Saw a Five of Hearts on the ground one day...

(Not sure if this is the right subforum for this. Apologies if I got it wrong.)

So one day I was walking into a test center to take an examination--one of those lovely standardized tests not relevant to anything you've ever studied but that apparently must be passed at one point. On the ground, just before the doorway, a bunch of playing cards lay scattered. They were just the standard, red-backed cards. They lay in a little pile to my right, then spread across my path towards the left. They were face down--except one, on the far left.

It was a Five of Hearts.

The thought that immediately flashed into my head was "FIVE OF SWORDS." I have never read with regular playing cards, so I don't know how they differ from tarot, but I assumed that the Hearts corresponded to the Cups in tarot, so I don't know why my instincts told me this card related to the Swords.

After the exam, I went home and tried to figure out what the 5 of Hearts could've been telling me. If it's a 5 of Swords, I can see the sort of dubious competition on the traditional RWS card reflecting the results of a standardized test. If it's a 5 of Cups, then I suspect it's telling me that even if I failed this exam this time, I will be very disappointed, but I need to remember that I still have ONE MORE CHANCE to retake it--just like the guy on the cups is sad, but has two more cups still standing.

Any thoughts? I've never just stumbled across random cards "in the real world," let alone in a place where there really shouldn't be any cards! And it was weird that I felt so strongly that they carried a message with them. I hadn't read tarot for a couple of weeks leading up to this exam, either, so it felt even more stunning.

Any thoughts? I'm a bit unnerved by this "encounter" and not sure if I should even try interpreting it. Has anyone else ever run into cards (tarot or otherwise) in unexpected places that turned out to be significant?

I have no idea what the answer to your question is, but the title of your thread sounds like the first line of a poem! You should write a poem about it...I bet it would be lovely!

There have been threads here about similar occurrences & some have found an actual tarot card. I think it's cool! Remember, the 5 of Cups isn't necessarily all doom & gloom - it could be reminding you to not miss an important opportunity, entering a new stage (no, it's not just the 8 of Cups), a coming home, so to speak, tradition even talks about an inheritance or legacy. Remember, those other 2 upright cups are still there, waiting to be noticed.

How awesome!

I find cards all the time in the real world.(mostly playing cards...but sometimes a random tarot card will show up in my path! ) I have a small collection of them that I keep in my box...as the readings that "came to me"!

I read playing cards a little differently than tarot. But it's interesting that you thought oh no! five of swords! when you saw a 5 of hearts. the fact that the sword card came immediately to mind, is definitely a message too...and I would examine what the five swords card means to you.

In playing cards I combine element with numerology.

So for me a five of hearts would be Empowerment(five) of Emotions (hearts)
a message from the Universe that you are called to investigate, take charge, and empower yourself on the emotional or relationship front.

Carla said:

I have no idea what the answer to your question is, but the title of your thread sounds like the first line of a poem! You should write a poem about it...I bet it would be lovely!

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Aw, thanks! I'm terrible at poetry, but maybe I can work it into a story someday? Haha.

canid said:

Remember, the 5 of Cups isn't necessarily all doom & gloom - it could be reminding you to not miss an important opportunity, entering a new stage (no, it's not just the 8 of Cups), a coming home, so to speak, tradition even talks about an inheritance or legacy. Remember, those other 2 upright cups are still there, waiting to be noticed.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your interpretation! I certainly hope I'm not inheriting anything bad, haha. Maybe you're right, and it was just telling me that this was the start of the final stage of my studies or something. Or again, as I suspect, that even if I fail this time, it's not the end of the world.

Chronata said:

I have a small collection of them that I keep in my box...as the readings that "came to me"!

I read playing cards a little differently than tarot. But it's interesting that you thought oh no! five of swords! when you saw a 5 of hearts. the fact that the sword card came immediately to mind, is definitely a message too...and I would examine what the five swords card means to you.

In playing cards I combine element with numerology.

So for me a five of hearts would be Empowerment(five) of Emotions (hearts)
a message from the Universe that you are called to investigate, take charge, and empower yourself on the emotional or relationship front.

Click to expand...

Ah, now I wish I'd picked up that card, but we weren't allowed to bring anything into the test center...

Your numerology-based interpretation is interesting! Maybe the card was just telling me to stay calm during the exam? Sort of a "go and get 'em" message from the universe? That would be nice!

The feeling is that the 5 swords was reflecting your present mood towards the test and not what was really happening.
As with the 5 Hearts(cups) which was the reality, You had more chances.

Personally a Joker was found , picked up and walleted. As the day wore on the situation turned into a two day trial of patience and beliefs about money. The Joker helped to see it as an opportunity to stay focused on the real happenings not the perceived .
That card is still in the wallet as a reminder of what is really important.

I read with playing cards, using the method created by Ana Cortez in her book "The Playing Card Oracles". So if i saw a normal 5 of Hearts lying on the ground, i'd think of the meaning of the playing card itself, not the tarot. In the PCO it means illusion, swallow feeling and change of heart, amongst others.

Ana Cortez says in her book that cards that we find laying around might be mirroring the surrounding energy. If you accidentally found it in a public place, it may not be just about you - but about the general energy people create in that place. Disappointment in the Tarot case, disillusionment in the PCO case.

GoddessArtemis posted a while ago in the oracle forum something similar. She found some playing cards laying in the shape of a spread, and she asked us what could they mean. It's interesting, you can find the thread here.

tsukifune said:

Aw, thanks! I'm terrible at poetry, but maybe I can work it into a story someday? Haha.

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I hope you don't mind ...

re-pete-a said:

The feeling is that the 5 swords was reflecting your present mood towards the test and not what was really happening.
As with the 5 Hearts(cups) which was the reality, You had more chances.

Personally a Joker was found , picked up and walleted. As the day wore on the situation turned into a two day trial of patience and beliefs about money. The Joker helped to see it as an opportunity to stay focused on the real happenings not the perceived .
That card is still in the wallet as a reminder of what is really important.

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I think your explanation is the most common sense one. It also ties in well with Marina's reading of the card, at least in my mind.

Thanks for sharing the story about the Joker. I guess cards can turn up all over the place!

Marina said:

Ana Cortez says in her book that cards that we find laying around might be mirroring the surrounding energy. If you accidentally found it in a public place, it may not be just about you - but about the general energy people create in that place.

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Interesting! I could see that applying... there was a hotel nearby, and many people were going to take that exam... Maybe I just stumbled across a card for someone else. There certainly is a sense of disappointment and disillusionment in a scattered deck of cards on the ground.

I'll go check out that other thread you mentioned.

nisaba said:

I hope you don't mind ...

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I...um.......ah.....WOW.

I love the story (and the message) you worked into that! How could I possibly mind?

*in awe*