by Marcus Katz
There are many such copies and versions of these fortune-telling pamphlets: the New Fortune Book, the Only Real Fortune-Teller, the Tree of Fate, the Spaewife, and several more. Some would cover brief dream interpretation and the reading of moles, lines on the hand or on the face. We will also pick up a copy of the Spaewife in our time travels, as it includes a version of the symbolism of coffee grounds that we will meet in a later chapter on Lenormand cards.
For now, let us return to our time-pod and look over our second acquisition in our journey, this Fortune Book by Flamstead & Partridge.
Flamstead & Partridge
We could have chosen any time between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries to visit Edinburgh and pick up one of these chapbooks—cheap and coarse pamphlets sold on the streets for a penny or less. These booklets were popular until the mid-1800s when they were considered as certainly “ungodly” and as competition to religious tracts. Until that time, chapbooks provided the common folk access to sermons and prophecies, songs and ballads, almanacs and calendars, and instructional manuals. One such manual, the “Book of Knowledge” from c. 1800 includes instruction in “astronomy, astrology, geography, physic and surgery” as well as a guide to the fairs in Scotland that year.
Consider them the YouTube of their time and a prelude to the penny dreadfuls of later years.
There are several variations of this particular fortune book, which may have even been printed much earlier in the 1700s; however, we will use the one we have in our hands, purchased from the very streets of Edinburgh this day in history. 54 Here is how the book is introduced:
Partridge and Flamsteads, new and well experienced fortune book: delivered to the world from the Astrologer’s Office, in Greenwich Park. For the benifit [sic] of young men, maids, wives and widows, who by drawing cards according to the directions of this fortune book, may know whether life will be long o[r] short, whether they shall have the person desired, and what part of the world is most profitable to live in, and all lawful questions whatsoever. The signification of moles in any part of the body, and the interpretation of dreams, as they relate to good or bad fortune. To which is added The whimsical lady.
The Whimsical Lady is a brief story appended to the pamphlet, a practice common at the time. Whilst some versions of the pamphlet have instructions like the earlier Italian fortune books where the reader rolls a dice, picks a card from a deck, and follows instructions through the book to land on a final “oracle” or “fortune,” this pamphlet has the first one-card reading method and a list of all the card meanings for us to study.
The instructions and individual card meanings in the section below are drawn straight from the original text of Flamstead and Partridge.
The Instructions
Take a new pack of cards. Shuffle them well together, he or she that holds them spreading them on the table with their faces downward; then those who draw must shut their eyes and lay their right hand on their left breast, saying these words as they draw the card, “Honi Soit qui mally pense”: Then look upon the number [of the card drawn] and have recourse to the book, so you shall have full satisfaction in good or bad fortune. 55
Ace of Diamonds
Since this Ace it seems your lot,
You’ll wed one that’s fierce and hot;
But if woman kind draws it,
She’ll have one with wealth and wit.
II
Hast thou drawn the number two,
Thou’lt wed one that’s just and true,
But if a woman this shall have,
Beware of sly and cunning knave.
III
Having drawn the number three,
Honour will thy portion be,
But a maid who gets the same,
Must take heed of wanton shame.
IV
The man who gets the number four,
He must quit[e] his native shore,
If the same be drawn by woman,
She’ll get a sweetheart out of hand.
V
He who draws the number five.
Where he lives he best will thrive,
But if drawn by woman kind,
They better luck abroad will find.
VI
He that draws the number six,
Will have silly and cunning tricks,
But if woman draw the same,
If doth shew them free from blame.
VII
Since the seven doth appear,
Crosses thou hast cause to fear,
Woman who the same do draw,
Fear no cross[s] of a straw.
VIII
Hast thou got the number eight,
Thou wilt be a cuckold great,
Females who the same do take,
For ever will the truth forsake.
IX
Hast thou got the merry nine,
Guineas will thy pocket line,
She that draws it with her hand,
Dies for love or leaves the land.
X
What the ten? ’tis very well,
None in love can the[e] excel,
But the girl who gets the ten,
Will be wed, but none knows when.
The King
This fair king of diamonds shews,
Thou wilt live where pleasure flows,
But when a woman gets the king,
Melancholy songs she’ll sing.
The Queen
Now the Queen of Diamonds fair,
Shews you will some office bear,
Woman, if it comes to you,
Friends you’ll get and not a few.
