Things You'll Need:
- Pack of regular playing cards
- Notebook
- Pen
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Step 1
Decide whether to include the joker. Most, if not all, playing-card decks come with a joker card. For divination purposes, this can be discarded or kept as part of the deck. If it comes up in a layout, it is generally considered to mean the same as the fool in the tarot deck--new beginnings, new adventures, careful consideration of new ventures is advised.
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Step 2
Learn the symbolism of the four suits. Hearts are the equivalent of cups in tarot decks, and reflect emotion. Diamonds are pentacles in the tarot, and indicate financial concerns. Clubs are like the tarot wand suit and talk about work and life struggles. Spades are the equivalent of swords in traditional tarot decks and point to areas of conflict.
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Step 3
Learn the meaning of the court cards. The court cards or face cards--jack, queen, king--often indicate actual people in the querent's (the person asking for the card reading) life. They also can indicate the querent herself. Jacks are young people of either gender, queens are influential women in the querent's life and kings are men who have a great deal of power over the querent.
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Step 4
Decide on a layout. When you lay out the cards (this is called a "spread") to read someone's fortune, you must determine what each card position means. The easiest spread is three cards indicating past, present and future. Check out the website below for more spreads. All of these spreads can be adapted for use with a deck of playing cards.
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Step 5
Keep a divination journal. As often as possible, especially when you're learning, jot down the date of your reading, the question, and what cards came up in what position. Look back at your notes after a month or so to see how much of what you predicted came true.
