How To Read Cards With Playing Cards

Main image courtesy of Atlas Obscura.

Playing with a deck of cards is always fun—there are so many games to attempt out! Whether you like poker, bridge, rummy, solitaire, or fifty-fifty go fish, there'southward always fun to be had when you lot pause out a deck of cards. But did you know that yous can use that very aforementioned deck to give a tarot reading? That's right, y'all can depict on your intuition and do readings with a regular deck of cards. If you've always wanted to learn how to bring out the ability and fun of tarot through playing cards, continue reading!

Why Employ Playing Cards for a Tarot Reading?

Acme reasons for using playing cards during a tarot reading

deck of playing cards with spade court cards

You tin use the playing cards you grew up with to give interesting tarot readings! Image courtesy of History.

Y'all might be request yourself, why would anyone want to employ playing cards for a tarot reading, especially when there are so many gorgeous tarot decks available? Well, we have a couple of reasons why yous may want to try your hand at cartomancy:

It's fun and piece of cake. Learning how to associate the cards with their tarot counterparts is not only fun, but it's easier than you might think. Many of the minor arcana cards were based off the original playing decks, and you can encounter how similar the two types of cards really are. Whether you know a little or a lot virtually tarot, you'll be able to run across the similarities in no fourth dimension.
You can deepen your intuitive nature. When nosotros practice a reading with playing cards, you are deepening your intuition and skills as a reader at the aforementioned fourth dimension. By using a playing card deck, you may see things y'all previously didn't, or associate detail emotions or feelings to a menu that you didn't in your normal tarot deck. This asks you lot to remember exterior the box, and perhaps look at the cards in a new light.
It's convenient. There are literally playing cards everywhere! You can option them up in grocery stores and gas stations, and they make the perfect concluding minute addition when you're heading out to a party or assemble with friends. Not only can you play cards, just so you lot tin can besides offer to requite people readings after!
You tin can do it with any playing carte du jour deck. No need to take your tarot deck on y'all when you can use any playing deck for readings. Plus, playing bill of fare decks tend to be smaller, so they're easier to stash in your purse or bag when you lot're bringing them along for some fun.

How to Use Playing Cards for a Tarot Reading

Easiest means to utilise your deck of cards for a tarot reading

Swapping your tarot deck for playing cards tin provide you with a fun new hobby. Epitome courtesy of Allure.

You lot'll notice that a deck of cards contains 52 cards, as opposed to the 78 cards of a tarot deck. And then when you're reading with a playing deck, there are no corresponding cards for the major arcana or the knights of each suit. That existence said, for the remaining cards, at that place are quite a lot of similarities.

Hearts > Cups > Water > Correspond to matters of the heart, dreams, emotions, and relationships

Spades > Swords > Air > Relate to the intellectual realm, logic, how we think and communicate with others

Diamonds > Pentacles > Earth > This is easy to remember, since diamonds come up from the earth! These correspond to matters of hearth and home, your health, and things of the fabric globe

Clubs > Wands > Fire > These are the action suit, and relates to moving and doing things, merely as well inventiveness, passion, and inspiration

The courtroom cards of each adjust are as well very similar, and you lot'll find that at that place are jacks which represent pages, besides as queens and kings. Yous will also notice that the numbers within a playing deck are the same every bit the tarot deck. You'll get-go with an ace, accept 1-10, and then 3 court cards instead of four (no knight). The numbers of playing decks are the aforementioned they would be in your tarot deck, so you'll interpret them just every bit you would unremarkably in a reading. Most playing cards also come with a joker, which you can decide to use or not. If y'all practise, it volition take the identify of the Fool from the tarot.

Next you lot'll only demand to shuffle your deck, and start reading! Using the cards for a tarot reading is like shooting fish in a barrel and a lot of fun. Plus y'all'll be strengthening your intuition as you learn to make new associations with the cards.

Tarot Readings to do With Playing Cards

Endeavour out these easy readings the side by side time y'all break out your deck of cards!

Whether y'all do a one menu reading, or a 3 card i, there'south something to be said for the simplicity of playing cards. Image courtesy of iStock.

Now that you know how easy and fun it tin be to apply playing cards in tarot readings, nosotros thought we'd highlight a couple of our favorites for you to try out.

One bill of fare reading

These are past far the easiest readings you can do, only don't let their simplicity fool yous— a lot of data can be gleaned from a one carte du jour reading. One menu readings allow you to go back to basics, and they can be but as precise as more involved spreads. By but using one menu, you lot are encouraged to await at the effect from all possible angles. This way, yous don't have to worry well-nigh other cards clouding your reply and leaving you more than confused.

By-Nowadays-Futurity

After you shuffle your deck to your liking, pull out three cards and identify them in a row. Going from left to right, yous turn them face for a past-nowadays-future answer to your question. This is likewise a groovy, unproblematic reading to do, and you'd be surprised at how much information you can go out of them. As with all divination tools, it's best to endeavor and avoid yes/no questions. You want to leave a trivial room for nuance and interpretation.

Current situation-Obstacle-Advice

Similar to the by-present-futurity reading, the state of affairs-obstacle-advice reading follows a three card spread. This type of reading is great when you want to run across what's blocking y'all or is causing the disruption, and get communication most what to practice about it.

Information technology'south fun and easy to use playing cards in the identify of your tarot deck. While you lose the archetypes associated with the major arcana, there is something to be said for going back to the basics of cartomancy using just the four suits and numbers. You don't have to stick to i or the other, because switching the energy upwards and reading with both tarot cards and playing cards! You might just be surprised at the results of your readings.