Hello, I'm kinda new to this and I need some advice. I'm a closeted witch, and recently, I've replaced my typical tarot deck for some more discreet playing cards I can just use in my everyday life. However, I don't really know how to translate tarot cards into playing cards. Any help with correspondences or techniques would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Playing cards are much like the four suits of tarot, minus one court card. Most people omit either the knight or page for the Jack, or combine aspects of the two.
The four suits still correspond with the four elements and broader correspondences of tarot, and their numerological meanings are still typically associated.
So, as for the Ace through Ten , you get something somewhat similar to the following (depending on source and your own interpretation):
1 (Aces) New beginnings, opportunity, potential
2 Balance, partnership, duality
3 Creativity, groups, growth
4 Structure, stability, manifestation
5 Change, instability, conflict
6 Communication, cooperation, harmony
7 Reflection, assessment, knowledge
8 Mastery, action, accomplishment
9 Fruition, attainment, fulfilment
10 Completion, end of a cycle, renewal
The Court Cards might carry these significances for you:
Kings often still relate to social responsibility, power, success, status in a group or community (the Fire aspect of that elemental suit)
Queens are often related to deep appreciation of the suit, creativity, subconscious association, intuition (the Water element of that suit)
Jacks as Knights would be action, responsibility to others (the Air aspect of that elemental suit)
Jacks as Pages would be exploration and study (the Earth aspect of that elemental suit)
The four suits typically translate similarly to this:
You're most welcome! As for associations of each suit, it remains the same as any basic tarot correspondence chart, and a grid could basically be drawn for quick reference until the associations are more concretely memorized.
You can also use the correspondence by Caitlin Keegan Illuminated Tarot Pack:
Clubs:
Ace - Strength
2 - Debate
3 - Efforts Rewarded
4 - Stability or Celebration of Success
5 - the Devil
6 - the Tower
7 - a struggle to stay ahead
8 - repetition
9 - the Sun
10 - a burden
J - a new adventure
Q - confidence
K - the Magician
Diamonds:
Ace - the World
2 - The High Priestess
3 - craftmanship, collaboration
4 - preoccupation with material possessions
5 - the Hierophant
6 - harmony, cooperation
7 - the Star
8 - comfort achieved through work and persistence
9 - the Hermit
10 - a choice between security and risk
J - fascination, wonder, scholarship
Q - a bond between the internal and external
K - happiness found in spirituality
Hearts:
Ace - emotional, spiritual or creative flow
2 - Temperance
3 - a party or celebration
4 - hesitation to try something new
5 - moving forward
6 - the Lovers
7 - secrets, new feelings
8 - the Moon
9 - selfishness, excess
10 - the Wheel of Fortune
J - contemplation
Q - the Empress
K - professional success
Spades:
Ace - focus, clarity
2 - The Hanged Man
3 - moving beyond sorrow
4 - Death
5 - a difficult opponent
6 - a transition
7 - the Chariot
8 - Justice
9 - a struggle to make sense of events
10 - the Judgement
J - caution, potential
Q - strategy, intelligence, ambition
K - The Emperor
I know it's been a while since this question was asked, but I thought I'd contribute to the thread anyway.
Divination using playing cards dates back many centuries and is known as cartomancy . You'll find a lot of guides online on how to interpret playing cards if you search for cartomancy, but like others have said, the general idea is more or less the same as using Tarot cards.
Some basics:
Heart suit represents home, family, emotions, etc. - All the things that are important to you and are close to you.
Diamond suit represents material things; finance, money etc.
Clubs and spades are less simple but I'll try:
It's often believed that clubs represent positive things in the future, dreams, goals etc.,
Spades are often interpreted as obstacles and struggles