The Knave
Is the Knave of Diamonds come,
Then beware the martial drum,
If a virgin gets the knave,
She will better fortune have.
The Ace of Hearts
He that gets this ace of Hearts,
Will appear a man of parts,
She who gets it, I profess,
Has the gift of idleness.
II
He who gets the duce will be,
Full of generosity.
But when a woman gets this card,
It doth shew them very hard.
III
The poor man who gets this tray,
When he’s bound he must obey.
Woman who do get this sort,
Will drink brandy by the quart.
IV
He that gets the four will make,
Faithful love for conscience sake,
But if drawn by a woman kind,
They’ll prove false and sly you’ll find.
V
Note the five of hearts declares,
Thou shalt manage great affairs,
But if got by women then,
They’ll love any sort of men.
VI
Now the six of hearts foretels,
If a man here honour dwells,
If drawn by the other side,
It betokens scorn and pride.
VII
Now the seven I’ll maintain:
Shews thou hast not liv’d in vain.
Thou wilt have the golden prize,
But with maids it’s otherwise.
VIII
Having drawn the number eight,
Shews the servile born to wait;
But if woman draw the same,
They will mount on wings of fame.
IX
By this Nine be well assur’d.
Thy love pains must be endured.
But the maid who gets the nine,
Soon in wedlock bands will join.
X
Then the ten is a lucky c
ast
For it shews the worst is past,
But if girls the like do have,
Love will their kind hearts enslave.
The King
By this card it doth appear,
Thou shalt live in happy chear [cheer],
And if a female gets this card.
She’ll soon likewise be preferr’d.
The Queen
By this Card it is well known,
Thou wilt still enjoy thy own,
Women if they get the same,
Will enjoy a virtous name.
The Knave
He that gets the knave of hearts,
It betokens knavish parts,
But if a woman gets the knave,
She will ne’er be man’s slave.
The Ace of Spades
Thou who gett’st this ace of spades,
Shall be flouted by the maids,
When it is a damsel’s lot,
Love and honour shall be got.
II
Now this duce betokens strife,
With a foolish whorish wife,
If a woman’s lot it be,
Honour, love, and dignity.
III
Thou art happy in this tray,
And wilt wed some lady gay,
But girls who the same do take,
Shall wed with some poor town rake.
IV
Now this Four betokens you,
Must be of the horned crew,
Girls who get the like will meet,
With the height of joys complete.
V
This five of spades give you to know
That you must through great troubles go,
But if a virgin it foretells,
Her virtue others much excels.
VI
This six fortells when you do wed,
You’ll have a cracked maidenhead,
But the girl this number draws,
She’ll wed one with great applause.
VII
Since the seven’s come to hand,
It doth entitle the[e] to land,
But girls by this shall wed those,
Who have no money, friends, or clothes.
VIII
This eight doth fortell you shall,
Wed a woman straight and tall,
If to a girl the like doth come,
She weds a brother of Tom Thumb.
IX
By this nine thou art fortold,
Thou shalt wed one lame and old,
Maids if they do get this chance,
May themselves to wealth advance.
X
’Tis seen by the ten of spades,
Thou shalt follow many trades,
Thrive by none. But women they
By this chance can’t work, but play.
The King
By this King observe and note,
You on golden streams will float,
Women by the self same lot,
Will long enjoy what they have got.
The Queen
There’s the queen of spades, likewise,
Thou wilt soon to riches rise,
Women by this same will have,
That they both desire and crave.
The Knave
This is a Knave then have a care,
That thou dost not make a pair,
Women who the same do chuse [choose],
Shall prove sluts, but that’s no news.
The Ace of Clubs
He who gets the ace of Clubs,
Must expect a thousand snubs,
From wife. But girls again,
By this card will rise and reign.
II
Note this duce doth signify,
That thou wilt a Christian die,
Woman who the same do take,
Never will their friends forsake.
III
You who now this tray have drawn,
Will on cursed harlots fawn,
Women who do get this tray,
To their acts do answer nay.
IV
By this four we clearly see,
Four brats must be laid to thee,
She who gets the same must wed
Two rich husbands, both well bred.
V
By this five see that thou
Shalt join unto a dirty sow,
This drawn by virgins they
Will have husbands kind and gay.
