Playing Cards vs Tarot Cards
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Jan 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| Maggie Bell |
05 Jan 2005 |
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Hmm ... not sure how to ask this question so that it makes sense. Some of you advocate the use of reading with playing cards as a method of fine-tuning your skills. Others take a story from the cards as a means of reading. Now, I understand how to make a story out of the cards - 3 of Swords is pretty clear, isn't it? But how do you *read* playing cards when there's no picture? How do you know, short of memorization, what the cards mean? Hope I'm not offending anyone here ... just curiouser and curiouser. If learning to read playing cards helps make me a better Tarot reader, I'm all for it!
Maggie
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| MeeWah |
05 Jan 2005 |
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I began reading with regular playing cards as an experiment using a system mentioned by Maurice Woodruff, the late British psychic whose books have been OOP for many years now. Unlike some of the cartomancy methods & with the odd exception, his system includes meanings for all the pips or numbered cards & the court cards of Jack, Queen & King.
He offered no explanation of the meanings, most of which defy reason or association except perhaps for attributing the court cards as descriptive of people. Suspect most if not all of the meanings to originate from very old fortune-telling & likely from the gypsy methods. He termed card readings as fortune-telling along with numerology & palmistry. I tend to see card readings as fortune-telling, too, aside from its potential as guidance or of the spiritual.
The following examples of his meanings of cards which have been the subject of discussions with comments--
3-Spades/3-Swords: "Anything done in a rush". (Quite different from the "broken-heart" or that related to matters of the heart oft attributed.)
5-Spades/5-Swords: "The worry card". (I have read it as such other than conflict; gossip, etc.)
5-Diamonds/5-Pentacles: "...a little unlucky or...some uncertainty." (Based on the number & the suit, seems appropriate.)
9-Hearts/9-Cups: "...the most important card in the whole pack...the wish card." (This seems to be a traditional meaning.)
9-Diamonds/9-Pentacles as "The second best card...another wish card."
9-Clubs/9-Wands/Batons: "Extreme anger". (I can see this if Wands associated with the Fire element; to pertain to spirit & expressive of a reaction.)
9-Spades/9-Swords: "Deep depression". (On occasion, due to the Air/mental realm association & may depend on surrounding cards, see this as indicative of depression; insomnia or disturbed sleep pattern.)
I either used the meanings as presented or adapted them. They have carried over into my Tarot reading.
In reading with regular playing cards, the numbers & the suits contribute towards discerning the possible meanings or associations. Thus, a study of any non-illustrated pip decks & especially the Marseilles decks could provide similar qualities to develop the possible meanings.
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| Phoenix Rising |
05 Jan 2005 |
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Hi Maggie Bell
I have just got into reading playing cards, which I assigned my own meanings, you'll be able to read it at this thread
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=35521
As a predictive tool it is easier for me, because of what I've assigned to each card. Tarot has too many images and symbols for me, but the cards are less confusing.
One of my best friends has been a cartomancer for 25years, taught by Grandma, she always says that "when you know your cards so well, as soon as you lay them out, you will instantly know. She doesn't has to think about them at all. Her reading are so accurate. Her intuition developed more with her readings. She used tarot too, but got more out of playings cards, because people wanted to know more about the future and mundane things.
Although playing cards are more for predictive- like fortune telling and probably more blunt and brutal, tarot as well as predictive, is based more on self-discovery I've found, but I'd use tarot for deeper issues.
It's good to know how to read both anyway to compliment, and know things from another angle.
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| Maggie Bell |
06 Jan 2005 |
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Thank you so much! Looks like I have some reading and research to do. I remember many, many years ago, my mom took me to a psychic who read with playing cards. Darn, I wish I'd paid more attention to what she said and did, but at the time, it was just a lark. All I wanted to know about was boys, boys and more boys ... sigh. Who was it that said, "Youth is wasted on the young."?
Maggie who is off to do some reading ...
PS to Phoenix - The hook here is the "predictive" nature of the cards ... can't resist opening Pandora's Box.
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| rainwolf |
26 Jan 2005 |
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I think there are reminiscient meanings of certain cards, as you have said (3 of S), but if you want to somewhat venture out on your own, you can combine numerology, astrology, suit properties, sequencing, and other emergent properties. Just make a, dare i say it?, journal (once again) and write down your own meanings that you concocted, i think you'll feel very fulfilled with this kind of method, good luck! Oh, look at the book "playing card divination for beginners" by richard webster, thats a good book, to back up personal interpretations.
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| tarotbear |
27 Jan 2005 |
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Since I am so used to tarot cards, when I get to a card whose pic is too far off bse for me, the Rider meaning always kicks in. That is how I use the Marseilles deck, and there is not much difference IMHO between a marseilles and a pinocle deck other than the lack of Majors.
You can divine with anything if you set your mind to it.
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The Playing Cards vs Tarot Cards thread was originally posted on 05 Jan 2005 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.
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