Cartomancers - What Playing Card Deck Do You Use?

[Akatala]

Silly as it may be, I have an Inuyasha (it's an anime series) deck that seems to work really well for me. Though decks that I use in ordinary card games don't normally work too well for oracle purposes. *shrug*

 

[brothermakarias]

My three favorite decks: bicycle fan backs, a specially marked casino deck ( a habit I picked up in New Orleans), and a pack of Copags.

 

[brothermakarias]

squeezers

despite a long residency in New Orleans, I never came across the bulldog squeezers. I ordsered a few decks and they're nice. Unusual, good cars stock. I still like the "grandmother's parlour" look of the bicycle fan backs, my preferred deck, but the squeezers are ok.

 

[Glass Owl]

I hadn't really considered using playing cards as an oracle until I saw the photos of this deck:
Colors of the Four Seasons:

http://www.nomonet.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=C4S-R

Be sure to click on "next" so you can see all the images of this beautiful deck!
http://www.nomonet.com/ZoomImage.aspx?productID=C4S-R

Anyone here have this deck?

 

[room]

I don't have it but I've always fancied a copy since it is a transformation deck or at least a semi-transformation deck and I collect playing cards like that.

I DO have the Artist's Inner Vision Tarot deck that they also produce and that's great artwork and nicely produced.

IMO you can't go wrong buying the playing cards. I'm a bit short of money right now, so prefer trades instead of buying, but I'd get them if I could.

 

[Cerulean]

Well...thinking...of the tarock packs...

Maria Stuarda or Mary Queen of Scotts...the 22 majors seemed to portray scenes from an opera...and there's a poker deck


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Stuarda

Images:

Doing a comic-opera story-telling reading and also using the
Gypsy Fortune-Telling book of questions/answers from Gypsy Rickwood (?)...may need to correct this later.

But also experimenting with Spanish playing cards (48) with Latin suits more.

Cerulean

P.S. Linen stock, square corners. Feels old, from Il Meneghello--a Dotti deck

 

[Glass Owl]

This site has 56 different Chinese playing card decks and they are very affordable.

http://www.orientalabels.com/index.php?cPath=17

The deck that has the Kwan-yin Statues looks so beautiful.
http://www.orientalabels.com/product_info.php?cPath=17&products_id=417

The 2 deck set of the108 Chinese Heroes and Heroines (2 Decks) looks awesome too:
http://www.orientalabels.com/product_info.php?cPath=17&products_id=336

The Super Jumbo Playing Cards - Paintings of Taoist Immortals could be a very interesting oracle style deck:
http://www.orientalabels.com/product_info.php?cPath=17&products_id=332

Chinese Playing Cards - Paintings of Plum Blossoms
This deck of playing cards is a collection of plum-themed traditional paintings with famous rhymes, and the cards are tailored in a special shape of plum blossom. Plum blossoms represent nobleness and the man of honor in Chinese culture, therefore winning great favors of many poets and painters. http://www.orientalabels.com/product_info.php?cPath=17&products_id=304

In this listing there is also a pretty Egyptian Papyrus Painting Playing Card deck:
http://www.orientalabels.com/product_info.php?cPath=17&products_id=418

 

[Little Baron]

For recent playing card reads, I have been using the Jane Lyle pack. They look older, quite quaint and work nicely in spreads.

LB

 

[room]

This site has 56 different Chinese playing card decks and they are very affordable.

I love Chinese playing cards and have 3 decks that I bought on eBay years ago. Not the greatest card stock or lamination--they definitely aren't up to the standards of a company like Piatnik, but they have different and very interesting themes.

I love the Kwan Yin statues deck, and they've also got a Chinese stamps deck, Buddhist statues, Antique Chinese Furniture, Clocks in Imperial Palace, Chinese Imperial Painting, Paintings of Taoist Immortals, Masterpiece Paintings (with odd-shaped cards), Chinese Mahjong Game Playing Cards, Chinese Qing Dynasty Paintings.

I'm a bit wary of what the shipping would be to North America. Judging by eBay prices on shipping from China it might be a LOT.

 

[Cerulean]

Glass Owl, the Plum Blossum ones stole my heart!

what a lovely find and charming...

and I'll keep my eyes looking out for these

Cerulean

P.S. I'll be also checking sources for 'games' as well as 'divination'.

The book that I was able to unearth from storage: Fortune Telling with Cards by P. Foli...seems to be written more quaintly than the 1964 date.