Every two weeks, I have a Sunday family dinner with my siblings at my parent’s house. Last month, I discovered that I’m not special at all when it comes to teaching myself how to read Tarot cards. lol In fact, I learned that both my Dad & my grandmother know how to read standard playing cards, which I found incredibly fascinating. Today, I’m super eager to inform you that you don’t need Tarot cards to look into your past, present, or future.
When my Dad was younger, he taught himself how to read cards as well as how to read palms, just like I did when I was in high school. My mom told me about a memory she had that whenever it looked like my grandma was playing solitaire, she was actually reading her own cards. My dad gave me a brand new deck of cards that he got from a casino as a present before dinner, so I could start learning ASAP. I’ve spent this month learning how to read playing cards, & last Sunday, my dad also showed me our family’s most used card spread. I then read my siblings’ & my brother’s fiancé’s cards as practice.
Historians believe that the 52 cards in a single deck of playing cards represent the 52 weeks in a year. The 13 cards per suit represent the 13 lunar cycles in a year, & the 4 card suits represent the 4 seasons in a year. Much like Tarot cards, each face card, card suit, & card number has a meaning. While Tarot card readings take into account reversals, since playing cards are mirror images, there’s no real way to know if a card should be considered “reversed”. Depending on your energy or the energy of the person you’re reading, I suggest using your intuition & knowledge on the current situation or question being asked.
SUITS
Hearts: Love & Relationships (Cups/Months/Summer)
Diamonds: Financial Issues (Pentacles/Years/Winter)
Spades: Conflict & Suffering (Swords/Weeks/Autumn)
Clubs: Big Life Changes (Wands/Days/Spring)
NUMBER & FACE CARDS
Ace: New Beginnings, Growth, Potential, & Opportunities (Missed Opportunities, Bad Timing, & Lack of Direction)
Two: Balance & Cooperation (Disharmony & Lack of Planning)
Three: Connection & Sharing (Loss & Unexpected Delays)
Four: Stability & Solid Foundation (Instability & Conflict with Others)
Five: Conflict & Competition (Avoiding conflict & Tension)
Six: Flow, Patterns, & Communication (Ignorance)
Seven: Mystery & Change (Stagnation)
Eight: Harmony, Health, & Time (Imbalance)
Nine: Growth & Wish Fulfillment (Disappointment & Idealism)
Ten: Completion (Resistance)
Jack: Jacks represent immature, young adults, or children. They are similar to a page in Tarot. They can represent small gestures or the start of something new. Jacks can also be considered as a messenger of inner thoughts, similar to a knight in Tarot.
Queen: Queens represent women, divine feminines, karmic partners, etc. of any age. They can represent motherhood & love, as well as nurturing, creativity, & introspection. Queens denote growth & personal power. They’re about emotions, intuition, & healing.
King: Kings are grown men or younger men who are mature for their age or are burdened by responsibilities. They denote mastery, authority, control & leadership. Kings are protective & commanding, but they can also be demanding, possessive, aggressive & overbearing, depending on the suit & surrounding cards.
PERSONALITY TRAITS BASED ON SUITS
Hearts: Emotional, creative, romantic, compassionate, generous, sensitive, nurturing, dependable, protective, or moody.
Diamonds: Independent, extravagant, impulsive, impatient, optimistic, dynamic, restless, analytical, intelligent, or high strung.
Spades: Powerful, intense, demanding, controlling, secretive, possessive, charming, mysterious, calculating, or detached.
Clubs: Practical, friendly, reliable, trustworthy, helpful, ambitious, enthusiastic, sensible, stable, or stubborn.
With all of the information above in mind, you can try any card spread, depending on your situation/question. Here are my favorite Tarot spreads to use from Pinterest. I would share my family’s most used card spread, but I’ve decided that it shall remain a family secret that I want to pass down to my own children one day as well as future generations. I hope this blog helps anyone who has been interested in Cartomancy, but hasn’t had the courage to pick up a Tarot or Oracle card deck yet. If you’ve been waiting for a sign from the universe to finally learn, this is it! Grab a deck of cards & let me know how it goes in a comment below.
XO Denise
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