The Tarot is a form of occult and, some say, spiritual card deck.
Originating in Italy in the 1400s, it was apparently devised for
playing a trumping card game called Tarocchi. Since the 1700s it
has been widely used for fortune telling and divination of the
future, and it is also linked by many occult and hermetic authors
to a mystical system of Hebrew Kaballah or even ancient Egyptian
spiritual beliefs.
There are hundreds of different Tarot decks in
existence, with considerable variation from deck to deck. Most
feature 78 cards, one of which is designated the Fool -- and in
most Tarot decks the remainder of the cards are divided into
three portions:
Although divination with cards seems to have originated with regular
decks of playing cards, Tarot cards are now the most popular cards
used for fortune telling, and they are also widely used as aids to
meditation, mystical development, ritual workings, and spell-craft.
THE PARLOUR SIBYL (LA SYBYLLE DES SALONS)
Late 19th century Lenormand variations include several 52
card decks -- which reflect shifting card-game tastes, as
whist, poker, and bridge supplanted Euchre in popularity
-- but packs with this many cards included do not usually
bear Lenormand's name. The best known deck of this type is
The Parlour Sibyl (also called, facetiously, "The Parisian
Tarot"). It is drawn in the clever pen-and-ink style once
fashionable among cartoonists and serious illustrators,
and it has been skillfully coloured to bring out the deft
line-work.
These pretty cards feature a large pictorial scene at the
center and a small inset playing card at the top of the
face; the playing cards are in four suits (Clubs, Diamonds,
Hearts, Spades) and are comprised of the usual 40 pip cards
(A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, T) and 12 court cards (K, Q, J).
The cards are also set-numbered from 1 through 52, and they
bear titles in French and English as an aid to interpretation.
The meanings assigned to the cards in the Parlour Sibyl do
not correspond exactly to those given in older "Lenormand"
decks. Not only are there more cards, but even cards that
appear in both types of deck have undergone slight shifts in
interpretation.
For instance, compare the 52-card Parlour Sibyl with the two
36-card Lenormand decks shown above: in the former, the Ace
of Hearts (set-number 39) shows an elaborately dressed woman
seated at a small circular table with pen, ink, and paper.
The Ace of Hearts in the latter two card decks (set-number
28) depicts a man standing in a garden, either reading a
letter he has received (in the Austrian Lenormand deck)
or with no letter (in the Lenormand deck with English
Rhymes. The Parlour Sibyl image is unequivocally
captioned "A Love Letter. Likewise, the 9 of Clubs (set-number
8) is called Enemy in the Parlour Sibyl, rather than Fox, as
in most Lenormand sets, and it shows a skulking caped figure
waiting behind a wall to pounce on an unwary strolling man
rather than a fox in the woods. The idea of danger is
retained, but in the Parlour Sibyl, there is no suggestion
of "falsity" or sly stealth, merely antagonism and aggression.
A replica of a late 19th or early 20th century French deck
drawn in pen-and-ink and coloured, with a descriptive booklet.
52 cards plus 2 Jokers, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", instruction booklet included.
GYPSY WITCH FORTUNE TELLING PLAYING CARDS
An adaptation of the Lenormand method to a 52-card whist or
poker deck, this set uses all of the Lenormand mnemonic images,
but assigns them to different cards than Lenormand did, and also
includes extra, more modern mnemonics (such as the Railroad) to
correspond to the additional cards in the set. The artwork is
quite crude, in only three colours (yellow, red, and black),
but 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.
The Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards are a truly
deviant deck. These cards are set-numbered in random order, as
if they had been pre-shuffled, and the meanings assigned to
each card differ greatly from those in other sets. The Ace
of Hearts, which is otherwise almost universally a
significator of new love or a love letter, is set-number 11
and is here called The Fox and "augurs distrust of
acquaintances who are seeking to betray you", while the 9 of
Clubs, which in other decks is a sign of falsity (The Fox)
or enmity, is set-number 26 and is here called the Park --
and "foretells a new love" while it simultaneously warns
of "false friends."
The negativity inherent in these samples from the Gypsy
Witch set, whereby the benevolent Ace of Hearts acquires the
same warning of falsity normally only found in the 9 of
Clubs, is carried out throughout the entire deck. I cannot
help but think that this was a deliberate artifice on the
part of a scheming card reader who wished to prey upon the
insecurity and fears of clients, perhaps as a way of
softening them up for the so-called "Gypsy
candle-burning scam". The Gypsy Witch set is
historically important because it is the best-known fortune
telling card set in America -- but it is without a doubt
both the aesthetically ugliest and emotionally the most
depressing card set ever used in divination.
52 cards plus 2 Jokers, 2 1/2' x 3 1/2", instruction booklet included.
UNNUMBERED "CARTOMANCY" AND "GYPSY" ORACLE CARD DECKS
In the late 19th century, a third system of card reading
arose in Europe, using unnumbered emblematic cards. Although many of the
images in these decks derive from
Lenormand style decks,
the cards are not set-numbered and they do not contain insets of playing cards. They generally
come in packs of 36, 48, or 52 cards. Although
They are sometimes sold under names like "Gipsy Cards,"
or "Cartomancy Cards." Despite the name "Gipsy" in the
title, these Oracle Cards should not be confused with the Lenormand style 52-card
Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards described above.
