Samhain Countdown Day 8

How to Read Tarot with Playing Cards

The origins of Tarot cards can be traced back to the 15th century. When looking at a Tarot deck you notice that The cards themselves originally emerged in Europe, however, the decks were primarily used for playing card games. So why can we not use modern cards to read Tarot?

We can!

This is called Cartomancy (yes this is what Tarot is as well).

All you have to do is read the playing cards like the Tarot Minor Arcana. This includes the joker cards, these are interpreted as the fool card of the Major Arcana.

• Hearts are the cups

• Spades, like the swords

• Diamonds, are pentacles

• Clubs correspond with wands

The numbers on the cards also correspond. These are the correspondences for just the number cards

• Ace: Beginning, attributes of the card suit

• 2: Relationship, balance

• 3: Connections, growth

• 4: Foundation, stability

• 5: Change, challenge, imbalance

• 6: Harmony, success

• 7: Wisdom, spirituality, choices

• 8: Organization, movement, stagnation

• 9: Realization, understanding

• 10: Completion, transition to something new

On the other hand the face cards correspond with specific people or situations;

• Knave (jack) of hearts: Romantic partner; confidante

• Knave (jack) of spades: Focused, clever

• Knave (jack) of clubs: Adventurer, risk-taker

• Knave (jack) of diamonds: Grounded, serious

• Queen of hearts: Kind, nurturing woman

• Queen of spades: Honest woman

• Queen of clubs: Passionate, ambitious woman

• Queen of diamonds: Practical, helpful woman

• King of hearts: Wise, calm man

• King of spades: Calculating man

• King of clubs: Inspirational man

• King of diamonds: Hard-working, rich man

You can use these in any style of card layout instead of using the traditional tarot because they can be pricey.