Age of Witchery Playing Cards Guide

Portions adapted from Cartomancy in Folk Witchcraft by Roger J. Horne

INTRODUCTION

Folk cartomancy has evolved out of the common folk magics and customs of the people rather than the elite. Its methods and approaches are often simple, but are incredibly diverse. Cartomancy is and always has been a wild body of practices, fiercely varied in approach and even personal to the practitioner. By learning methods and approaches and tailoring them to our own practice, the witch is connected to a body of skills that are cunning rather than consumerist, relying on methods that can translate into reading any deck of playing cards at all.

Evidence suggests the existence of diverse folk-magical practices involving playing cards long before the modern tarot systems we know today. La Spagna Istoriata, published in 1519, makes reference to forming a magic circle and “throwing the cards.” Pierre de l’Ancre, in 1622, notes the use of cards to forge pacts with devils. The alleged witches Angela and Isabella Bellochio were said, in the 17th century, to use the cards extensively in their rites. Leland’s Aradia: Gospel of the Witches of Italy, lists the ability to “divine with cards” as a gift given to those who follow the path of witchcraft. Many surviving chapbooks from the 1800s, including The Spaewife and Mother Bunch’s Golden Fortune-teller provide clear evidence that cartomancy was popular in Scotland and other parts of the UK during the early modern period. The fact that the methods and interpretations provided differ substantially across sources is only further evidence of a diverse, thriving, organic body of traditions that varied not only by culture but by individual practitioner, much like the cartomantic arts today.

This guide offers one system for interpreting the cards, but the wise cartomancer will spend years developing relationships with the playing card deck, honing and crafting their own system that speaks to them culturally and personally. Modern cartomancy is not a fixed tradition, but an evolving one, and this is as it should be.

SOME KEYS

New practitioners of the art of cartomancy are eager creatures, and so the following keys may offer a glimpse into how the language of the cards comes together to form insight and advice in a reading. These keys are in no way complete or exhaustive due to the simple fact that each card contains multiple facets. It is far better (and ultimately mandatory for success) that the reader eventually form their own relationships with the cards by carefully studying the inherent patterns of the deck, which are admittedly complex, but also richer and more layered than any “keyword” can ever be.

Suit of Clubs: Creativity, projects, work, ingenuity.
Suit of Hearts: Relationships, friends, emotions.
Suit of Spades: Challenges, suffering, learning.
Suit of Diamonds: Rewards, assets, treasures.

Aces: Starting a new journey.
Twos: Relationships, trading, conversations.
Threes: Growth, new development. Potentially good outcomes.
Fours: Stability, groundedness.
Fives: Sudden chaos, a lesser misfortune, changes.
Sixes: Rewards harvested. Favors returned. Good fortune.
Sevens: Ill intent. Cruelty. Greater misfortune.
Eights: A journey. Progression. Change of scenery.
Nines: Blessings bestowed. Very good fortune.
Tens: Completion. An ending. Achievement. A release.

Jacks: Openness to learning.
Queens: Wisdom and cunning. True mastery.
Kings: Power and conviction.

THE NUMBER CARDS

The Four Suits

The modern playing card deck is divided into four suits: hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs. Each of these represents an aspect of the querent’s life.

Hearts speak to relationships, friendships, family, love, and our connections to others. These relationships can be fraught or harmonious, depending on the iteration of the number signs. An overwhelming presence of hearts in a reading signifies that relationships are at the heart of the matter at hand.

Spades are the most difficult suit. They represent challenges, trials, troubles, and conflict. Conversely, since it is only by suffering the new and unknown that we are able to grow, they represent evolution and learning. If many spades are on the table in a reading, the querent may be facing a particularly rough patch. This is best met with an openness to change and willingness to learn.

Diamonds are assets, but this can be a tricky suit. We typically think of assets as monetary or physical in nature, but this is often not the case. Our assets are the treasures we’ve acquired, both literal and figurative. For many of us, our intellect, skills, and learning can be our assets. For particularly manipulative, scheming persons, people can even be considered assets. What the querent considers their “treasures” may be open to interpretation. If the reading is overrun with diamonds, this is a time to think carefully about the resources at one’s disposal and to use them wisely, whatever they may be.

Clubs speak to power and influence and those endeavors associated with these parts of life. People encounter power dynamics most frequently in a work environment through interactions with supervisors and subordinates, but power dynamics can also be encountered in legal matters, social situations, and creative projects. Whereas hearts concern how people feel, clubs concern how people are put to work, how their effort is driven. A mass of clubs in a reading might signify ambitions at work.

