Playing cards for tarot

*not my work got this from the Link; http://www.ehow.com/how_2254013_tarot-regular-deck-playing-cards.html , this is for those that can't use a tarot deck for whatever reason or for those who just want to try something different*
  
If you are interested in learning Tarot, you will be very interested to learn that the Tarot originated from a regular deck of playing cards.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

things you'll need:
A deck of playing cards
An open mind
A friend that you can practice on *you can try it on yourself if wanted*
A quiet, clean place

Instructions:

1. Sometimes a reading on a stranger is better than reading for a friend, because with the friend, you know about them. However for practicing purposes, lets use the friend. You want to make sure you are in a quiet place with your friend.

2. Relax, breath, and clear your minds from distractions. When you are conducting this type of reading, you should not have anything on your mind. Just focus on the person you are reading for, as well as the cards in your hand

3. With in these cards, their are many stories to be told. You have alot of possibilities. We are going to first cover the possibilities for someone that is first starting out, or for someone at an intermediate level. One spread you may use, is while focusing on your friends question, or if no question is asked, just focus on your friend, and the cards that you have. Net you are going to want to shuffle the cards in your hands, like you are mixing them up. Keep shuffling until you feel you should stop. When you feel you should stop, lay out one card face down to the left, one card face down to the right, and one more card face down to the right. You may then bring your card that is on the left face up, read the meaning, repeat this step in on the second and third cards. You will then take these cards, and put them together to make a mini story.

The basic card meanings are as follows :

Hearts:
Ace- Love, beginnings,happiness,friendship
King: fair haired man, affectionate and generous, but impetuous
Queen: fair haired woman, trustworthy
Jack: fair haired young person, a good friend
10: good fortune, happiness
9: desires come true
8: invitations, but also partings
7: someone is unreliable
6: unexpected good fortune, generosity
5: jealousy, indecision
4: changes, possible travel or postponements
3: need for caution
2: success, friendship

Clubs:
Ace: harmony, property, achievements, love
King: dark haired man, honest, open
Queen: dark haired woman, strong, helpful, attractive
Jack: a reliable friend
10: money from an unexpected source, good luck or a gift
9: a new romance
8: opposition, danger of recklessness
7: prosperity, though a danger of romantic interference
6: business success
5: help from a friend or spouse
4: bad change of fortune
3: good marriage or alliance
2: disappointment and opposition

Diamonds:
Ace: money, a ring
King: fair haired man, stubborn and powerful
Queen: fair haired woman, flirtatious, sophisticated, witty
Jack: a relative, someone not quite reliable
10: journey, changes usually bringing wealth
9: opportunities and surprises, usually financial
8: late marriage or new relationship, unexpected money
7: a gift
6: a reconciliation, a warning against a possible second marriage
5: successful meetings, particularly in business
4: an inheritance, a change for the better
3: legal or domestic battles
2: a love affair becomes more important than it was

Spades:
Ace: conflicts, a difficult love affair 
King: dark haired man, ambitious, usually successful 
Queen: dark haired woman, seductive or unscrupulous 
Jack: dark haired young man, well meaning person 
10: worry
9: bad luck, can mean delays or quarrels 
8: disappointments and opposition
 7: a warning against possible loss of friendship 
6: an improvement in the person's life
 5: anxiety, setbacks, interferences 
4: jealousy, business troubles 
3: partings, possibly due to faithlessness
 2: scandal, gossip, danger of deceit

Tips & Warnings

You may use just about any spread you wish for this. I just gave an example for beginners. You need to put the story together, for example, Lets say I drew the ace of hearts, with the king of hearts, and the queen of hearts, this means someone is getting married. Their is a such thing as suite combination meanings, for example a male and a female of the same suit together in the same reading means someone is getting married, or it is talking about someone that is already married. If you ever want a professional reading from me go to http://www.saraclairtarot.com

Their are more meanings, and allot more to learn, I will continue to post articles on the subject.

