Cartomancy or Card Readings
Due to popular demand, we are going to explain the different types of decks for our readership. We get this question a lot, especially at our Day of Reader events. Please keep in mind that these are our interpretations and many other interpretations exist. The short answer is there is no best type of deck or tradition. The seeker and reader must pick what tradition seems right for them. We will try to shed some light on the world of Cartomancy.
Cartomancy is a form of Divination or fortune telling using a deck of cards. Cartomancy started in the 14th century with the advent of playing cards. Practitioners of Cartomancy are generally known as cartomancers, card readers, or simply readers.
Tarot Cards
Tarot cards are an older and more structured than other cards. A readings with Tarot cards tends to follow more rules and certain procedures than other traditions. Tarot cards also have a stronger sense of tradition and history associated with them. Tarot decks all follow the same meaning for the associated cards, regardless of the artwork on the card. Almost all Tarot card decks have 78 cards. These cards are then broken down into 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards.
There are Major Arcana cards which represent major themes and life events. These cards are archetypes and when they are pulled in a reading they carry a lot of weight and importance and answer large questions. The 56 Minor Arcana cards broken down into 4 suits. The suits are traditionally Cups, Wands, Swords and Coins ( or Pentacles). Sometimes the card designer will change a suit out to a different suit to match the theme of their deck. However call it Coins or Brooms or Stones, they will follow the overall guide of the suit type. Each suit has 14 cards; cards numbered 1-10 with a King, Queen, Knight, and Page. The minor cards help to give insight to daily life activities.
Tarot cards get a bad rap sometimes as they deal with both the negative and positive aspects of life. The meaning of Tarot cards is up to the reader or the person seeking answers. However, Tarot cards do have a more traditional meaning associated with each of the cards, so the interpretation isn’t as loose as it is with other traditions.
There are Major Arcana cards which represent major themes and life events. These cards are archetypes and when they are pulled in a reading they carry a lot of weight and importance and answer large questions. The 56 Minor Arcana cards broken down into 4 suits. The suits are traditionally Cups, Wands, Swords and Coins ( or Pentacles). Sometimes the card designer will change a suit out to a different suit to match the theme of their deck. However call it Coins or Brooms or Stones, they will follow the overall guide of the suit type. Each suit has 14 cards; cards numbered 1-10 with a King, Queen, Knight, and Page. The minor cards help to give insight to daily life activities.
Tarot cards get a bad rap sometimes as they deal with both the negative and positive aspects of life. The meaning of Tarot cards is up to the reader or the person seeking answers. However, Tarot cards do have a more traditional meaning associated with each of the cards, so the interpretation isn’t as loose as it is with other traditions.
Oracle Cards
Oracle cards have no strict rules or structure, as such the message is vey due to the guidance received by the reader from their guides. Due to this Oracle cards can be themed and designed on anything. Without the structure of other traditions, Oracle cards are often easier to learn and more intuitive. The looser interpretations requires a solid connection between the reader and their guides for accurate readings.
Oracle cards are lighter, gentler, and positive than Tarot. The guidance of Oracle cards is often more straightforward than Tarot cards. Unlike Tarot decks, Oracle cards don’t usually contain negatively associated cards.
Oracle Deck have no set number of cards, although most have between 30 and 44. These cards may contain images, words, names, even whole messages on them to help the designer convey their views on the meaning to the reader.
Many decks have a particular purpose and help focus the reading in that direction. Healing Decks, Herbal Decks, Shamanic Decks, Medicine Decks, and the most famous of them all Angel Decks. Most Themed Oracle decks are fairly evident in their focus.
Oracle cards are lighter, gentler, and positive than Tarot. The guidance of Oracle cards is often more straightforward than Tarot cards. Unlike Tarot decks, Oracle cards don’t usually contain negatively associated cards.
Oracle Deck have no set number of cards, although most have between 30 and 44. These cards may contain images, words, names, even whole messages on them to help the designer convey their views on the meaning to the reader.
Many decks have a particular purpose and help focus the reading in that direction. Healing Decks, Herbal Decks, Shamanic Decks, Medicine Decks, and the most famous of them all Angel Decks. Most Themed Oracle decks are fairly evident in their focus.
Angel Cards
Angel cards are Oracle cards with a divine, angelic theme. The reader will often tap into the angelic realm to assist in passing on the needed messages. These are often the most gentle type of cards to get a reading from.
"LENORMAND" STYLE CARD-READING DECKS
These decks are based off the most famous card reader of all time. Mademoiselle Lenormand, read cards for Napoleon Bonoparte and his wife the Empress Josephine. She devised a system of identifying playing cards with certain of life's situations. Lenormand probably told fortunes with a 32-card Euchre deck arrayed in 4 suits (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades) with 20 pip cards (A, 7, 8, 9, T), and 12 court cards (K, Q, J).
After Lenormand's death card makers created specially illustrated "Lenormand”style decks so that anyone could use her divination system without having to memorize the meanings of the playing cards. In these decks, there is a small image of the regular playing card face set into a larger color picture of the mnemonic image, with the set-number in a circle at the top.
This tradition has been updated in the later 19th century as Poker and bridge became popular and the older 32 playing card decks were replaced with the 52 playing card decks. They follow the traditions and meanings of the Lenormand closely.
After Lenormand's death card makers created specially illustrated "Lenormand”style decks so that anyone could use her divination system without having to memorize the meanings of the playing cards. In these decks, there is a small image of the regular playing card face set into a larger color picture of the mnemonic image, with the set-number in a circle at the top.
This tradition has been updated in the later 19th century as Poker and bridge became popular and the older 32 playing card decks were replaced with the 52 playing card decks. They follow the traditions and meanings of the Lenormand closely.
GYPSY WITCH FORTUNE TELLING PLAYING CARDS
This deck is an adaptation of the Lenormand method to a more modern deck of 52 playing cards. This deck uses this set uses all of the Lenormand mnemonic images, but assigns them to different cards than Lenormand did. The artwork is quite simple as only three colours (yellow, red, and black) are used. There are brief paragraphs of fortune-telling meanings printed right on each card, which makes this deck a very good learning tool or "crutch" for readers seeking to memorize the meanings for telling fortunes with a regular, unmarked deck of 52 playing cards. The deck can also be used to play any card games that require 40 pips, 12 court cards, and 2 Jokers.