by Marcus Katz
13. Cover, Woman Magazine, 6 December, 1952.
What the Cards Reveal
Hearts
Hearts are the cards of love and friendship.
The Ace of Hearts indicates pleasant surprise connected with affection or love for someone.
2, 3, 4, 5, 6: These cards mean something to do with a friend that will not involve the emotions deeply. It may mean a letter, a present, or a visit.
7, 8, 9, 10: Love affairs. Watch for the wish card, 9 of Hearts, (in the Waite-Smith tarot, the corresponding 9 of Cups denotes repletion, satisfaction, finding yourself in a very favorable position).
Clubs
The cards of travel, work, and business.
The Ace of Clubs signifies a long journey.
2, 3, 4, 5, 6: These cards suggest short travels (not outside the country); some change is likely about work and is likely to occur quite soon.
7, 8, 9, 10: These signify longer journeys, visits of considerable length. The 9 and 10 always indicate crossings by sea.
Diamonds
The cards relating to money matters.
The Ace of Diamonds means an unforeseen gift or a surprise legacy.
2, 3, 4, 5, 6: Indicate small profits, rises, bonuses, or any slight material gain. A heart card following foretells an unexpected gift from someone of the opposite sex.
7, 8, 9, 10: These show changes for the better. If next to the 9 of Hearts, expect money to come with marriage. The higher the card, the more prosperous the match.
Spades
The cards of trouble and disagreements.
The Ace of Spades indicate an unpleasant surprise of some nature.
2, 3, 4, 5, 6: These cards show a minor illness, disappointment, and misunderstandings. Work may be difficult and associates trying.
7, 8, 9, 10: These normally mean a more serious upset. Be careful if you are embarking on a new venture. Take special care of the health.
The Picture (Court) Cards: Represent the people in your life whose appearance you can guess by consulting the suit of the card.
The Kings signify older men, very often fathers or employers. They are usually in a positon of authority. The King of Hearts, a man of medium-fair coloring. The King of Spades, a very dark man. The King of Diamonds, a man with fair or white hair. The King of Clubs, a man with brown hair and eyes.
The Queens are the women in a person’s life. Usually the Queen of Hearts signifies a fair, friendly woman, and the Queen of Spades, a dark or antagonistic woman. The Queen of Diamonds is a blonde with blue eyes. The Queen of Clubs is a brunette with dark eyes or a woman with red hair.
The Jacks are single young men. Jack of Hearts; a young man with light brown hair or grey or hazel hair. Jack of Spades; a man with black hair and dark eyes. Jack of Diamonds; fair and blue-eyed or with hair that is “carroty”; Jack of Clubs: a man with medium brown hair and deep brown eyes. 80
Having added these vintage meanings to our cards, we will now turn to a fun cartomantic method for parties called “Make a Wish” and several other classic spreads.
Make a Wish
Ask a guest to make a wish, and the cards will tell if it is likely or certain to come true.
Give a full pack of cards to the wish-maker, telling him or her to make a wish while cutting the pack. Now deal the cards face downwards. As you deal, tell the wish-maker to pick out three cards at random. Put these three cards on the table, face upwards, in the order chosen. Counting tens and picture cards as zero, add up the value of the three cards. If the total can be divided by three or seven (lucky numbers), then the wish has a very good chance of coming true. If it can be divided by both numbers 3 and 7, it is almost certain to come true.
If unlucky, the wish-maker may make another wish and try again.
The Five Heaps
We will now describe a form of divination that furnishes the enquirer with answers under definite subjects.
The thirty-two cards must be thoroughly shuffled and handed to the enquirer to be cut with his or her left hand. While cutting the cards, they should, as ever, quietly formulate a wish of what they would like to know of the outcome. Now spread out the thirty-two cards out face downwards on the table and ask the enquirer to select thirteen of them. The remaining cards are to be set aside, while the thirteen cards chosen must be taken up, shuffled, and cut once more by the enquirer, again with the left hand.
The reader must then deal them out from left to right into five heaps, three of which contain three cards each, while the others have two cards. These heaps correspond from left to right in order, to the enquirer himself; their home and intimate circle; that which they expect to come about; surprise happenings; and lastly, the wish whose outcome they were anxious to have revealed.
An Old Italian Method
Here is another method, one that has apparently been used for centuries and enjoyed popularity among the gifted cartomancers of Italy.
After having shuffled the pack of thirty-two cards, request the enquirer to cut them with their left hand. Now turn up the first three cards on the top of the pack. If they chance to be all of one suit, lay them down one after another in a row from left to right and in the same order in which they appeared in the pack. If, however, they contain only two cards of the same suit, chose the higher of these two; but if the three cards are of different suits, they should be all thrown aside.
Thus, if the three cards taken from the pack happened to be the King, Knave, and 7 of Diamonds, they would all be laid in the row; if the Queen and the 9 of Spades appeared together with the King of Hearts, the Queen of Spades would be chosen; and if the three cards consisted of the King of Clubs, the 8 of Hearts, and the Ace of Diamonds—all different suits—they would all be discarded.
