The Daily Fool

- Cartomancy with the Major Arcana -

CARTOMANCY is the art of reading a regular deck of playing cards (52 cards), rather than the more familiar tarot deck (78 cards) you are probably accustomed to. There are many methods to cartomancy but what I present here is my blend of the standard 52 card deck with the bonus of using the Pages and the complete Major Arcana from the 78 card tarot deck. I used the Cartomancy - Fortune Telling With Playing Cards book by Julian Moore as my main influence for reading a standard deck of 52 cards. It was a very fast method that I enjoyed adding to my reading style. I've used many sources over the years on reading tarot, and I will mention them below where appropriate.

As for the cards I am using on this page, the fine folks at Dead on Paper have given me permission to scan their amazing Arcana Full Tarot Deck to explain how I blend 52 card deck readings with 78 card tarot influences. Dead on Paper designed some of the most exquisite cards I have used with attention to detail in the court and Major Arcana. These are the same size as a standard deck of cards, so shuffling the deck is a pleasure!

- The Arcana Deck -

This deck is quite unique as its Minor Arcana is represented with the regular playing deck cards but includes a representation of the tarot suit along with the playing card suit. For example, the suit of hearts in a standard deck has the heart in the top left corner, but this deck has the corresponding cup in the top right corner from the tarot (see examples below). This helps me to parallel the two systems and makes corresponding suits much easier. I'll explain more below, but my method is to read A-10 and the Court Cards - I treat the Page as a young Knight - with the playing card method, but with influence from my tarot knowledge. On top of that, I use the traditional Major Arcana meanings as an influence on the reading as a whole. It gives me a much more clear picture of the story than just one of the systems on their own.

- The Suits -

To learn more about these suits, I highly recommend the Cartomancy book I linked in the first paragraph - or dig into your favorite source for the alternate meanings. For a down-n-dirty rundown, these are the associations I use:

• Hearts (Cups) represent Love / Emotions / Family / Healing
• Diamonds (Coins / Pentacles) represent Money / Success / Power
• Clubs (Wands) represent Social / Work & Business
• Spades (Swords) represent Struggles / Challenges / Obstacles/ Negative

Gernerally in cartomancy, reds are positive, blacks are negative. But blending in Major Arcana kind of tosses that piece of the readings out the window - so I do not read the colors as a rule, but treat each suit and Major Arcana as its own entity. Otherwise, you can see, these really work hand in hand with the suits of the tarot and adapt quite easily. Let's move on to the numbers (pips ace thru ten).

- Ace thru Ten -

Once the suits are established, I look at the numbers of the cards (for those Ace thru 10). This is where a lot of variation can happen based on your method of reading pip decks. Again, losely referring to Julian's method:

• Aces represent Beginnings / New Adventures / Fresh Starts
• Twos represent Cooperation / Pairing Up
• Threes represent Expansion / New Growth
• Fours represent Stable Foundations / Security
• Fives represent Moving Forward / Activity
• Sixes represent Communication / Working with Others
• Sevens represent A Warning / Questioning (I deviate from the book on this one)
• Eights represent Inspiration / Upcoming Events
• Nines represent Nearing Completion / Changes
• Tens represent Success / Goals Reached / Travel

Those are the basics for these cards, and with practice seeing how the suit and number relate begins to tell whole new stories. For example, a 4 of hearts (cups) even though no picture is present on the card, can begin an image of a stable relationship with perhaps a family member. I might also conjure up the images of the 4 of Cups from the tarot and picture the boy below a tree, being handed a cup from the clouds and what that means to me. Though I am reading the card as a pip card, I am letting the corresponding tarot card hold some influence over it (not at all a necessary step!)

- The Court Cards -

There's a bit of variation here, as a standard 52 card deck only has the Jack, Queen, and King - yet the deck I am using here borrows from the tarot and has the Page, Jack, Queen, and King. These cards all represent specific people in your life, and here is how I look at them:

• Pages represent Younger person in your life
• Jacks (Knight) represent Lover / Friend / Peer
• Queens represent Mother Figure / Woman of Power / Female Energy
• Kings represent Father Figure / Man of Power / Male Energy

This covers a standard 52 card deck with the bonus of the four Page cards in my readings. But what about the major arcana?

- Major Arcana -

Correct, these are not traditionally read with playing cards but I like to blend them into a reading to help me tell the story. Here's my quick guide to what these cards mean in my readings (by no means, exhaustive!) - might I suggest reading The Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot by Dusty White or you dig into your favorite Tarot book for deeper meanings:

• 0 - The Fool represents New Beginnings
• I - The Magician represents Skills and Abilities for Success
• II - The High Priestess represents Intuition, Mystery, and Common Sense
• III - The Empress represents Fertility and Motherhood
• IV - The Emperor represents Dependability and Fatherhood
• V - The Hierophant represents Traditional Values and Institutions
• VI - The Lovers represent Union, Harmony, and Love
• VII - The Chariot represents Overcoming Obstacles and Willpower
• VIII - Strength represents Bravery, Confidence, Inner Strength
• IX - The Hermit represents Soul Searching and Self Reflection
• X - Wheel of Fortune represents Destiny, Luck, and Karma
• XI - Justice represents Karmic Justice or Legal Matters
• XII - The Hanged Man represents Unhappy Situation and Uncertainty
• XIII - Death represents Change, New Beginnings, Spiritual Transformations
• XIV - Temperance represents Balance, Peace, and Patience
• XV - The Devil represents Depression and/or Trapped, Obsession
• XVI - The Tower represents Chaos, Destruction, Abuse
• XVII - The Star represents Hope, Creativity, and Inspiration
• XVIII - The Moon represents Deception, Anxiety, Fears
• XIX - The Sun represents Optimism, Confidence, Joy, Freedom
• XX - Judgement represents Self-Evaluation, Awakening, Judging
• XXI - The World represents Travel, Success, Achievement

Note - this is merely a quick reference or cheat sheet. I really encourage you to dig deeper into the tarot for these meanings.

- The Readings -

There are loads of cartomancy and tarot spreads to choose from, but when reading with this deck I stick to a three-card spread. This isn't quite the traditional past-present-future read, but more of a general picture that builds. (Julian Moore explains his method really well in his book). Using the three card draw just above, the basic idea is as follows:

• Shuffle and turn three cards face up (I do not read reversed here).
• Get an overall feel of the three face-up cards. Take into consideration the suits (pure color readings do not work when using the major arcana in my method), court cards, and major arcana that may have turned up. Is it an overall good feel? Bad? Knowing the cards well will really help this impression.
• Study the first card on the left, then look to the center card to see how it influences that first card. As a loose example, let's say your first was a 2 of Clubs (business partnership?) and the center card was the 4 of Diamonds (financial stability) you might see these two cards together as a new partnership leading towards some kind of stability.
• Study the center card, and see how the card on the right might influence it. So, we have the 4 of Diamonds as discussed before. Let's say the right side card is the The World major arcana. Travel. So this financial stability will come from some kind of travel.
• Now look at all three cards together - what's the story? Maybe a successful overseas business partnership is in the future for you?

One of the cards have you stuck? Pull a couple extras to expand on that card to give you a more clear picture. I do this all the time! (Place the extra cards just below the card you're stuck on and see if that clarifies the story.

- Try for Yourself? -

Want to give this a spin for yourself? Head back to the homepage and choose the cartomancy draw with or without the Major Arcana.

- a note -

IF you are interested in picking up this deck for yourself (only available in dark version today) please head over to see my friends at Dead on Paper to pick up your own copy of ARCANA FULL TAROT DECK while they still have some. I have featured the white deck here and also have the black one as a daily driver.