Nick Cassleman - Cartomancy

The history of cards

My research leads me to believe that cards originated in China around the 9th century before spreading to the Middle East. From there, they entered Europe, standards and regional variants ever adjusting. The symbols used in modern esoteric Tarot (capital T) descend from tarot (lowercase t) developed in Italy and France.

Cards made their way to Egypt by the 12th century. They are intricately patterned with generous use of gold ink.
A deck of Egyptian playing cards from the 1400s had ten pip cards and three court cards: king, lieutenant, and second lieutenant. Cards were decorated with calligraphy and patterned ornament, possibly connected to Islamic prohibition of idolatry. The suits were myriad (cups), dirham (coin), polo stick (club), and scimitar (swords). Some cards were inscribed with rhyming aphorisms, such as With the sword of happiness I shall redeem a beloved who will afterwards take my life.

Prohibition

There are several records of card prohibitions in Europe during the 14th century onward, often related to their use in gambling.

One of the earliest mentions of tarot is by a 15th century Dominican preacher who described tarot cards as the devil's picture book. Additional references to the social plaguing of tarot cards continued through the 17th century. However, fortune-telling with regular playing cards only began in the 1780s.

Hanafuda cards developed in Japan by the Portuguese in the 16th century. They were banned during the Edo period, but card gambling remained popular and led to disguised card designs. When one deck was outlawed, a new design would emerge. They feature twelve suits that correspond to the months. The cards are adorned with flowers, animals, and scenery that correspond to each month.

Encoded knowledge

Every deck of card is encoded with information about its time, place, and makers. The material, methods of construction, ornament, text, and symbolism give us details about the culture that produced them.

Beyond the implicit things we can learn from cards, some cards were explicit about the information they were encoding. Various decks were used as mnemonics to teach botany, heraldry, cosmology, and geography. For example, the Mantegna Tarocchi outlines hierarchy of persons, the muses, liberal arts, seven virtues, and celestial bodies. These cards are theorized to be educational tools rather than playing cards, but decks often multiple functions.

Mass production, such as block printing, allows for wide distribution of ideas and aesthetics. In my lifetime, I've seen cards used for corporate and political advertisement, as artwork, and as commemorative and souvenir decks. They could be easily adapted to all kinds of education, propaganda, and indoctrination.

I can only imagine the encoding of secret meanings into regular playing cards.

Mantegna Tarocchi

This deck of cards shares the name with other tarot decks and Italian tarocchi, but they probably weren't used for divination or card playing. There isn't a record of their original purpose, but the categories they encode make some believe they were educational tools for the upper class. The major arcana of many modern Tarot decks share many of its symbols.

Conditions of man
01 Beggar
02 Servant
03 Craftsman
04 Merchant
05 Gentleman
06 Knight
07 Doge
08 King
09 Emperor
10 Pope
Muses
11 Calliope - "Beautiful voiced"
12 Urania - "Heavenly"
13 Terpsichore - "She who loves dancing"
14 Erato - "Arouser of desire"
15 Polyhymnia - "Many hymns"
16 Thalia - "The festive"
17 Melpomene - "The singer"
18 Euterpe - "Giver of joy"
19 Clio - "Giver of Fame"
20 Apollo - Leader of the Muses
Liberal arts and other subjects
21 Grammar
22 Logic
23 Rhetoric
24 Geometry
25 Arithmetic
26 Music
27 Poetry
28 Philosophy
29 Astrology
30 Theology
Geniuses and the virtues
31 Iliaco (Sun)
32 Chronico (Time)
33 Cosmico (World)
34 Temperance
35 Prudence
36 Strength
37 Justice
38 Charity
39 Hope
40 Faith
Heavenly spheres
41 Moon
42 Mercury
43 Venus
44 Sun
45 Mars
46 Jupiter
47 Saturn
48 Eighth Sphere
49 Prime Mover
50 First Cause

Lenormand

A deck of cards named after a famous French cartomancer during the Napoleonic era. This deck is modeled after a German card game which used the German suits: Heart (♥︎), Leaves (♠︎), Bells (♦︎), and Acorns (♣︎). It has cards numbered 6 through 9; "banner" for card 10; deuce (2) replacing ace; and Jack, Queen, and King.

