Cartomancy: Encyclopedia - Cartomancy

Cartomancy

Cartomancy is a form of fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. The practice of cartomancy has been observed since playing cards first came into use in Europe in the 14th century. Some practitioners (known as cartomancers) have claimed its origins date back to Egyptian times, the art being derived from wisdom given to the ancient Egyptians by the scribe-god Thoth, although this belief is by no means common today.

A standard deck of Anglo-American playing cards (i.e. 52-card, four suit set) are used for the purpose of providing a cartomancy reading. Cartomancy, the art of divination using the standard playing deck, was the most popular form of providing "fortune telling" card readings in the 19th and 20th centuries. In recent years, however, the popularity of Tarot readings have eclipsed the popularity of the once-common cartomancy readings using standard playing cards.

A card deck is used for cartomancy divination should not be used for playing or any other purpose. It should be treated as a tool and kept in a special place. Some cartomancers also feel that the cartomancy cards should never be touched by anyone other than their owner.

Although a standard card deck is used for cartomancy, many other decks have also been designed that are intended specifically for use for divination, the best known of which are Tarot decks. Cartomancy differs from Tarot card reading, but there are many similarities and both methods seek to fulfill a similar purpose. Whichever cards are used for divination, there are specific layouts designed to tell different things. Spreads may use only one card or may use up to thirty cards.

The Tarot deck differs somewhat from the standard deck used for cartomancy. The Tarot deck consists of 22 Major Arcana cards, and 56 Minor Arcana cards (Arcana means "hidden things"). Each Minor Arcana suit consists of 4 court cards (king, queen, knight and page) along with 10 numbered, or pip, cards. The fifty-six minor cards are similar to the regular deck of playing cards most people know today, while the Major Arcana are present only in the Tarot deck.

Playing Card Suit and Tarot Suit Equivalents: Spades = Swords (power, intellect); Hearts = Cups (love, emotion); Diamonds = Coins, aka Pentacles (money, education); Clubs = Wands (hard work).

Despite its heretical reputation, the best known Tarot deck, Rider-Waite, includes a great deal of judaic and christian symbolism, from the Torah to the Pope. The symbolism in the Tarot marries this symbolism with astrological, numerological and Egyptian and Kabbalistic symbolism.

Cartomancy is essentially fortune telling by using cards, and is similar to Tarot readings. The example here shows the number 2 diamond card, which is said to be associated with Happiness. Each card is believed to have a follow on effect, one cards influences the next and so on, for example drawing the Queen of Hearts immediately before or after the 2 of Diamonds, the reader would then surmise that Happiness is associated with A Fair Woman (represented by the Queen of Hearts).

A popular methodology of a Cartomancy reading is that a court card is selected to represent the questioner, that card is returned to the deck and shuffled, all cards are laid out, 14 cards are chosen following a very specific count, with forward and backwards passes, the selected 14 cards are then used to divine a reading from, ergo: the future is told with cards.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Cartomancy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki