purse. I need to get back into reading playing cards. Maybe one day.

Felt compelled to butt in here and say thanks so much for that post celticnoodle! Super helpful! I don't subscribe to the belief of red cards being good and black cards being bad either but I don't believe in "good" or "bad" so there ya go lol. For me, it's all about getting the information that's meant for you and leave the rest for those meant to find it, such great stuff. Good luck with your studies yannie and have fun .

Haha what a cute poem, thanks celticnoodle!

Oh, so it's under oracles! I would've never thought to check under that...

Yes I have found playing cards to be more accessible, more hardy, and more discreet - others might think I'm just playing a weird form of solitaire or something.

And yes inexpensive - I got it for $1-something in a neighbouring country, good quality plastic ones too...the first deck of playing cards I got for myself.

Hi Yannie,

As this is a discussion is about using playing cards for divination, I'll move it to Oracles, as that is the proper section for this topic. The Divination section includes all forms of divination
that do not use cards of any kind.
Prudence

yes, it is good for keeping people from guessing what you are doing. That always makes me think of my good friend, Barbara. When she was having serious health issues, I'd drive her to the doctors appts. for her family and sit there with her. Some times while waiting for the doctor to call her back, I'd read her cards (playing cards) and we'd try to predict the outcome of the visit and other 'pressing issues'.

I do recall one time, a nurse there asked us what the name of the card game was we played there in the waiting room. My friend just blurted out to her though, "She is a highly developed psychic-card reader! She is reading my future here!" The nurse just walked away, probably thinking were both in the wrong section of the hospital and needed to be in the psychiatric ward.

Barbara always was one of my biggest supporters.

Just found this excellent and free online book on cartomancy: Fortune-Telling by Cards, by P.R.S. Foli.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/ftc/index.htm

Hope it proves helpful to you guys.

Yes! that was it, but there use to be a full blog as well. But this page was definitely a part of it, as I can recall.

Le Fanu said:

Is this it?

Click to expand...

Also, while cleaning out our library a few days ago, I came across a cartomancy book that I forgotten about when posting on this thread. Its a fantastic book on learning to read with playing cards. Inexpensive and easy to read and wonderful! Personal Prophesy by Deborah Leigh. you can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Prophesy-Learn-Create-Destiny/dp/0595291953

funny, because this morning, as I'm going through the posts I keep coming up on playing card threads. they keep jumping out at me. Perhaps its telling me that I need to get my playing cards out again to play with and since its been a long, long time since I've read with them--(and I'm very rusty at it)--I should re-read this book myself. It is definitely a book that will stay in my library forever. I remember when I first purchased the book many years ago--I found it very helpful.