Cartomancy

Cartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards.[1] Forms of cartomancy appeared soon after playing cards were first introduced into Europe in the 14th century.[2] Practitioners of cartomancy are generally known as cartomancers, card readers, or simply readers.

The Fortune Teller, by Art Nouveau painter Mikhail Vrubel, depicting a cartomancer.

Cartomancy using standard playing cards was the most popular form of providing fortune-telling card readings in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The standard 52-card deck is often augmented with jokers or even with the blank card found in many packaged decks. In France, the 32-card piquet stripped deck is most typically used in cartomantic readings, although the 52 card deck can also be used. (A piquet deck can be a 52-card deck with all of the 2s through the 6s removed. This leaves all of the 7s through the 10s, the face cards, and the aces.)

In English-speaking countries, the most common form of cartomancy is generally tarot card reading. Tarot cards are almost exclusively used for this purpose in these places.[3]

Methods

The most popular method of cartomancy using a standard playing deck is referred to as the Wheel of Fortune.[3][4] Here, the reader removes cards at random and assigns significance to them based on the order they were chosen.[3] Though the interpretation of various cards varies by region, the common significators for the future are as follows:

Most Common Interpretations in Cartomancy[3]
CardSignificance
King of HeartsAn adult man with sandy, dark blond, or light brown hair, with brown, blue or hazel eyes. Usually a family member or other loved one. Paternal and family-oriented.
King of DiamondsAn adult man with red or light blond hair with blue, green or gray eyes. Usually a wealthy man in an authority position.
King of ClubsAn adult man with medium or dark brown hair, with brown, blue or hazel eyes. Usually a married business man (although business could have a sexual, rather than commercial, interpretation.)
King of SpadesAn adult man with dark brown to black hair, and dark brown eyes. Usually a widower or divorced man, or a man from a foreign country. Ambitious and powerful, can be arrogant and deceptive.
Queen of HeartsAn adult woman with sandy, dark blond, or light brown hair, with brown, blue or hazel eyes. Usually a family member or other loved one. Maternal and family-oriented.
Queen of DiamondsAn adult woman with red or light blond hair with blue, green or gray eyes. Usually a wealthy woman in an authority position.
Queen of ClubsAn adult woman with medium or dark brown hair, with brown, blue or hazel eyes. Usually a business woman or social butterfly.
Queen of SpadesAn adult woman with dark brown to black hair, and dark brown eyes. Usually a widow or divorced woman, or a woman from a foreign country. Ambitious and intelligent, can be cold, calculating, or spiteful.

See also

References
  1. "In the Cards: A Brief History of Divination and Cartomancy". The Odyssey Online. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  2. Huson, Paul (2004). Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage. Vermont: Destiny Books. ISBN 0-89281-190-0
  3. Knight, Jan (1980). A-Z of ghosts and supernatural. Pepper Press. pp. 15–6. ISBN 0-560-74509-5.
  4. "Cartomancy". The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World. Harper Element. 2006. p. 99.
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