Interesting reading method - tarot and playing cards together

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 03 Dec 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

kreleia	03 Dec 2002
Okay, being new to tarot, I like to watch other people read cards and do interpretations. The other day, I saw a woman doing a reading for a customer at a local "new age" store (Glifx, for those that are familiar with it). I was really intrigued by the way she was doing it - I'd never seen this or heard of it before - but I was also walking by, and with a few other people, so I didn't get a REALLY good look at what she was doing. Here's what I saw: Her tarot cards were spread like so... --1---2---3-- ------4------ ------5------ ------6------ I'm not sure if there was a 7th card or more, but I definitely saw 6. They were dealt face-down, and she appeared to be reading them from right to left (so, it would be 3---2---1 for the top row, I suppose), turning over one card at a time. THEN she was using a half-size poker playing deck to clarify each card as she read. Now, I've heard of using regular playing cards to do divinatory readings, but I've never heard of using BOTH decks at the same time. Is this a particular technique? Is this a type of very in-depth reading? I'm REALLY curious!! I hope I'm not bringing up a subject that already been discussed - I looked through the threads, but didn't see anything similar. Thanks.

juice	04 Dec 2002
Welcome aboard Kreleia. The addiction awaits. I can't help but wondering if the first 6 cards were all majors. It was mentioned in some thread on reading with majors only (maybe) that you could read with majors and use the minors for extra info and clarification. It has been suggested to use playing cards as the pips. It's been suggested you could read with one deck and get clarification with another, the multi-deck thread just past even. I haven't heard anyone here say they do alll these things regularly. Those aren't the most common practices. I wonder if she was using a cheap deck of playing cards when part of the bigger more expensive deck got damaged. Letting the querent shuufle can tear through a deck so fast. Hmm... if you used unillustrated pips, that might be one way to cut down on weight and size. Oh and there are so many layouts...

kreleia	05 Dec 2002
Quote: It was mentioned in some thread on reading with majors only (maybe) that you could read with majors and use the minors for extra info and clarification. It has been suggested to use playing cards as the pips. It's been suggested you could read with one deck and get clarification with another, the multi-deck thread just past even. I wonder if that's what it was - a major's reading with pips for clarification. I really wanted to come back and talk to her about her reading style, but I never got the chance. Still, thanks for the info juice. :) That sounds pretty close to what I saw, even though I've never seen anyone do a clarification on a card *during* a reading, usually just afterwards. I suppose everyone has their own style and preference. ^.^

Damien X	05 Dec 2002
Hi, I'm totally new here; became a member just yesterday. I read this thread of yours and decided to write down a quick reply. The kind of reading performed by the mentioned cartomant isn't that unique, and I myself do it a lot in my own practice. It helps me clarify certain aspects in a layout, and at the same time release and create new ideas to work from and with. I usually use an ordinary deck of playing cards or mlle Lenormands oracle in combination with the Tarot deck. It's all just a mather of personal taste - as with everything else in this 'branch of trade'. :o) Anyway, this reply may be just a bit superfluous, but I felt I had to contribute to the discussion in some way. Just e-mail me if you have any further questions about the described technique. Best Regards Damien X

Diana	05 Dec 2002
Damien: first of all, welcome to Aeclectic and thanks for jumping into this thread. :) It's interesting what you say about using Le Normand cards in combination with the Tarot deck. I know someone else who does that. They always start out with a Tarot reading, and follow it up with Le Normand. Do you use the Le Normand cards with the astrological and mythical pictures, or just the ones with the card suit and the one big picture? Or the ones with the poems? And do you do a full Le Normand spread, or have you made up your own spread to use this deck? I'm curious!