Go through this procedure with all the cards in the pack, taking them in threes. It will be found, of course, that only two cards are left, and unless these are both same suit—in which case the higher card is chosen—they should be discarded. Some authorities would reject these two cards in any case, and since there seems to be no outstanding reason why the portends should be affected whichever method is followed, the student may please himself regarding the course to adopt.
When the pack has been exhausted, the rejected cards must be reshuffled and the whole process repeated and so on until fifteen cards have been extracted. If more than that number are put down, reduce them to fifteen by taking away the requisite number from the left. It is important that these fifteen cards include the card of the enquirer (that is to be identified on the lines already described); if this card fails to appear, the whole divination must be repeated from the beginning—from the shuffling and cutting of the pack—until the required king or queen materialises.
When the fifteen cards have been assembled in a row, call the enquirer’s own card one, and starting from it, from left to right, shift slightly out of the row the third, seventh, ninth, and thirteenth cards, reverting to the beginning of the row when you come to the last card on the right-hand side. Read the interpretations of these cards in order according to the tables given previously.
To complete the divination, take up a card from each end of the row of the fifteen, and read the meanings of the pairs together. Continue to read the cards in pairs until one card only is left—the “surprise” card, which should be regarded as furnishing the final revelation of the enquirer’s fate and fortune.
The Rapid Method
The following is an extremely rapid method of revealing a person’s destiny, though it is a matter of question whether it is as dependable as the more thorough methods we have given.
Request the enquirer to shuffle the cards thoroughly, cut them and hand them back to you. Now spread out the pack face downwards on the table, and ask the enquirer to choose thirteen cards at random. Arrange these cards in a row facing upwards in the order they were chosen, and read out their meanin
gs. A second row of thirteen cards similarly selected and spread out below the first will serve to modify or confirm their predictions.
An even shorter method useful for deciding any single question consists of dealing the first seven cards of the pack in a row and reading the omens of the first, fourth, and seventh cards.
The Wishing Card Method
Hold the cards out in a fan shape face down. Ask the client to choose a random card from the deck. Take this card from the client, look at it and note it, then insert it back into the deck. 81
The next step is to ask the client to shuffle the deck and focus deeply on a wish they would like to come true. Silence and focus is to be maintained during this time. When the client feels the wish has absorbed into the cards sufficiently, take the cards back and search through the deck for the original card they pulled from the deck.
Once you have located it, if it is within seven cards of the Ace of Hearts, the 9 of Hearts, or the significator card representing your client, their wish will come true. However, if the 9 of Spades is within seven cards of either side, even if the client’s wish has come true, it will not come without complications. In fact, it may ultimately turn out to be not what they wanted, as the old saying “take care for what you wish for” cautions.
The deck can be shuffled a further two times and the process repeated with a fresh wish. When counting seven cards either side, you can tell or interpret as much or as little as you feel necessary. Even if the client is not successful in the pulling of their wish, you can still interpret the card on either side of the original wish card they selected and explain why they were not granted their wish.
The By Fifteen Method
In this method, we use fifteen playing cards to look at the past, future, obstacles, immediate concerns, and the “luck” of a situation. This is the seventh method given by Minetta in What the Cards Tell (1896) and is to some extent a crude version of the Celtic Cross A. E. Waite used in The Key to the Tarot (1910) as is the second method, a Star Cross.
We will select a relationship question from 1956 given in Never Kiss a Man in a Canoe (2009), the collection of Agony Aunt questions compiled by Tanith Carey. This question was published in Home Chat magazine (published 1895–1959).
Q: I am twenty-three and have had lots of bad boyfriends but have only just met one who wants to be serious. But I’m a bit afraid that he is old-fashioned in his ideas—he wants me to change my style completely. He says that I use too much make-up, smoke too much and drink too much; in fact, he describes me as “a sweet girl giving the wrong impression!” I’m rather in love with this boy, but I’m afraid that he is going to be too strict for me. 82
The Method
Take a pack of ordinary playing cards, throw aside all the under-seven cards, reserving the aces. You will now have thirty-two cards.
Any cards that are the same both ways should be marked, as their meanings are changed when reversed.
Shuffle your cards, having placed the significator on the table. Take three cards from the top of the pack; place them at the head for luck, three at the feet for the past, three on the right for the future, three on the left for the obstacles, and three on yourself for what is immediately crossing your path. 83
Minetta states that it is a lucky omen if the 9 of Hearts or the Ace of Clubs (upright), crowns your significator.
I chose the Queen of Hearts as the significator.
14. By Fifteen Layout, from “Minetta”, What the Cards Tell, 1896.
Immediately in this reading we have a very positive omen with the Ace of Clubs, the right way up, crowning the significator.
The three cards at the foot of the spread are; King of Diamonds, Knave (Jack) of Diamonds, Knave of Hearts. These signify the past and we look at these cards first to look at how the present situation has arisen, and if there are any clues in the past to the future progression.
