Fortune-Telling with Playing Cards

by Jonathan Dee

With a deck of cards, 80 illustrations, and the help of best-selling author Jonathan Dee, you can unlock the mysteries of the future. While Tarot decks are the best-known cards for divination, ordinary playing cards have been used successfully for hundreds of years to tell fortunes. Here, the instruction is divided into three sections, with the first describing the meanings of each card, including key words, astrological associations and numerical significance. The second part features the famous Romany Method, widely popular since the 1700s. Finally, there’s a full explanation of the intriguing Petit Lenormand method, which was first practiced in the court of Napoleon and uses a reduced deck of 36 cards. Don’t wait for the future—deal the cards for yourself.

Genres: Witchcraft

185 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty simple book on teaching how to use ordinary playing cards for fortune-telling, almost identical to tarot reading. The author gave a brief introduction to playing cards and basic readings associated with times/seasons of the year and bigger astrological readings. This was very brief and was only a couple pages.

The rest of the book gave explanation (again similar to the various suits of the tarot) to the suits found in a modern deck of cards. Interpretation of each card tells of keyword associated with the card (forgiveness, warning of danger, assistance, etc.), full meaning of the card, and the meaning of the card if drawn inverted (you mark a corner of the card to know if its upright or not). The author then gave a lot of examples on how to create spreads: by suit, by number, magic square, horseshoe, celestial, Mystic Cross, 21-card Romany, and many more.

Overall a neat short book aimed for the beginner in playing card fortune telling. Thanks!

[MKF · Rating 1 out of 5]

My daughter has an interest in witchcraft and new age garbage and get books on those topics. She was on a tarot card kick and begging for a tarot deck. We told her that at 12 she was too young because she didn't really understand it. So she got this book at the library because we do have a deck of playing cards. She never tried it or asked for the cards so I don't think she was impressed. I figured I'd look at it before returning it to the library. The book is the usual garbage and she now has a pile of books on skepticism and critical thinking to read. I realize I can't keep telling her that ghost and things aren't real, watch video, or read the articles I show her. She's growing up and has to learn these things herself.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

For starters, I feel moved to point out that this is a *very* small book that attempts to present *three* very different systems of card-reading. I imagine that if this were the first cartomancy book I ever read, it would leave me very confused and very hungry for more information.

I mostly got this book because I heard that there was information on how to read the Petit Etteilla. It was all so very complicated that I don't know if I'll ever get around to trying it.

As for reading with the full 52-card pack, the system presented here just doesn't resonate with me. I'll be sticking with Ana Cortez's method from here on out.

The section on Lenormand was most curious to me. All just a bit off, and quite a departure from traditional methods (that I have been exposed to, anyway). Card definitions were weird, and there was no mention of the use of significators aside from the man and woman cards. The grand tableau (shown only in the 9x4 configuration) is here renamed the "Master Method"...not sure why...and the house system is totally reworked. Instead of first house=rider, etc., the houses are all renamed and redefined. And then there is the section on spreads. First he recommends simply pulling one card to answer a question (a fruitless endeavor according to every other source I have come across, and confirmed by personal experience), and then there are some other spreads that I have just never seen in relation to Lenormand. The standard line of 5/7/9 is nowhere to be seen. And to top it all off, there is no mention of forming combinations anywhere :O

If you're looking for English instruction on reading the Lenormand, I would suggest AndyBC's free online course, poking around the Lenormand subforums on Aeclectic, or waiting until Caitlin Matthews's book comes out. For a more thorough, interesting, and exhaustive reference on reading a full 52-card deck, I would suggest The Playing Card Oracles by Ana Cortez. If anyone has another source on reading the Petit Etteilla, I'd love to hear about it.