Never let anyone else touch your cards
**********************************************************************

Also I'd like to add if you decipher the cards to have a different meaning then the ones posted, always go with your own and follow your intuition. Like for example I refer to the ace of spades to death in addition to the others listed beside it.

Login or Signup to reply to this post.

*again not my work, from the link: http://www.cafeastrology.com/fortunetellingcards.html* 

It's All in the Cards

 As a teenager, I came across an old fortune-telling magazine that featured a divination method using a regular deck of playing cards. This method appealed to me because the cards were related to Astrology. In fact, the four suits were associated with the four elements (Fire, Earth, Air, and Water). 

Long before people used cards to play games, they were used to foretell the future. In fact, playing cards were invented for divination purposes.

Although there are different ways to approach cartomancy, we will show you a simple method and lay out the basic meanings attached to each playing card below.

Once you know the basic meanings of the playing cards, you can choose a spread that is right for you. In fact, you can even choose to select only one card out of a deck to get a fast and easy "answer" to your problem, if you so desire.

First things first, the suits (Hearts, Clubs, Spades, and Diamonds) are associated with the four elements, as follows:

 


Hearts - Water

Clubs - Fire

Diamonds - Earth

Spades - Air



What Each Playing Card Means:

Ace of Hearts Love and happiness. The home, a love letter. This card is a particularly favorable card that indicates troubles and problems lifting.
King of Hearts A fair-haired man with a good nature; or a man with Water signs predominating in his chart. Fair, helpful advice. Affectionate, caring man. This man helps you out without much talk. His actions reveal his kindness and concern.
 Queen of Hearts A fair-haired woman with a good nature; or a woman with Water signs predominating in her chart. Kind advice. Affectionate, caring woman. Sometimes, this card can indicate the mother or a mother figure.
Jack of Hearts A warm-hearted friend. A fair-haired youth; or a young person with Water signs predominating in his or her chart. Often this points to a younger admirer.
10 of Hearts Good luck, success. This is an important card that suggests good fortune after difficulty.
9 of Hearts The card of wishes. A wish/dream fulfilled. Look to the card just preceding this one to determine what the querent desires.
8 of Hearts Unexpected gift or visit; an invitation to a party.
7 of Hearts Someone whose interest in you is unreliable; someone with fickle affections for you. This card can indicate lovesickness.
6 of Hearts A sudden wave of good luck. Someone takes care of you, takes warm interest in you.
5 of Hearts Jealousy; some ill-will from people around you.
4 of Hearts Travel, change of home or business.
3 of Hearts Love and happiness when the entire spread is generally favorable. In a difficult spread, this can indicate emotional problems and an inability to decide who to love.
2 of Hearts A warm partnership or engagement. This is a very favorable card that indicates strength and support coming from a partner.

Ace of Clubs Wealth, prosperity, unexpected money/gain. However, in a difficult spread, this money may disappear almost as quickly as it appears.
King of Clubs Dark-haired, kind-hearted man; or a man with Fire predominating in his chart. A generous, spirited man.
 Queen of Clubs Dark-haired, confident woman; or a woman with Fire predominating in her chart. She may give you good advice.
Jack of Clubs A dark-haired or fiery youth. Popular youth who is good-hearted and playful. Can also indicate an admirer.
10 of Clubs Business success. Good luck with money. A trip taken now may result in a new friend or love interest.
9 of Clubs Achievement; sometimes a wealthy marriage or a sudden windfall.
8 of Clubs Work/business problems that may have to do with jealousy. This is generally thought to be quite unfavorable.
7 of Clubs Business success, although there may be problems with the opposite sex. A change in business that may have been expected or earned, such as a promotion.
6 of Clubs Financial aid or success.
5 of Clubs New friendships, alliances are made.
4 of Clubs Beware of dishonesty or deceit; avoid blind acceptance of others at this time. 
3 of Clubs Love and happiness; successful marriage; a favorable long-term proposition. A second chance, particularly in an economical sense.
2 of Clubs Obstacles to success; malicious gossip.