In these "Cartomancy" or "Oracle Card" decks, the cards are not numbered or
ordered in any way. They do not contain inset the pip or
court cards from a regular deck of playing cards, nor do
they include a special trump suit like Tarot cards. However,
they still feature many of the images that were devised by
Lenormand and her successors -- figures such as the Widower,
the Letter, the House, and the Thief. The images on these
cards are both allegorical and direct: Hope is a woman with
an anchor, Love is enacted by Cupid, Malady shows a woman
sick in bed, and Falseness is still the Fox of Lenormand's
devising.
Unnumbered decks of this type are without a doubt among the most beautifully
illustrated of all the non-Tarot cards used for fortune telling.
Many of them seem to have originated in Austria.
The oldest of the unnumbered Austrian "Cartomancy" sets contain 32 cards,
like the original Lenormand Euchre decks,
but as time went on, more cards were added to cover more of
life's conditions, so there are decks with 32, 36, and 52 cards.
Examples of these sets include the 32-card so-called
Biedermeier Fortune Telling Cards (the title is modern and
simply refers to the Biedermeier art style of the cards),
the early 20th century 36-card Gipsy Fortune Telling Cards
(Zigeuner Warsagekarten -- not be confused with the 52-card
Gypsy Witch Playing Cards), and the 52-card so-called Art
Deco Fortune Telling Cards (the name again is simply a
descriptor of the 1930s-era painted artwork).
BIEDERMEIER FORTUNE TELLING CARDS
The classic old-time Cartomancy set from Vienna, with stiffly
formal pen-and-ink art in the brightly coloured Biedermeier
style, featuring evocative 19th century figures of such typical
and allegorical cartomancy images as the House, Judge, Sweetheart,
Fox, Death, Merriment, Letter, and Desire. Each unnumbered card
is identified at the bottom with its name in 6 languages: German,
English, French, Italian, Hungarian, and Croatian. A 68-page
book of cartomancy instructions in German, English, and
French is included. This is an excellent self-interpreting
cartomancy deck for old-fashioned card readers.
32 cards, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", instruction booklet included, $5.00
GIPSY FORTUNE TELLING CARDS (ZIGEUNER WARSAGEKARTEN)
An Edwardian era Cartomancy set from Vienna, with charming
watercoloured pen-and-ink art depicting circa 1900 era images
of such evocative figures as the House, Judge, Sweetheart, Fox,
Death, Merriment, Letter, and Desire. Each unnumbered card is
identified at the bottom with its name in 6 languages: German,
English, French, Italian, Hungarian, and Croatian. A 68-page
book of cartomancy instructions in German, English, and
French is included. This is a delightful self-interpreting
cartomancy deck for beginning card readers.
36 cards, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", instruction booklet included, $5.00
ART DECO FORTUNE TELLING CARDS
An expansion of the Viennese Biedermeier and "Gipsy" Cartomancy
sets to a full complement of 52 cards. The old standbys -- the
House, Judge, Sweetheart, Fox, Death, Merriment, Letter, and
Desire -- are still here, but they have been joined by added
images relating to 20th century social concerns (Treason, the
Foreign Woman, Pride). The art is vivid and poster-like, in the
colourful graphic style of the 1930s. Each unnumbered card is
identified at the bottom with its name in 6 languages: German,
English, French, Italian, Hungarian, and Croatian. Because the
pack fills its box tightly, no instruction booklet is included,
but the cards can be read using the booklets from the Gipsy or
Biedermeier card sets. This is a wonderful self-interpreting
cartomancy deck for professional card readers and for fans of
Art Deco poster-style graphics.
52 cards, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", 2 instruction cards in German, $5.00
PLAYING CARD DECKS
Although most people think only of games when they see a
regular deck of playing cards, the truth is that anyone can,
with a little practice, use these cards for divination.
In some ways the employment of playing cards for divination purposes is
more impressive to a client than the use of pictorial Tarot
or Cartomancy cards, but in other ways there are drawbacks.
The upside of using non-pictorial cards -- from the reader's
point of view -- is that the reader appears both mysterious and
erudite; there is an aura of "fate" or "destiny" present as
the reader describes the attributes of the cards. Another benefit
is that since all interpretations must come directly from the skill of the
reader, there is no way that a picture can supply the client
with an emotionally charged false attraction or false aversion. (The matter of
clients forming false aversions to certain
Tarot card images is sometimes
covered by readers who deliberately extract the Death card from their decks before
reading for new clients, in order to avoid making a
"scary" first impression should that card turn up.)
The major downside to reading with non-pictorial cards -- again from the reader's
point of view -- is that a great deal of memorization is required, for there are no
allegorical emblems to give the reader a hint as to what the
cards imply. Another drawback is that a hostile or skeptical
client unfamiliar with a traditional system of diivinatory playing card attributions,
such as Lenormand's, may wrongly think that the reader is
simply faking a series of disconnected predictions as part
of a cold reading candle-burning scam.
