Try Your Hand at Playing Cards Tarot

Try Your Hand at Playing Cards Tarot

A traditional tarot deck has a whopping 78 cards, including the 56 cards of the minor arcana and the 22 cards of the major arcana. However, you don't need to use a tarot deck to get an effective tarot reading. A standard deck of 52 playing cards works as well, which is what we've used here for this free cartomancy reading.

If you're looking for a great way to get started with playing card tarot, this approach offers a perfect introduction. Examining and understanding cartomancy spreads is no small task. The complexity of the reading increases with the number of cards in the spread, so a smaller spread is almost always easier to understand. We've designed three different spreads for you to choose from, so you can tailor your reading to address the area of life that you're most concerned with right now. Here's what you need to know about these spreads.

A Guide to Playing Cards Tarot

Specialized tarot cards are the most common choice for a tarot reading, with rich imagery and symbolism which speaks to the tarot card meanings. But once you understand how a standard card deck corresponds to the tarot, you can get a tarot reading with playing cards whenever you want.

Using playing cards for tarot, you'll find that each of the four suits corresponds to one of the four suits of the minor arcana:

• Hearts: Cups
• Spades: Swords
• Diamonds: Pentacles, Discs, or Coins
• Clubs: Wands, Staves, Batons, or Rods

Past-Present-Future | Cartomancy Spreads

If you don't have a specific concern in mind and want a broad cartomancy reading, the past-present-future cartomancy spread is a great place to start. This three-card reading gives you a powerful overview of your current path in life. Pay attention to the suit that shows up most often for immediate guidance as to which area of your life needs the most attention. Hearts are associated with your emotional life and relationships. Spades encourage you to look at your intellectual life and your communication habits. Diamonds relate to the practical, material world around you. Clubs are all about creativity and forward action.

The past card in this spread highlights a period in your history that's particularly relevant to the situation that you're in right now. We often forget about these formative experiences and fail to see how they're playing a role in our present development. The past card in your playing cards tarot spread will help you recall important events that have valuable lessons to impart within the context of your current situation.

The present card identifies the most important aspect of your current situation. Though the present card will only address one part of your life right now, it helps you identify the area that currently needs the most attention. You may discover that your family is feeling neglected because you've been focusing on work or find that your social life needs more TLC now that you're so focused on your home.

The future card lets you know the likely outcome of your life if you stay on the current path. It's important to understand that the future card is never something set in stone. If you're unhappy with the direction that your future card points you in, you have the power to change your direction and point your life toward something new.

Viewed together, these cards will help you see how a significant event from the past is currently impacting your present and will continue to carry its influence on into the future. A skilled tarot reader can help you examine this interplay in greater depth and evaluate all that this particular card combination is telling you.

You-Partner-Dynamic | Cartomancy Spread

This love tarot spread examining you, your partner, and your dynamic is a useful tool if you have questions about your current romance. While hearts offer some of the most obvious correlations to your love life, finding other suits in this spread is enlightening as well. Spades can alert you to upcoming challenges, clubs often highlight positive developments, and diamonds may let you know that finances are an important topic in your relationship, as is so often the case.

The first card in this free cartomancy reading represents the way you feel about or relate to your partner. This card can help reveal hidden insecurities, highlight a deep devotion, or help you better understand complex feelings like jealousy.

The second card in this cartomancy spread refers to your partner. This is a deeply insightful card for most individuals, as it can help you better understand the other person's view of your relationship. You may discover that your partner is feeling like taking the next step in your relationship. On the other end of the spectrum, you may find that this card confirms your suspicion that the partnership is nearing its end.

The final card in this playing cards tarot spread refers to your dynamic as a couple. This is often the most informative card of all as it gives you insights into how the two of you are relating to one another. Your similarities or differences could be your greatest strength as a couple or the biggest challenge that you must overcome. Understanding your dynamic better can help you uncover the best path forward.

Goals - Tools - Path | Career Spread

If you're interested in learning more about your professional journey right now, a tarot reading with playing cards using a goals-tools-path spread is your best option. This cartomancy spread will offer some insights into your career that can put you on the best path for future success on the job.

Diamonds highlight the financial aspects of your job. Perhaps you need more money, or a raise is on the horizon. Spades often indicate that you need to hone your communication skills while diamonds emphasize focusing on the material aspects of a project. Hearts might seem out of place in a career reading, but they can remind you to address your work/life balance.

The first card in this cartomancy spread references your goals. If you're not sure where you're headed, this card can let you know which path is best suited to your talents as well as the opportunities that are lingering about in the universe right now. Evaluate this card for more insights into effective goal setting.

The second card highlights the tools that you have at your disposal for furthering your career. This could be a relationship that offers invaluable networking opportunities, a well of knowledge that you have about a particular issue, a past experience that will illuminate your next steps, or many other things. If you're feeling uncertain about which strengths to rely on, this card can help.

The final card in this playing cards tarot spread refers to your current career path. It may let you know that you're on the right track, that your path is about to fork, or that you need to find a new path entirely. Remember that this information is only relevant to the journey that you're on at this moment. If you change your track, many things about your path will change.

Working with a skilled psychic, tarot reader, or cartomancer is the best way to approach any tarot reading. A knowledgeable psychic advisor will help you understand the cards and most importantly, provide insight that can help you make decisions that are in your best interest going forward. “We will be able to interpret the cards in a way that is unique to us" explains Psychic Theia. "We are able to understand a bigger picture, and often we use the cards as a validation alongside our other methods of channeling.”  Armed with this knowledge and understanding, you can take steps that will serve you well in work, love, and life.

If you are looking for something that is not your typical card deck, the Sibilla Oracle Cards are a powerful predictive tool used in Italian Cartomancy. Discover these beautiful cards and the truth they can help uncover. 

Get a Reading