NumberNameSuitMeaning
1Rider9 of ♥︎energy, passion, speed, activity, news, messages
2Clover6 of ♦︎luck, lightheartedness, small happinesses, opportunity, being untroubled, comedy
3ShipBanner of ♠︎departure, farewell, distance, voyage, travel, journey, adventure, trading
4HouseKing of ♥︎home, establishment, safety, tradition, custom, privacy, conservation, what is under your roof
5Tree7 of ♥︎health, growth, grounded, past connection, personal growth, spirituality, family/ancestors
6CloudKing of ♣︎confusion, lack of clarity, misunderstanding, insecurity, doubt, hidden secrets
7SnakeQueen of ♣︎desire, seduction, deception, craving, attraction, sexuality, wisdom, forbidden knowledge
8Coffin9 of ♦︎ending, dying, funeral, loss, grief, mourning, sadness, ill health
9BouquetQueen of ♠︎flattery, social life, pleasantness, cordiality etiquette, politeness, appreciation, beauty, art, an unexpected gift
10ScytheJack of ♦︎accidents, hasty decisions, danger, a warning, speed, reckoning, a decision that cannot be undone
11WhipJack of ♣︎conflict, discussions, arguments, debate, scolding, opposition, objection, violence, repetitive actions, sexual behaviour
12Birds7 of ♣︎worry, excitement, gossip, chattering, nervousness, anxiety, an old couple, conversation in-person
13ChildJack of ♠︎new beginnings, child, toddler, play , inexperience, innocence, immaturity, small, new, vulnerable
14Fox9 of ♣︎selfishness, self care, trickery, suspicion, cunning, caution
15BearBanner of ♣︎power, leadership, dominance, influence, short temper, strength of character, boss, matriarch, hirsuit, a body builder or over-weight person
16Star6 of ♥︎hope, inspiration, optimism, spirituality, dreams, progress to goals
17StorkQueen of ♥︎change, transition, movement, recurrence, new cycle, yearning
18DogBanner of ♥︎loyalty, friendship, a follower, devotion, obedience, support
19Tower6 of ♠︎authority, solitude, loneliness, isolation, aloofness, ego, arrogance
20Garden8 of ♠︎public affairs, society, culture, teamwork, fame, social networks
21Mountain8 of ♣︎difficulties, problems, obstacles, impairment, hurdles, struggles, challenge
22CrossroadsQueen of ♦︎choices, many opportunities, travel, separation, hesitation, decisions
23Mouse7 of ♣︎dwindling, deficiency, depletion, destruction, defect, flaw, disease
24HeartJack of ♥︎love, amicability, romanticization, forgiveness, reconciliation, softness, charity
25RingDeuce of ♣︎commitment, promise, honor, partnership, cooperation, cycles
26BookBanner of ♦︎secrets, knowledge, education, information, research, studies
27Letter7 of ♠︎document, email, speech, conversations, expression, information, communication
28ManDeuce of ♥︎querent if male, male friend, partner, family member
29WomanDeuce of ♠︎querent if female, female friend, partner, family member
30LiliesKing of ♠︎sensuality, sex, virtue, morality, ethics, wisdom
31SunDeuce of ♦︎happiness, victory, success, power, warmth, truth
32Moon8 of ♥︎subconscious, intuition, emotions, fears, desires, fantasy
33Key8 of ♦︎openness, revelation, unlocking, achievement, liberation, resolution
34FishKing of ♦︎finances, business, wealth, values, gain, abundance
35Anchor9 of ♠︎stability, restraint, security, resilience, durability, laying foundations
36Cross6 of ♣︎duty, conviction, suffering, burden, intolerance, principles, indoctrination

Romani tradition?

A friend of mine read a Facebook post from some European witches who said that Tarot (as a tradition of divination) is Romani. They claim that is a closed practice that has been appropriated by non-Roma. I couldn't find the post my friend referred to, and nothing else credible showed up with a quick online search.

I've never talked to a Roma person about Tarot before. I don't know if it's a niche belief or a widespread one. I haven't found any trusted sources yet, but part of the argument is that the Romani rely on oral tradition and so there is less written and able to be cited.

Structures

Binaries

Hierarchies

Cycles

Sequence

Groups

Morality, good and back

In theory, Tarot cards are neutral in their meaning. In practice, several of the images have a strong leaning.

Baddies
3 of Swords
5 of Pentacles
10 of Swords
Death
Devil
Goodies
Ace of Cups
4 of Wands
9 of Cups
World
Sun

I've always wanted a set of cards where each card explicitly shows two sides / the extremes of an underlying archetype. It can be easy to get a lot of happy cards and interpret that as good news, but I'd rather my deck highlight tensions rather than definitive outcomes. Instead of Chariot, I might have Movement / Stillness.

Sources and collections

I've saved a large collection of images of cards from around the Internet. I saved the websites for some of them, and I almost certainly do not have the right to distribute any of them.