Random Playing Card Oracle
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| Flip it, flip it real good. |
In late May 2020, I became interested in Cartomancy, the Playing Card Oracle. Basically its a parallel reading of Tarot, as per one explanation.
"Telling fortunes by using regular playing cards is commonly called cartomancy. This article is a basic overview of the symbolic associations of the suits (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs), and the numbers and royal court within Western cartomancy."
I won't get into the weeds on this-- having wasted too much time in previous life-situations where somehow cards would answer complicated questions. They don't. At best they can offer a cryptic random comment on your situation.
When in doubt, look up while driving.
The Four Suits
- Spades represent challenging tasks or events coming in the future.
- Hearts are about feelings, family, home, love, and relationships.
- Clubs represent positive things that are coming in the near future.
- Diamonds are all about money and finances.
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| May 30 2020 |
May 30 2020
5 of Hearts – Jealousy, resentment, loss of love, deceit, or illness. Found this one at a local trailhead here in Ventura County. It was hot as balls, my life wasn't looking too cheerful right then, so it felt right. Covid had hit. All travel plans were suspended.
*****
Time passed. I didn't see cards for a while. I was busy with other things.
Fast forward to a long-deferred Vietnam trip. While in Vietnam in late
2022, I started seeing abandoned cards. Lots of them. I started photographing them in situ, and keeping them. Keep in mind these were found outdoors in boatyards and pottery factories, not indoors.
Whose fortune? Mine, or whoever
dropped the cards? Who the hell knows? Here goes.
2 jokers-- Wild cards ahoy.
An extended mediation here:
"Perhaps due to the Joker’s early association with the Tarot Fool, or perhaps based on the archetypal symbolism of the Jester/Joker/Fool, the interpretation of the Joker bears close resemblance to that of the Tarot Fool.
Like The Fool, the Joker can denote folly, eccentricity, and poorly considered actions. He can represent originality, or the beginning of an adventure or quest. He is an independent spirit, complete within himself. He is guided by the forces of nature, and the wisdom of The Universe.
Most cartomancy methods do not utilize the Joker. In the systems that do include the Joker, he is interpreted in various ways.
The Joker can be used as a significator card to represent the seeker (person requesting the reading). Wherever the Joker falls in the reading, special emphasis is placed on the surrounding cards which would indicate what is closest to the seeker’s heart, or most important in the seeker’s life.
- The Joker can represent surprises and unexpected events outside of the seeker’s control.
- The Joker can represent foolish behavior or immaturity.
- The Joker can indicate secrets, hidden agendas, or that not everything is as it appears to be in the area where it falls.
There are actually two Jokers in the deck of playing cards, and some systems utilize both. One can be used to represent life, and the other to represent death. Or one can be used to represent where the seeker’s energy is focused, and the other to represent the seeker’s emotions. The two Jokers can also be used to represent any duality or polarity such as sun & moon, Yin & Yang, active & receptive, positive & negative, good & evil, ego & id, zero & infinity, light & dark, etc."
Source: [https://artofcartomancy.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-joker.html]
3 of Clubs: A wealthy partner and successful marriage
10 of Clubs: Unexpected money, travel
CONCLUSION
The world is a causal place. The point of divinations and readings is to look at situations from a different point of view. John Reader's "Life On Earth" has a chapter on how indigenous Lapland hunters would use divinations as a way to step out of habitual hunting patterns.
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