VI
By this six you’ll wed we know,
One that over you will crow,
Maids who get the same will be
Blest with husbands kind and free
VII
Thou that hath this seven drawn,
Must your breeches put in pawn,
Girls who get the same will wear,
Jewels rich beyond compare.
VIII
By this eight, though Whig or Quaker,
Thou wilt be a cuckold maker,
Maids who draw the same are born.
To hold fools and fops in scorn.
IX
That a nine? upon my life,
You shall wed a wealthy wife,
She who gets the same wilt have,
One who is both fool and knave.
X
Now this number half a score,
Shews thou wilt be wretched poor,
Maids who draw this number still,
Will have jobs and wealth at will.
The King
Here’s the King of Clubs that shows,
Thou hast friends as well as foes,
Maids who the same do draw,
Shall have a man without a flaw.
The Queen
If the Queen of Clubs thou hast,
Thou wilt be with honour grac’d,
Women if the same they find,
Will have all things to their mind.
The Knave
Now the vainly knave appears,
He will cut off both thy ears,
Women when the same they see,
Will be what they us’d to be. 56
Pick a Card, Any Card
We can now commence our cartomantic journey with a simple one-card reading using a deck of fifty-two playing cards with the full ace to ten in each suit, and three cards for the court in each suit; the knave (jack), queen, and king. 57
If you care to draw a card for yourself, you will also see that each card interpretation has two lines for each gender; the first is for a male querent and the second couplet is for a woman. This was also common at the time to provide different readings for male and female participants.
You might discover that the concerns of the time are not directly related to contemporary matters in all cases, and are very proscribed, particularly in the area of marriage. This was the very start of card interpretation, and we will trace how these cards became far more layered as time progresses; although, three in five questions—even in modern times—remain about relationship issues.
Having visited one of the very first occurrences of cartomantic meanings in print, let us now move forwards in time and learn how to use playing cards in a variety of ways for fortune-telling. We will just need to take a quick time hop. Watch out for the bicycle!
Tuesday, 25 June, 1935: Leeds, England
The bicycle swerves around the puddles along the cobbled streets. Luckily, the rider of the bike who is on her way home from the night shift at the Leeds Telephone Exchange is wearing culottes, saving her a pretty penny on laundry expenses.
She is on her way to the newsagents (which will
soon be opening) to pick up her reserved copy of Woman’s Weekly. This week it features a knitted jumper pattern with cable-stitched bands. She races by the Empire Palace movie theatre, hardly glancing at the posters for the latest Alfred Hitchcock film, The 39 Steps. She has other thrills and mysteries on her mind.
Last year, she, Judith Reid, aged 24, had been introduced to a whole new world. In the otherwise inconspicuous pages of Woman’s Own magazine (13 January), for just 2d she had read how to read the cards and taken advantage of a rather special offer.
She had learnt how to read the future in an ordinary deck of playing cards and had become rather good at it. This year, now that the girls at the Exchange were used to her reading their cards during cigarette breaks, she was about to branch out. The Woman’s Weekly she was about to buy had a wonderful gift with it: a full deck of tarot cards.
Judith had promised everyone at work she would soon have them mastered and would be able to read even more for them. It was perhaps no coincidence that the story she was also following in the magazine in weekly installments was entitled “If This Be Destiny.”
She turns a bit too sharply into Harrowgate Road, round by the Co-Op and brakes as she sees Wilson & Sons fruitsellers, already open. Dismounting quickly from her bicycle, she rushes into Harry Cleggs, local newsagent, and grabs her copy of the magazine from the piles newly delivered by the door.
“A treat every week,” Harry jokes, handing her the deck of tarot cards, neatly packaged with the Thompson Leng publishing mark on the front of the box. Judith smiles politely but cannot contain her excitement. “It’s the future, Harry,” she exclaims, “just like them telephones!”
Cartomancy Basics
A Note on Keywords
Throughout our time travels, we will be referencing keywords and key phrases for not only playing cards but also for tarot and Lenormand cards. These assist us to unlock what we call the cartomantic core of each card. However, the keywords from one time zone to another may be different or even contradictory, as we will see. We advise all tarot time travellers to anchor themselves in one set of keywords that will maintain temporal consistency. As time goes on, your practice will modify the keywords as you unlock your own experience of the cards.