Numerical Influences

The bulk of the deck is made up of numbered cards. These iterations of one through ten speak to various circumstances in life that may express themselves through each of the suits. The skilled reader will be keen to observe that these powers may express themselves in a multitude of ways; rather than trying to memorize concrete circumstances like divorce or illness in association with a particular card, it is wise to consider the transforming current that underlies such an event and how that numeric force may express itself in each of the suits in various ways. In the Age of Witchery Playing Card Deck, number cards include a pale chalk glyph for ease of recognition when reading patterns in a spread. These glyphs are numerological in nature, usually relying on the number of lines correlating with the cards number and the associative properties of the figures formed by those lines.

The aces most frequently represent beginnings or invitations. Depending on the position of this card in the spread, the querent may be invited to embrace a new chapter in life. The ace of diamonds, for instance, could represent a new financial opportunity or an opportunity to begin acquiring a new “asset” of some kind, which can often refer to a skill. In a negative or “releasing” position, this card may indicate the need to let go of a fledgling idea that just isn’t going to come to fruition. Many aces indicate a wealth of new opportunities, but also a lack of grounding and connection to what came before. The querent may benefit from connecting new efforts to old ones so as not to throw the baby out with the bath-water.

The twos speak to pairings and partnerships. Most often, this involves two people, but it may also describe a querent experiencing ambivalence between two perspectives within themselves. For example, the two of hearts most frequently describes a relationship that is kind and loving (though not always). The two of spades might indicate a partnership or collaborative effort fraught with adversity and pain. A great many twos in a spread might signal the feeling of being stretched between many people demanding attention.

Three lines form a triangle, the first stable shape that is also upward-reaching. Threes usually indicate a period of learning and exploration of some kind. Something is coming into its own and taking root, and the nature of that something will tell us if this is a favorable or unfavorable card. The three of clubs, for instance, may reveal a querent with social or occupational status on the rise. Depending on the position, it may also represent an opportunity for growth. A plethora of threes may tell us the querent is growing in many directions at once and might benefit from prioritizing efforts. In general, this is a favorable card and is sometimes referred to as the first of the “three harmonies,” which also include the six and the nine.

The four, like a square made up of four points and four lines connecting them, represents stability. This can be positive if it represents something in which we desire stability, but it can also represent a state of stasis or stagnation. The four of diamonds can indicate financial stability, which is almost always a good thing; the four of spades can represent a problem that simply won’t go away, and this is rarely desirable. Challenges are necessary to feel alive, and the presence of too many fours can indicate a querent who feels “stuck.”

The five topples the structure of the four. It is the first mobile shape: the pentagon. In the four, we have perfect symmetry; the five ruins this by throwing something unexpected into the mix. Fives communicate challenges and surprises, an element of chaos. The five of clubs might mean the destabilization of something in one’s workplace or profession that requires a new approach. The five of hearts can indicate a potentially troublesome change in a relationship. Although the five is one of two discord cards (the other discord being the seven), the five is the lesser of the two and usually represents a challenge that can be overcome. These are often moments of learning and growth disguised as unpleasant circumstances. The five is best met with courage and flexibility, a willingness to try something new.

In the six, we return to the symmetry of the four, but now, we have sufficient lines to form a cube, a shape that is three-dimensional, stable, and full of harmony. Something is not only growing, but ready to be harvested. It has finally taken form. This is often related to an effort sown in the querent’s past. For example, the six of hearts may signal that a past debt of some kind is about to be repaid or an investment of time and effort returned. A great deal of sixes in a spread may be a strong suggestion that the querent seize opportunities now before they rot on the vine. The harvest cannot wait. This is the second of the three cards referred to as “the three harmonies,” and it is usually a good sign.

The seven brings us to the more sinister of the cards known as the “two discords.” Although the five represented a challenging surprise, the seven’s offering is poisonous and wicked. Here lies cruelty, malice, and selfish impulse at the expense of others. This is not an opportunity, but a trap. If the numerical force of the six formed a harmonious cube, this is a box with something dreadful tucked inside. Faced with two or more sevens, the querent may feel anxious, but rest assured that the wickedness of the seven can almost always be weathered or overcome. If many sevens are here, now is a time to be on the lookout for malice and to treat others with an extra measure of kindness, just in case the wickedness of this card is unintentionally our own.

Eights are like wheels. They bring movement, change, and journeys. The force of the eight in the suit of hearts can be exhilarating with its suggestion of new infatuations and sexual exploits; the eight of diamonds less so, especially for a querent already nervous about finances. If too many of these unruly eights turn up in a spread, the querent might be encouraged to slow down and consider carefully before acting.

