Tarot and Cartomancy

[firecatpickles]

"The Tarot deck was invented in Italy around 1440, based on the existing card decks of the time (not the other way around, as popular legend has it). The idea that Gypsies introduced cards to Europe is contradicted by the fact that cards were known in Europe for about 40 years before the first appearance of Gypsies."

http://jducoeur.org/game-hist/seaan-cardhist.html

Thank you for that...

KK

 

[Myrrha]

Myrrha,

With the right correlation between the playing card meanings and the tarot card meanings, there shouldn't be a problem with skewing the reading away from an undesirable message. I've found, for the most part, that the tarot just tends to give the cartomantic assignments more depth and layers of understanding.

Actually, I think it's easier to use both systems. I've combined the old way I learned a long time ago, the "tarot way" I learned fairly recently, and a system I created for reading the Major Arcana into the cards. I thinks it's easier because it comes from the my own knowledge and reading experience.

I have a theory that the playing card meanings handed down from generation to generation might have been developed the same way. Undoubtedly, they went through many permutations as they were passed along. I think there's something wonderfully organic about drawing upon your own ancestry, knowledge, and experience to make your readings sacredly yours.

That sounds great! It sounds like maybe the system you learned was not too incompatible with tarot meanings. Some I've seen in books are. I often think of the "quintessence" card (whatever major arcana card all the pips add up to) in a tarot reading and I guess I could continue to do this even if there isn't a visible major arcana. It would be easier to whip out a deck of playing cards at work than my tarot deck...
--Myrrha

 

[Tarot-of-Glass]

My thoughts

KK,

Just to be clear....do you mean comparing the meaning of say, a 6 of Hearts to the 6 of Cups? If this is the case, I've tried to compare Tarot and Playing Cards in this way, and I find it does not work.

Like today for my my husband's daily reading, he received the 6 of Hearts and it meant a trip (it was referring to an appointment he had). In Tarot, the 6 of Cups refers to living in the past/memories of the past. They just don't match up.

Maybe the universe just gives you the cards that it knows you will understand. If you have a joint understanding of Tarot and Playing Cards, and start off planning to read them blended, then the universe would give you the cards you would understand. I use Playing Cards as separate from Tarot and the universe seems to know this. So, if I try to match them up AFTERWARDS, it just won't work. As is the case for me so far...

HTH
Tarot-of-Glass

 

[firecatpickles]

I doubt the system is compatible with the GD system. I was thinking more on the pip decks, like the Minchiate or the Tarot de Marseille.

KK