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: four suits of numbered cards (also known as lesser arcana, the pips, or the minor trumps), four suits of court cards (also called the face cards), and a series of non-suited emblematic cards that may be sequentially numbered, called the major trumps, trionfi, or major arcana. 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.

Further instructional information on Tarot Cards can be found on this page:
Cartomancy

Tarot of Marseilles
Traditional woodcut style cards reprinted from an old French deck. 78 cards, 2 3/4' x 4 3/4", instruction booklet included.

Oswald Wirth Tarot, Golden
Reprinted in bright metallic colours from Wirth's stunningly original designs; includes letters of the Hebrew alphabet. 78 cards, 2 3/4' x 5 1/4", instruction booklet included.

Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, English
First published in 1910; art by Pamela Colman Smith under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite; the most popular Tarot deck. See also Waite's book, A Pictorial Key to the Tarot. 78 cards, 2 3/4' x 4 3/4", instruction booklet included.

Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, Spanish
First published in 1910; art by Pamela Colman Smith under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite; the most popular Tarot deck. See also Waite's book, A Pictorial Key to the Tarot. 78 cards, 2 3/4' x 4 3/4", instruction booklet included.

Swiss 1JJ Tarot
Reprinted in full colour from woodcuts based on a very old Swiss Tarot deck; popular with European card readers. 78 cards, 2 3/4' x 4 3/4", instruction booklet included.

The most famous card reader of all time was Mademoiselle Lenormand, who devised a system of identifying playing cards with certain of life's situations, and who read cards for Napoleon Bonoparte and his wife the Emperess Josephine. 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 colour picture of the mnemonic image, with the set-number in a circle at the top.

Further instructional information on Lenormand Style Cards can be found on this page:
Cartomancy

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 sp-called Oracle Card 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. They are sometimes sold under names like "Gypsy Cards," "Oracle Cards," or "Cartomancy Cards," but despite the name "Gipsy" in the title, these cards should not be confused with the Lenormand style 52-card Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Playing Cards described above.

Further instructional information on Gypsy and Unnumberd Cartomancy Cards can be found on this page:
Cartomancy

Art Deco Fortune Telling Cards
Expands the Biedermeier and "Gipsy" Cartomancy sets to include 20th century social concerns; vivid and poster-like 1930s art. 52 cards, 2 1/2' x 3 1/2", 2 instruction cards in German.

Gipsy Fortune Telling Cards (Zigeuner Warsagekarten)
Edwardian "Gypsy" Cartomancy deck from Vienna, with charming watercoloured pen-and-ink art depicting evocative images. 36 cards, 2 1/2' x 3 1/2", instruction booklet included.

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 their employment for this purpose is more impressive to a client than the use of pictorial Tarot or Cartomancy cards, because there are no pictures to give the reader a hint as to what the cards foretell. Of course these cards 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.

Further instructional information on Playing Card Decks can be found on this page:
Cartomancy

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.

The Playing Card Oracles Divination Deck
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.

Spanish Playing Cards
Suits resemble Tarot (Coins, Batons, Cups, and Swords). Decorative pips are Ace - 9; Jack, Cavalier, and King are numbered 10 - 12. 48 cards plus 2 Jokers, 2 1/2' x 3 3/4".

Tarock (Tarocchi) Playing Cards
16 full colour court cards, 16 plain pip cards, and 22 double-ended trump cards; for play or fortune telling. 54 cards, 2 1/2" x 4 1/2", instructions for play included.

Although runes were apparently originally devised as an alphabetic system by Nordic people, each rune has a meaning, and thus they have become quite popular for use in divination, especially by means of rune stones.

Scrying is the ancient art of receiving messages and prophesying through visions obtained by looking into shiny surfaces, including polished stones, mirrors, crystal balls, and even pools of liquid. The most popular devices are crystal balls -- including both coloured and clear ones, made of natural stone or glass -- and scrying stones, traditionally made of semi-precious or precious stone, of which the hands-down favorite has always been black Obsidian.

Pendulum divination, like dowsing with wands and rods, is an ancient practice that is found in many forms around he world. Pendulums are used to answer yes / no questions; to "dowse" on maps to the location of treasure, lost objects, or missing people; to determine the sex of an unborn fetus, and to diagnose diseases by working them over the patient.

The classic tear-drop or plumb-bob shape is the most popular form of stone or metal pendulum. Economically prices, yet made from genuine semi-precious stones, these pendulums are perfect for beginner or experienced worker alike. Colour and pattern of natural stone will vary

Spirit Boards, also called Talking Boards or Planchette Boards, are used for communication with the dead or other spiritual beings. There are many kinds of boards, but without a doubt the best-known is the Ouija Board manufactured by Parker Brothers, which can be used for fortune telling, divination, or to establish contact with spirits.

Divination by means of tea leaves or coffee grounds is an ages-old practice especially favoured by women, who excel at it. There are essentially three systems in use: readings of the symbolic image-patterns seen in the leaves or grounds, readings that combine symbolic tea leaf images with zodiacal and planetary positions demarked within the cup and saucer, and readings that combine symbolic tea leaf images with cartomancy (playing card reading) images located within the cup. We carry a limited stock of VINTAGE and ANTIQUE collector's tea leaf or fortune telling cups and saucer sets, including antiques such as Red Rose Tea promotionals, Alfred Meakin, J & G Meakin, Aynsley, Royal Kendal, etc., and more modern vintage-style reproductions. These antique and reproduction vintage-style Fortune Teller tea leaf reading cup and saucer sets range in price from $25.00 to $100.00 or more, depending on age, type, rarity, and condition.

Condition of all tea cup and saucer sets is excellent, which means there are no chips, no cracks, no crazing, no loss of gilt gold edges UNLESS NOTED. All prices are for CUP AND SAUCER SET; we have no loose cups and no loose saucers. Name on cup or brochure, pottery maker, country of origin, and year of manufacture are listed when known.

See All Fortune Teller Teacups, Including Unlisted Pieces Not In Stock Or For Sale At This Time.