Fortune-Telling By Cards: Exploring the Ancient Art of Cartomancy

To many people a pack of cards comes next in importance to the Bible. To others they are supposed to be the devil’s own handbooks of destruction. They have exercised an irresistible fascination over the minds of men and women of all ages

Fortune-Telling By Cards: Exploring the Ancient Art of Cartomancy

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Playing cards have a long and storied history, dating back hundreds of years. Their mystique and symbolic power have fascinated people from all walks of life, from fortune-tellers to royalty. Today we explore the ancient art of cartomancy, offering insights into how different cards and combinations reveal aspects of the future.

Historically, playing cards have been regarded with reverence, believed to be mediums through which celestial powers communicate. Each suit and symbol carries its own meaning, whether representing love, financial matters, or ill omens. In this article, we break down the meanings of individual cards, court cards, and combinations, while also providing practical guidelines for those who wish to delve into the mystical world of cartomancy.

The history of playing cards extends back hundreds of years, and various stories and theories have been mooted as to how and by whom they were first introduced into Europe. It seems from ancient manuscripts that the wise men of the East regarded cards with great veneration and ascribed to them mysterious powers. They considered them mediums of revelation from the celestial powers.

Suits and Symbols

There have always been four suits in use, but the symbols used had varied in different countries. Originally they were cups, money, swords and clubs. These are still retained in Italian and Spanish cards. Old German cards have acorns, leaves, hearts and bells. The French cards used spades and clubs, hearts and diamonds. The word “spade” comes from the Italian word meaning a sword. The club sign was adopted from the three-leaf clover. Many of the packs used last century were very costly and artistic. They were painted by hand to represent historic characters.

Mystic Meaning

To many people a pack of cards comes next in importance to the Bible. To others they are supposed to be the devil’s own handbooks of destruction. They have exercised an irresistible fascination over the minds of men and women of all ages. A great interest attaches to the many possible combinations to be made from the cards in a pack. It has been pointed out that:

The fifty-two cards represent the 52 weeks in the year.
Thirteen cards in each suit represent the 13 lunar months,
and the 13 weeks in each quarter.
The four suits represent the four seasons of the year.
The twelve court cards represent the 12 signs of the Zodiac.
Number of pips on all the plain cards = 220
Number of pips on the court cards = 12
Counting each of the court cards as 10 = 120
Number of cards in each suit 13
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Total equals the number of days in the year 365

The Charm and Power of Cards

We have nothing to do in this book with cards used for gambling purposes, but as instruments of Cartomancy we find them full of charm and interest. Every person has a certain amount of superstition in his nature and desires to take a look into the dim and mysterious future. No one need be ashamed of confessing a certain amount of interest in the unseen and occult. Strange coincidences are happening all the time, and there are many inexplicable occurrences that meet us at every turn. Educated men and women are taking an interest in the occult to a greater extent than ever before, altho in the past the great statesmen and famous women of France, even the great Napoleon himself, were believers in the power of cards to foretell the future. Divination by cards is of great antiquity and is still as popular as ever. Formerly it was connected with astrologers’ incantation and religious practices. Now, however, it is indulged in principally as a means of amusement. Of course no one need be warned against the danger of taking a pack of cards as a guide in matters of importance requiring judgment and discretion.

What the Cards Signify

There are several systems of telling fortunes by cards. In each the meaning of the cards and the mode of laying them out differ. The meaning of a card is modified when the card is reversed. As our modern packs are practically the same, looking at them from either end, it is well to mark the cards so that you can tell which is the top and which is the bottom. This could be done before starting to use the pack.

Meaning Of The Various Cards

♥ Hearts are especially connected with the work of Cupid and Hymen. The suit has also close reference to affairs of the home and to both the domestic and social sides of life.

♦ Diamonds are representative of financial matters, small and great, with a generally favorable signification.

♣ Clubs stand for prosperity, a happy home life with intelligent pleasures and successful undertakings.

♠ Spades forebode evil. They speak of sickness, death, monetary losses and anxieties, separation from friends and dear ones. They are also representative of love, appealing exclusively to the senses.

꧁🂱꧂ Meaning Of The Hearts

Ace — A love letter, good news; (reversed) a removal or a visit from a friend.
King — Fair man of generous disposition; (reversed) a disappointing person.
Queen — Fair, good-natured woman; (reversed) she has had an unhappy love affair.
Knave — A young bachelor devoted to enjoyment; (reversed) a military lover with a grievance.
Ten — Antidote to bad cards, happiness and success; (reversed) passing worries.
Nine — The wish card, good luck; (reversed) short sorrow.
Eight — Thoughts of marriage, affections of a fair person; (reversed) unresponsiveness.
Seven — Calm, content; (reversed) boredom, satiety.

♦ Meaning Of The Diamonds

Ace — A letter, an offer of marriage; (reversed) evil tidings.
King — A very fair or white-haired man; a soldier by profession, and of a deceitful turn of mind; (reversed) a treacherous schemer.
Queen — A fair woman, given to gossip and wanting in refinement; (reversed) a rather spiteful flirt.
Knave — Subordinate official, who is untrustworthy; (reversed) a mischief-maker.
Ten — Traveling or a removal; (reversed) ill luck will attend the step.
Nine — Vexation, hindrances; (reversed) domestic wrangling, or disagreement between lovers.
Eight — Love passages; (reversed) blighted affections.
Seven — Unkindly chaff, cynicism; (reversed) stupid and unfounded slander.

