Art Deco Fortune Telling Cards

MercyMe

I just got the Art Deco Fortune Telling Cards today and I really love them, but they did not come with instructions. I am unsure exactly how to use them, so I was wondering if anyone here has the deck or one similar that can help?

The cards have no numbers or suits, just pictures and names. What types of spreads would be useful, apart from the basic 3-card spread?

~Mercy
 

Astraea

I think you might mean the 52-card Piatnik Art Deco Fortune Telling deck (http://www.playingcardsales.co.uk/cards/frameitem.asp?catref=13721).

I have the deck, too, and was disappointed to find that its instructions consist of two cards written in German. I wrote to the Piatnik website, asking for a translation, and the reply was that no translation is available and that the cards are "self-explanatory," which was not my experience. The on-line translating sites produce humorous, but not useful, results!

The illustrations are fun, campy and well done and it's a lovely little deck. For others in the US who might wish to buy them, I got mine from http://www.woodenhorsebooks.com, but the link didn't take me to the correct cards a moment ago.

(Edited to add that I've never used mine to read with, but I love to look at the pictures.)
 

Kahlie

German aye?

If either of you feels like typing over or scanning and attaching the cards that give the explanation, I don't mind translating it.

I haven't done much with my German for a while, but I'm sure I can manage it with a bit of help here and there.

Just a suggestion.

Or you can ask a German member on the board, I'm sure they are there.

Kahlie
 

Astraea

Thanks, Kahlie, I would love to take you up on your kind offer! I put the two cards somewhere safe (ha!) and now I can't find them -- I am on a search for them, and will type the text here if I am successful. Maybe MercyMe has them handy.
 

annik

Yes, it would be great to know a bit more about them! I like the picture!
 

MercyMe

I have them!

I will attempt to either scan or type them in as soon as I can. I don't think they're instructions, though. :/

I bought the cards for the illustrations, they're 1930's style and very campy. The cards have a subtitle in German, Italian, Serbo-Croatian, Romanian? and English. They are sort of self-explanatory in that the image and the word go together well, but I wondered if fortune telling spreads were different than tarot spreads. Some spreads would lend themselves better to these type of cards that foretell good news and bad news. The widow and widower cards confuse me, too, in that do they mean YOU will lose your spouse? What if you're not married? You will meet a widow or a widower? Or? And Inconstance? Infidelity?

Cupid is adorable on the Love card. Hee hee!

~Mercy
 

MercyMe

Those 2 cards

To the best of my ability, here is what the two cards say:
Kurze Erklärung des Bilder-Aufschlagspiels

Dieses aus 52 Bildern bestehende Spiel übernimmt einer aus der Gesellschaft, welcher der Aufschlager genannt wird und bestimmt diejenige Person, für welche die Bilder aufgeschlagen werden dann gemischt, von der betreffenden Person abgehoben und in 4 Reihen zu 13 Blättern untereinander aufgedeckt. Geht das Spiel einen Herrn an, so wird er durch den Herzkönig vorgestellt, eine Dame aber durch die Herzdame. Die Blätter, welche nun der Person (Herzkönig oder Herzdame) am nächsten liegen, geben Veranlassung zu einer scherzhaften Auslegung, welche der Aufschlager erteilt, und wobei er Gelegenheit hat, seinen ganzen Witz zu zeigen.

Ist z. B. der Geistliche nahe, so wird auf eine baldige Heirat geschlossen. Der Richter in der Nähe, deutet auf einen Prozess hin. Der große Herr wird ihnen seine Gnade oder Freundschaft schenken. Steht der Offizier neben der Herzdame, so sind seine Gedanken auf sie oder die ihrigen auf ihn gerichtet; steht er neben dem Herzkönig, so sucht er seine Freundschaft, oder ist sein Nebenbuhler. Die Katze deutet auf Falschheit.

Alle übrigen Blätter werden dem Gegenstande angemessen ausgelegt.
Click to expand...

Any translating help would be greatly appreciated.

~Mercy
 

Astraea

Thank you so much for typing that out -- I still can't find my two cards and am very curious about what they say. Glad you started this thread!
 

alteredego

There is very little information available on this deck in English.
If you are familiar with or are able to find any information about interpreting the Italian silbilla decks, you will know how to use this deck; the concept is the same as are the card meanings.

This is a cartomancy deck. The Gipsy and Biedermeier decks are also cartomancy cards - the Gipsy deck is based on Lenormand's style of reading and the Biedermeier is based on the romany tradition of a reduced 32 card pack.

Glad to see someone post about this deck. I think that it's complexity lies in its simplicity, lol. :)
 

Astraea

Alteredego, I think I know what you mean -- by paying attention to the directions the figures are facing, orientations of clouds and other design elements, colors, and so on, one can make divinatory inferences (at least, that's my understanding of the Lenormand decks). This Art Deco pack is really charming.
 
what's this oracle? The Gita Deck