Ace of Spades Misfortune; sometimes associated with death or, more often, a difficult ending.
King of Spades Dark-haired man; or a man with Air predominating in his chart. An ambitious man, perhaps self-serving.
 Queen of Spades Widowed or divorced woman; or a woman with Air predominating in her chart.
Jack of Spades A youth who is hostile or jealous.
10 of Spades Worry; bad news.
9 of Spades Illness, accident, bad luck. The querent is at his/her personal low.
8 of Spades Temptation, misfortune, danger, upsets.
7 of Spades Advice that is best not taken; loss. There is some obstacle to success, and this indicates that obstacles may be coming from within the querent.
6 of Spades Small changes and improvements.
5 of Spades Opposition and obstacles that are temporary; a blessing in disguise. Sometimes indicates a negative or depressed person.
4 of Spades Small worries, problems. Financial difficulties, personal lows.
3 of Spades Breaks in relationships. Sometimes indicates that a third person is breaking into a relationship somehow.
2 of Spades Breaks in relationships; deceit. A break in an important process in the querent's life. If the question concerns a particular romantic interest, this is considered a warning card - infidelity or separation is quite likely.

Ace of Diamonds Change; a message, often about money, and usually good news.
King of Diamonds Fair-haired or graying man, or a man with Earth predominating in his chart. A man of authority, status, or influence.
 Queen of Diamonds Fair-haired woman; or a woman with Earth predominating in her chart. A gossip.
Jack of Diamonds A youth, possibly in uniform. Or, a jealous person who may be unreliable. A person who brings news, generally negative, but relatively minor.
10 of Diamonds A change in financial status, often for the better.
9 of Diamonds A new business deal; travel; restlessness; a change of residence.
8 of Diamonds New job; change in job situation. The young or the old may find love on a trip.
7 of Diamonds An argument concerning finances, or on the job. Generally expected to be resolved happily.
6 of Diamonds Relationship problems, arguments. Separation.
5 of Diamonds Happiness and success. A change for the better. A birth, or good news for a child. A good time to start new projects.
4 of Diamonds Financial upswing; an older person may give good advice.
3 of Diamonds A legal letter. Be tactful with others in order to avoid disputes.
2 of Diamonds A business partnership; a change in relationship; gossip.

 

The Spreads

 

The basic idea for laying out a spread is to shuffle the cards as you think of your question or problem, and then draw cards in a particular order and lay them out on the table before you. You can make your own "fortune telling" session as simple or as complex as you please: 

Draw only one card for a simple and fast answer to a burning question. 

A common spread involves drawing three cards -- the first represents the past, the second shows the situation in the present, and the third reveals the outcome, or future of the matter.

Some will do a larger spread when looking for a general outlook for a person. For this method, draw three cards for each of these categories: Yourself, Your Family, Your Friends, What You Expect, What You Don't Expect, and The Outcome.

Use your own categories, tailored to your question.

Interesting Notes About Playing Cards

There are thirteen cards in each of the four suits, corresponding to the 13 lunar months in a year. Fifty-two cards correspond to fifty-two weeks in a year.

Hearts correspond to the element of water, and signify love, friendship, happiness, and domestic concerns. Generally speaking, they are "happy" cards.

Clubs correspond to the element of fire, and generally signify business, ambition, and achievement issues. They generally indicate success and happiness.

Diamonds correspond to the element of earth, and generally signify career, and money issues.

Spades correspond to the element of air, and generally signify gossip, challenges, messages, and upsets.



 

Suggested Further Reading on Cartomancy:

Playing Cards: Predicting Your Future (Astrology Complete Guide)

This book interprets each playing card's significance, and offers a variety of fortune telling spreads.

This was really helpful, as I have yet to come out of the broom closet. But keeping things isn't the problem, it's buying them. Thanks again

Blessings

actually from a tarot parspective cups= hearts

diamons= wands

spades= swords

clubs= pentacles/coins

thanks im not out of the "broom" closet either so very helpful