Of course, any
Lenormand
style cartomancy decks that include playing card insets on their faces
can also be used for playing any
number of games --- and some people consider decks that have
been used in fortune telling to be especially lucky for
games of chance.
TAROCK CARDS
The Austrian version of the game of Tarot is called Tapp
Tarot or Tarock. Like most Tarot variants, it is a bidding
game for four players. The Austrian Tarock deck contains 22
trumps (called tarocks), of which 21 are numbered (I - XXI)
and one (the Fool or "Excuse" -- called the Skus in German)
is unnumbered. However, at this point, the game of Tarock
deviates from most Tarot decks because the four suits are
the same as those more often seen in playing card decks
(Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs instead of Tarot's
traditional Coins, Wands, Cups, and Swords). But that's not
all -- Tarock is also unlike either Tarot or the common game
playing decks because the four suits of cards are distributed
in unequal numbers and there is a 4th court card, called the
Cavalier or Knight (designated (C) included. In the suits of
Spades and Clubs, the cards are K, Q, C, J, T, 9, 8, 7. In
Hearts and Diamonds, the cards are K, Q, C, J, A, 2, 3, 4.
This set is an exact replica of a late 19th century Tarock
deck from Vienna, with 16 elaborate full-colour court cards,
16 plain pip cards, and 22 extremely unusual double-ended
trump cards which can be used for fortune telling according
to their imagery. The finely engraved figures on the Tarock
trumps are quite different from those on Italian and French
Tarot sets and thus, for serious students of the occult Tarot,
a close study of the 22 Tarock trumps will repay the effort.
For example, Trump XIX shows, in one direction, a turbaned
Turkish pasha smoking a hookah in a garden beside a mosque
as a young African boy waits on him -- and, when reversed,
a family of itinerant Bohemian Gypsies (dancing mother,
lute-playing father, and flag-waving infant), performing
for spare change beside a walled garden, with all of
their worldly possessions piled next to them in a trunk.
Likewise, trump XVI depicts, in one direction, a barefoot
Gypsy woman sitting outside her makeshift tent, reading the
palm of an Austrian peasant girl whose shepherd boyfriend
looks on --- and, reversed, an Alpine huntsman with a
horn chuckling a very reluctant farm girl under her chin
as she wrings her hands and looks away toward a flowing water
trough, a stone barn, and a ripening field of grain.
Because Tarock is a regionally popular game, these cards are
difficult to find in America and are imported from Austria.
The rules of the Tarock game are unique and hard to come by,
so we include a photocopy describing the manner of play, from
"The Oxford Dictionary of Card Games" by David Parlett.
54 cards, 2 1/2" x 4 1/2", instructions for play included.
SPANISH PLAYING CARDS (NAIPES)
Spanish game card decks contain 48 cards arrayed in 4 suits
that resemble Tarot cards (Coins, Batons, Cups, and Swords).
In each suit the decorative pip cards are numbered 1 (Ace)
through 9, and there are 3 full-figure court cards (Jack,
Cavalier, and King), numbered 10 through 12. Two unnumbered
cards (either Jokers or, in this case, cards depicting the
enormous 19th century Fournier playing card factory in Spin)
complete the deck. The artwork is vivid and graphic, with
wonderfully harmonious coloration, but be aware that at 48
cards, this deck is designed for games like Hombre, Malilla
(Manilla), Trappola, and Short-Pack Poker. Spanish playing
cards are also employed in card reading, of course, and are
used for that purpose by Latin American fortune tellers.
48 cards plus 2 Jokers, 2 1/2" x 3 3/4".
OLD TIME CHRISTMAS ANGELS PLAYING CARDS
Charming set of 54 vintage angel postcards on playing
cards. Great stocking stuffer for "angelic" friends.
52 cards plus 2 Jokers, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", descriptive card included.
RAVEN PLAYING CARDS, TWIN-PACK
Two complete poker size decks (1 Blue Back and
1 Red Back); for play or fortune telling. The
Ace of Spades depicts a Raven, as shown;
the two Jokers show the Soldiers' and Sailors'
Monument in Indianapolis, Indiana.
52 cards plus 2 Jokers, 2 1/2' x 3 1/2"
ANTIQUE CARDS OF DESTINY (LE JEU DU DESTIN ANTIQUE)
This learning tool for card readers can be played as a
Euchre deck. It is described more thoroughly above, under
the heading for
Lenormand style card decks
32 cards, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", 104 page instruction booklet
by J. F. Simon, half in German and half in English.
GYPSY WITCH FORTUNE TELLING PLAYING CARDS
This learning tool for card readers can be played as a
Whist, Bridge, or Poker deck. It is described above, under
the heading for
Lenormand style card decks
52 cards plus 2 Jokers, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", instruction booklet included.
THE PARLOUR SIBYL (LA SYBYLLE DES SALONS)
This learning tool for card readers can be played as a
whist, bridge, or poker deck. It is described above, under
the heading for
Lenormand style card decks
52 cards plus 2 Jokers, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", instruction booklet included.
To order Tarot cards, Cartomancy decks, and Playing Cards for fortune telling from the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.,
click on the link of your choice:
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