The use of tarot cards for divination is quite common, however, it can take time to learn to read tarot cards as they are unfamiliar and the meanings of the cards vary from deck to deck. Using a deck of playing cards for divination can be much easier to learn, as you are already familiar with the numbers and suits on the playing cards and their meanings never change no matter what deck you use.
The Color Meanings
With your deck of cards pull out three random cards and lay them out in a row from left to right. There are eight color combinations that can come up when choosing these three cards and you will need to memorize these, as it will be the first clue to what the cards are telling you.
- Red, Black, Black: Things start out good, get a little worse, and then really get bad
- Red, Red, Black: A problem is on its way
- Red, Black, Red: There is a problem, but it will be taken care of
- Red, Red, Red: Everything is fantastic
- Black, Black, Red: Things are bad now, but do not give up because the future is brighter
- Black, Red, Red: A problem will be overcome and things will get better
- Black, Red, Black: A temporary lull in the storm, but stay aware as things may not be what they seem
- Black, Black, Black: Many problems and difficulties
Meanings of the Suits
It is the suit of the card you will look at next. All three cards cover what is going on in the present with some indication for the future. When something will happen is also shown in the suits.
- Hearts: Love, family, friends, and Spring
- Diamonds: Money, wealth, and Summer
- Clubs: Work, plans, and Autumn
- Spades: Just plain trouble and Winter
No matter what the first two cards show you, a heart on the last card lets you know that problems will be dealt with easily or something will come to you easily with little or no effort on your part.
Card Number Meanings
Now that you know how to work with the card color combinations and the meaning of the suits, the last step, before interpretation, is to learn the meanings of the numbers.
- Aces: Beginnings
- Two: Two of something or an exchange
- Three: Growth
- Four: Something stable
- Five: Represents the body
- Six: A path or trip
- Seven: Troubles
- Eight: Ideas and thoughts
- Nine: Changes
- Ten: Goals or the end of something
- Jack: Messages or a child
- Queen: Woman or truth
- King: Men or power
There are a few cards that have specific meanings which you will need to memorize too.
- Ace of Hearts: Home or family
- Ace of Diamonds: A letter
- Ace of Clubs: A goal or opportunity
- Ace of Spades: Decision or death
- Three of Spades: A loss or something is lost
- Seven of Spades: Tears and great trouble
- Nine of Hearts: A fulfilled wish
- Nine of Spades: An unfulfilled wish
- Ten of Spades: Worry
- Queen or King of Spades: A divorced person
Interpreting the Three Card Layout
You are ready to start practicing interpretation. The more practice you have, the easier the interpretations will become.
Layout the following three playing cards - the King of clubs, three of diamonds and the six of hearts. Observe the color combination first which is black, red, and red. This tells you that a problem will be overcome and things will get better.
Look at the first card, which is the King of clubs. You will combine the suit and the number, which, in this case, will be a man who has power at work since the King means a man of power and the club means work.
The second card is a three of diamonds which, when combined, shows a growth of money. The third card, the six of hearts, shows a trip with family or friends.
It is now time to weave the story the cards are showing you. In this case, what you see is a possible financial problem (color combo and the diamond) that will be overcome because your boss (the man of power at work) is giving you an unexpected (last card is a heart shows no effort from you) raise in pay in the Summer (growth of money and the diamond shows when). This raise in pay will allow you to treat your family to, perhaps, a trip to dinner or something bigger like a family vacation (trip and family).
Intuition Guidance
As you can see, divination with playing cards can be quite simple. Since the suits have more than one meaning and some of the numbers have more than one meaning, let your intuition guide you to the most likely translation of the reading. Practice and see how accurate your readings prove to be.
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