Tarot and Playing Cards Together

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 15 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Little Baron	15 Feb 2005
At the moment, I have shelved my tarot decks to learn the playing cards - all except one - one of my Marseille decks. I was thinking that since it was a non-pictorial minors deck, it wouldn't interfere so much with what I am doing with my playing cards. I read somewhere and can not remember where that some people do read the tarot and the playing cards as part of the same reading. I am not sure that this is for me but I would be interested in finding out what method people use for this. Is it a whole deck of playing cards and just the major tarot cards? Is it another combination? Are they used together or seperately. Just interested. LB

Little Baron	15 Feb 2005
Might have a go at making and trying a few spreads out and see what happens. LB

Kara	16 Feb 2005
Hi LittleBuddha, I've heard of that too.. Some use the playing cards (or other types of oracle cards) first to get a general overview of what's happening in the querent's life. Then they use the Tarot to get behind certain issues. In a different forum, this lady used a 90 card deck, and it worked fine for her. She mixed up the Mermaid Tarot with an Angel oracle - which one, I forget right now. She said they complemented each other perfectly, and she used them both together as one deck. Hope that helps..

Logiatrix	17 Feb 2005
Hi, LB! I remembered a couple of threads about this. I found them and listed them here, because they are the ones I recall, as a participant. Certainly, with enough digging you may find more discussions. A while back, there was a discussion about using different oracles together: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=15324&highlight=Tauni There are numerous threads that refer to cartomancy, but this one specifically parallels tarot and playing cards: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=11193&highlight=Tauni For a while, I read my playing card deck in tandem with a set of the major arcana. I missed the majors, I guess. Now, I read my playing cards independent of tarot or any other cards. :)

darwinia	17 Feb 2005
I use playing cards all the time as clarification cards, but I like to use illustrated ones so that the imagery can suggest ideas as well. It's a great way to learn something new. I have a deck of Chinese playing cards with bird illustrations, and it's very enjoyable to hunt information up on them via the Internet to augment the daily card draw or reading. Skews the mix, makes the reading interesting and causes you to stretch your mind and learn about things you aren't aware of. I also have 3 Illusions in Art or Illusions decks of playing cards which can add insight to a reading. I have been buying these playing cards as I find them. Forget what people say is the "proper" way. Just use them, and even better, use them with your tarot cards. ) Illusions in Art - Classic 2) Can You Believe Your Eyes? (Illusions deck) 3) Shakespeare's Flowers 4) Birds of China (Chinese Titling) 5) Inventors 6) Scientists 7) Classical and Romantic Composers 8) Famous Battles of the Civil War 9) Illusions in Art - Contemporary 10) Hiroshige Playing Cards (Tokaido Highway Woodcuts) 11) Chinese cards with brushwork illustrations

The Tarot and Playing Cards Together thread was originally posted on 15 Feb 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.