Damien X	05 Dec 2002
I do own both versions of mlle Lenormands oracle, but in my readings I only use the 'little' deck, since I find the larger one just impossible to comprehend. For some time ago I bought a book of how to interpret the Astro-Mythological cards from the German division of Amazon, but its explanation didn't make any more sense to me. My conviction is that they're really interesting and beautiful in the sense of a collectors treasure, but pretty useless due to their extreme complexity. However, maybe some day I'll manage to master them... Concerning the 'petite' edition, I prefer working with the ones without those cute - but corny, poems. They have a tendency to disturb me and my concentration. Using the copies with ordinary playing card motives is far more practic, as one can do a 'double' reading at the same time - unravelling the two symbols on each card. So one can get a whole lot of information from just one spread only. Regarding spreads to this oracle, I'm of the opinion that you can apply any one you like to it. I love doing the full mlle Lenormand layout, but now and then I find myself becoming disoriented in the huge amounts of information it provides. That's why I like better to use it for giving answers to specific questions. On the other hand, it all very much depends on my current mood - if you see what I mean. ;o) I tend to make up new spreads for different readings and situations... Finally, one can combine the two decks - the Oracle and the Tarot, simultaniously in one reading, or, as you mentioned, do a follow-up with either one of them. As before, it's all up to oneself to decide...

kreleia	09 Dec 2002
Okay, now I'm definitely curioius. The Le Normand oracle, hm? And, yeah, I would like more information on this technique. Thank you for the information Damien. I will be e-mailing you. :) ^.^

Khatruman	12 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by kreleia Okay, now I'm definitely curioius. The Le Normand oracle, hm? ^.^ Ok, I am curious...what is the Le Normand oracle you speak of?

Diana	13 Dec 2002
Khatruman: here is a link to a previous thread that may provide you with the info you need: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?threadid=5816&highlight=Lenormand There been other threads, and if you like, you can do a search with the word Lenormand. (It is usually spelled with one word, although Mademoiselle Le Normand's actual name was spelled in two words.)

firemaiden	14 Jun 2003
bump

Logiatrix	14 Jun 2003
...I didn't know about this thread! Thanx for "bumping it up," firemaiden... I have been using a regular poker deck with the Grimaud Marseille majors since the beginning of the year. I do small majors-only spreads and enhance/clarify them with the "minors" of the playing cards. The 22 tarot cards came complete from a fortune telling kit I was gifted for Christmas, so I didn't have to break up a full 78-card tarot deck. The poker deck is really neat; it's called "Cards of Colour" with the courts in varied skin shades of brown and black. No matter what cards you use, it's a very good way to learn pips. It also aids one in the study of the interaction between the minors and the majors. :)

Ruby Red Slippers	15 Jun 2003
Very interesting thread.... Thank you for the information Damien X, and welcome to the board! Being of a quizative mind, I went to the interent to read more..... Found this cool site where you can do a fortune telling reading for yourself, complete with card meaning.......Fun :) http://www.tarocci.com/cafe/blackcat/index.htm Ruby Red Slippers

Cerulean	15 Jun 2003
I know of two independently designed decks that have the poker-card playing French suits from designers who had tarot backgrounds. I haven't used them that much--but they may help smooth comparing the differences of poker-style cards with predictive descriptions and modern tarot reading. One of the differences these decks have that make them more aligned to tarot is that these also include pages as well as knights, queens and kings. Guardians of Wisdom is fairly upbeat in the upright mode and does have keywords and meanings and suits printed on the cards. It's more of an oracle card deck, but the art is pretty and the playing card suit and number match up to meanings that is rather tarot-like. The reversed meanings are open-ended enough that someone could look at the reversal and plan to follow the suggestion to 'improve' what is suggested. I used it with an anime style deck and found it a soft and friendly read. The Angelic Tarot by Robert Place has French suits and 22 angelic host names for the majors. I haven't used it in comparison yet, so I'm not certain whether to recommend it with anything but the Alchemical Tarot by the same artist. I've noticed Italian decks by Lo Scarabeo used to have these cards with suggested divinatory meanings that seemed predictive or old fashioned: Mary Greer's book on Tarot Reversals gives similar meanings in her collection of about 12 descriptions per card. There's a third challenge if you like-- a slightly historical (1912) deck that has an interesting booklet that I like to use, more slanted toward old-style Continental Europe fortune-telling meanings. These might work for you in a 'comparing' read. It's called the Caligstro by U.S. Games and the booklet is very interesting. Funny astrology that touches on historical decanate assignments, not the usual thing I see in modern books. The suits are hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds and I seem to remember that the courts also include a page. Hope these suggestions help. I haven't had luck with aligning Lenormand cards of any type to my tarots yet... Mari H.

The Interesting reading method - tarot and playing cards together thread was originally posted on 03 Dec 2002 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.