At last, we come to the nine. Here we encounter the final iteration of the “three harmonies.” In the six, we were able to reap previously sown efforts; in the nine, we have a bounty greater than we could have hoped for. This is the sudden windfall, the unforeseen romance, the remission of disease. It’s always more than we feel we deserve, and this is the strange challenge of the nine: feeling worthy. It’s harder than it sounds. Can the querent release enough defensiveness, doubt, and insecurity to accept the gift of the nine? For many people, especially those who have experienced trauma, joy and success can be terrifying things. If we’re too rigid and callous, lady luck may simply move on to the next lucky person. So much for our happy ending.

The ten is a fascinating card because it represents both the culmination of a suit and an ending, much akin to a kind of graduation. Something has been completed, and though it will always be a part of us, we must turn our attention towards something new to avoid becoming ghosts of our past. It can also represent finally arriving at a goal or at the pinnacle of some peak we once set out to climb. Too many tens in a spread can indicate grief for something that is now finished. Trying to hold on to it will only result in pain and entrapment. Better to celebrate the moment and move on.

THE COURT CARDS

Each of the court cards in the playing card deck represents a personality that is often an aspect of the querent. Depending on position, the querent may be counseled to embrace or release a particular power within themselves. In the Age of Witchery Playing Card Deck, each court figure is represented as masked, indicating the witch being shrouded in their fetch or spectral form, but also suggesting that each figure could represent any of us, or a personality aspect within any person.

Jacks represent learning and seeking. The Jack is on a journey to become something and is willing to embrace vulnerability and fallibility in order to learn. The Jack is imperfect, but accepts that as part of growth. He is also the most joyful and enraptured of the face cards because he sees the force of his particular suit with fresh and unjaded eyes.

Queens represent wisdom, craft, and cunning. Although the king imagines himself to be the mightiest, it is the queen who pulls the strings behind the scenes. She can see what lies ahead and is perceptive of others’ emotions and intentions. She relies on her experience and shrewd sensibilities to make wise choices. This wisdom may express itself as ice-cold honesty in the spades suit or as insightful empathy in the hearts suit. Because she is more inclined to thinking and talking, the queen can sometimes lack motivation and effort.

Kings value force and might. They have the largest egos and are prone to trampling on toes, but they are also the card most inclined to action and results. The king can make things happen, though his ham-fisted tactics may not accomplish his goals in the most careful way. The King of Hearts, for example, wants to be loved and acts from this need, but without the wisdom of the queen, the results are sometimes less than pleasant.

THREE SPREADS

The Three-Card Spread

This is a very common-sense spread. The card on the left is read as the releasing current, indicating that which is departing and must be released in order to move forward. The card on the right is read as the embracing current, representing something that must be accepted or embodied. The center card is a resource or strength at the querent’s disposal, something to help with the challenge of this transition.

The Five-Card Spread

This spread is made up of one card placed in the center, and four cards placed above, beneath, to the left, and to the right of the central card, forming a cross. The horizontal line is read in much the same manner as a three-card spread with a releasing current to the left, an embracing current to the right, and a current resource at the center. The vertical line is read as indicative of motivations; the higher card speaks to goals and ambitions, while the lower card indicates how those desires manifest in actions, which are not always in alignment. Helping the querent translate their higher goals into earthly efforts is one of the strengths of this spread.

The Nine-Card Spread

The nine-card spread forms a perfect three-by-three layout. This spread along with the sixteen-card spread are the most complex to read because they rely on the observation of patterns as described in the previous section. Three-card sequences, read either vertically or horizontally, can be interpreted in the manner of three-card spreads, but these lines should be considered together. Because of the symmetry of the square, certain cards “reflect” one another and can be consulted together. For example, two opposing corners can be considered as a reflective pair. Are they harmonious, or are they conflicted? How might this reveal the querent’s inner harmonies or conflicts?

In addition to the spreads provided here, the wise cartomancer will surely develop unique, personal spreads, as have readers over many centuries, in order to more finely tune their craft to their own needs. Don’t be afraid to grow in your own direction, for this is how it has always been done: a reader sits before the cards, trusting their intuition to guide their approach. May your journey with the cards be illuminating, reader, and may it be your own.

Also by Roger J. Horne:

Cartomancy in Folk Witchcraft: Playing Cards and Marseille Tarot in Divination, Magic, and Lore

Folk Witchcraft: A Guide to Lore, Land, and the Familiar Spirit for the Solitary Practitioner

The Witch’s Art of Incantation: Spoken Charms, Spells, and Curses in Folk Witchcraft

The Witches’ Devil: Myth and Lore for Modern Cunning

A Broom at Midnight: Thirteen Gates of Witchcraft by Spirit Flight

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