The appearance of the King of Diamonds literally at her feet signifies “a grey-haired man” according to Minetta (whose meanings we will adopt throughout this method). In doing so we can also see how stark and simple meanings do not have to be constraining and can be interpreted to any question or situation beyond their literal meaning. This is something that often confuses beginner cartomantic readers because they might not be able to immediately apply old-fashioned or one-word meanings such as “Cupid” or “Night” to a modern business reading, for example. In those cases, the card meaning “Cupid” could be read as “doing something you love as your business” whereas the second card might mean that there would be a period of stumbling about in the dark before the business made any progress.
If we look to the “cartomantic core” of any given card meaning, we can soon build up from it and apply it to any situation.
The King of Diamonds then is appropriate to our question as the enquirer talks about her new boyfriend’s old-fashioned ways. Minetta also says that the card could “predict money.” We take this to imply that the relationship will give her security in life. In fact, she will literally have security at her feet; it is a relationship based on a firm footing. But is that what she wants and at what cost?
We next look at the two cards of the same rank paired together, the Knave of Diamonds and the Knave of Hearts. In the pairings, we see that these two cards together mean “consultation.” Having two Knaves together would also tell us that there is another man on the scene, probably one that would not be mentioned in a real reading situation.
This other man is the Knave of Hearts, which according to Minetta could be of a military background. In a contemporary setting this may still be the case or indicate a “martial” type of personality such as someone more aggressive or direct.
These two cards, both in the past position, signify that he is an old flame of hers, particularly as we know from the question that she has had a lot of boyfriends. The two cards in the past show us that she is torn between her old lifestyle and her future path.
We now look to her future cards, with the knowledge of the past to guide us.
The three cards that we have on the right, for the future, are the King of Hearts, King of Spades, and Knave of Spades. The King of Hearts touches the Queen of Hearts and is paired with the King of Spades; Minetta says that two kings together signify friendship. Here it is shown that in the future she should keep her new relationship on a friendship basis. She is certainly not a woman who drinks alone, going by the amount of court cards in this spread.
We now look at the obstacles before reading any further into the future cards. The three cards on the left, representing obstacles, are 7 of Diamonds, 8 of Clubs, and the 10 of Diamonds.
Minetta says that the 7 of Diamonds could signify a child or a pet, so it is now shown that the woman already has a child. The 8 of Clubs signifies a previous relationship, one that still attracts her, with “a man of clubs,” i.e., described by the suit of clubs. This is most likely a dark-haired man, and the military man we have already seen on the table.
However, the obstacle here is also the man who offers her security, our King of Diamonds who lays security at her feet.
When we look next at the three cards placed directly on top of the significator, for what is “immediately crossing her path,” we see Ace of Diamonds, Queen of Spades, and Ace of Hearts.
The first is “a ring” and “a bank note!” The Queen of Spades signifies widowhood, implying that she may feel like a widow if she marries the wealthy man who tries to control her life and does not allow her to truly be herself. We also see the presence of the Ace of Hearts, which signifies “house; love letter” and could imply that communications from the other man will prove to be an obstacle.
Finally, looking at the top three cards, for “luck” or opportunities, we can see that the Ace of Clubs does bring luck, and the two side cards are the 7 of Hearts and the 9 of Clubs. These variously indicate a business or long journey, with amusement (9
of Clubs) so that would indicate she should try and go on a business trip with the man and that will give the opportunity to resolve this matter. Similarly, the 7 of Hearts indicates that this is a matter of jealousy on his part; perhaps he wishes to live a freer life and is projecting resentment on her. We can see here again that sometimes Kitchen Table methods can be psychologically insightful.
Conclusion
In this chapter, we have looked at several methods that represent classic cartomancy and may be further developed as you practice. You can build up your repertoire with several spreads and then modify them once you have got the basics and found which keywords from the previous chapter work best for you.
In our next chapter, we will provide a vintage method that showcases many of the ideas about cartomancy, and provides a very performance-driven experience when you offer it to clients, friends, or family. We will set our tarot time pod with the key phrase “square of sevens” and see where—or when—it will take us.
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68 Ruth E. Trappe, “Fortune-Telling by Playing Cards” (Washington Bureau Bulletin, 1927).
69 Jonathan Allen, Lost Envoy: The Tarot Deck of Austin Osman Spare (London, UK: Strange Attractor Press, 2016), 13.
70 Ibid.
71 P. R. S. Foli, Fortune Telling by Cards, c. 1902. Professor Foli was the pseudonym of Sir Cyril Arthur Pearson (1866–1921).
72 Minetta, What the Cards Tell (London, UK: 1896), 15.
73 Ibid.
74 Ibid., 16.
75 Ibid., 17.
76 This method adapted from Cicely Kent, Telling Fortunes by Cards (London, UK: Herbert Jenkins Limited, n.d.).
77 Kent, Telling Fortune by Cards.
78 Time travellers may also see some similarity of this layout to the “Celtic Cross” first published by A. E. Waite but also circulated in the Golden Dawn from where he published it. See Tarosophist International Vol. 2 for a full history of that spread.