♣ Meaning Of The Clubs

Ace — Good luck, letters or papers relating to money, pleasant tidings; (reversed) short-lived happiness, a tiresome correspondence.
King — A dark man, warm-hearted and true as a friend, straight in his dealings; (reversed) good intentions frustrated.
Queen — A dark woman, loving but hasty, and bearing no malice; (reversed) harassed by jealousy.
Knave — A ready-witted young man, clever at his work and ardent in his love; (reversed) irresponsible and fickle.
Ten — Prosperity and luxury; (reversed) a sea voyage.
Nine — An unlooked-for inheritance, money acquired under a will; (reversed) a small, friendly gift.
Eight — Love of a dark man or woman which, if accepted and reciprocated, will bring joy and well-being; (reversed) an unworthy affection calculated to cause trouble.
Seven — Trifling financial matters; (reversed) money troubles.

♠ Meaning Of The Spades

Ace — Emotional enjoyment; (reversed) news of a death, sorrow.
King — A widower, an unscrupulous lawyer, impossible as a friend, and dangerous as an enemy; (reversed) the desire to work evil without the power.
Queen —Widow, a very dark woman; (reversed) an intriguing, spiteful woman.
Knave — Legal or medical student, wanting in refinement of mind and manners; (reversed) a treacherous character, fond of underhand measures.
Ten — Grief, loss of freedom; (reversed) passing trouble or illness.
Nine — A bad omen, news of failure or death; (reversed) loss of one near and dear by death.
Eight — Coming illness; (reversed) an engagement canceled or a rejected proposal, dissipation.
Seven — Everyday worries, or a resolve taken; (reversed) silly stratagems in love-making.

🃏🔮✨ Combinations Of Court Cards

Four Aces —W hen these fall together they imply danger, financial loss, separation from friends, love troubles. The evil is mitigated in proportion to the number of them that are reversed.
Three Aces — Passing troubles relieved by good news, faithlessness of a lover. If reversed, they mean foolish excess.
Two Aces — These mean union: if Hearts and Clubs, it will be for good; if Diamonds and Spades, for evil, probably the outcome of jealousy. If reversed, the object of the union will fail.
Four Kings — Honors, preferment, good appointments. If reversed, the good things will be of less value, but will arrive earlier.
Three Kings — Serious matters will be taken in hand with the best result, unless any of the three cards be reversed, when it will be doubtful.
Two Kings — Co-operation in business, upright conduct, and prudent enterprises to be crowned with success. Each one reversed represents an obstacle. Both reversed spell failure.
Four Queens — A social gathering which may be spoilt by one or more being reversed.
Three Queens — Friendly visits. If reversed, scandal, gossip and possibly bodily danger.
Two Queens — Interchanged, secrets betrayed, a meeting between friends. When both are reversed, there will be suffering for the inquirer resulting from his own acts. Only one reversed, means rivalry.
Four Knaves — Jolly conviviality. Any of them reversed lessens the evil.
Three Knaves — Worries and vexations from acquaintances, slander calling the inquirer’s honor in question. If reversed, it foretells a passage-at-arms with a social inferior.
Two Knaves — Loss of goods. If both are reversed, the trouble is imminent; if one only, it is near.

🃜🃚🃖🃁🂭🂺 Combinations Of Plain Cards

Four Tens — Good fortune, success. The more there are reversed, the greater number of obstacles in the way.
Three Tens — Ruin brought about by lawsuits. When reversed, the evil is decreased.
Two Tens — Unexpected luck, which may be connected with a change of occupation. If one be reversed, it will come soon; if both are reversed, it is distant.
Four Nines — Unexpected events. The number that are reversed stand for the time to elapse.
Three Nines — Health, wealth and happiness. If reversed, it means financial difficulties caused by imprudence.
Two Nines — Prosperity and contentment accompanied by business matters. If reversed, small worries.
Four Eights — Attending a journey or the taking up of a new position. If reversed, undisturbed stability.
Three Eights — Thoughts of love and marriage, new family ties. If reversed, flirtation and foolishness.
Two Eights — Pleasures and passing love fancies. If reversed, disappointments.
Four Sevens — Schemes and contention and opposition. If reversed, failure of same.
Three Sevens — Loss of friends, ill-health, remorse. If reversed, slight ailments or unpleasant reaction.
Two Sevens — Mutual love and marriage. If reversed, faithlessness or regret.

🛈 General Information

When a number of court cards fall together it is a sign of hospitality, festive social intercourse, and gaiety of all kinds.

Married people who seek to read the cards must represent their own life partner by the king or queen of the suit they have chosen for themselves, regardless of anything else. For example, a very dark man, the King of Spades, must consider his wife represented by the Queen of Spades.

Bachelors and spinsters may choose cards to personate their lovers and friends.

A court card placed between two cards of the same grade—for instance, two nines, two sevens, etc.—shows that the one represented by that card is threatened.

Should a military man consult the cards he must always be represented by the King of Diamonds.

It is always essential to cut cards with the left hand, there being a long-established idea that it is more intimately connected with the heart than the right. A round table is generally preferred by those who are in the habit of practising cartomancy. It is a matter of opinion as to whether the cards speak with the same clearness and accuracy when consulted by the inquirer without a fortune-teller. The services of an expert are generally supposed to be of great advantage, even when people have mastered the rudiments of cartomancy themselves.

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This intriguing piece is part of "Fortunes and Dreams" by Astra Cielo. Unearth a wealth of fascinating insights within its pages HERE!

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Whether you want to gain deeper insights into your zodiac sign, learn how to harness the power of the cosmos to your advantage, or simply find a fun read, take a look at our Astrology section. Each article is crafted to enhance your understanding of how planetary movements can influence our lives.