The Fortune Teller, by Art Nouveau painter Mikhail Vrubel, depicting a cartomancer

Cartomancy is a form of fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. The practice of cartomancy has been observed since playing cards first came into use in Europe in the 14th century^[1]. Practitioners of cartomancy are generally known as cartomancers, card readers or, simply, readers. Some practitioners have claimed that cartomancy's origins date back to ancient Egyptian times, the art being derived from wisdom given to the ancient Egyptians by the scribe-god Thoth, although this belief is by no means common today. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1576x2488, 481 KB) Description: Title: de: Die Kartenlegerin Technique: de: Leinwand Dimensions: de: 136 × 87 cm Country of origin: de: Rußland Current location (city): de: Moskau Current location (gallery): de: Tretjakow-Galerie Other notes: Source: The Yorck Project: DVD-ROM... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1576x2488, 481 KB) Description: Title: de: Die Kartenlegerin Technique: de: Leinwand Dimensions: de: 136 × 87 cm Country of origin: de: Rußland Current location (city): de: Moskau Current location (gallery): de: Tretjakow-Galerie Other notes: Source: The Yorck Project: DVD-ROM... Poster by Alfons Mucha Vitebsk Railway Station one of the finest examples of Art Nouveau architecture. ... Self-portrait, 1885 Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel (Russian: Михаил Александрович Врубель;March 17, 1856 - April 14, 1910, all n. ... For prophecy in the context of revealed religions see Prophet. ... This article is about the religious practice of divination. ... Some typical Anglo-American playing cards from the Bicycle brand Set of 52 playing cards A playing card is a typically hand-sized piece of heavy paper or thin plastic. ... This article is very long. ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... Egyptian mythology or Egyptian religion is the succession of tentative beliefs held by the people of Egypt for over three thousand years, prior to major exposure to Christianity and Islam. ... , or , or [1] Thoth (Ramesseum, Luxor) Thoth, a Greek name derived from the Egyptian * (djih-how-tee) (written by Egyptians as ) was considered one of the most important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. ...

Cartomancy using standard playing cards was the most popular form of providing "fortune telling" card readings in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. In English-speaking countries, a standard deck of Anglo-American bridge/poker playing cards (i.e., 52-card, four suit set) can be used in the cartomancy reading. In France, the 32-card piquet playing card deck was, and still is, most typically used in cartomancy readings, while the 52-card deck was, and still is, also used for this purpose. (For a piquet deck, start with a 52-card deck and remove all of the 2s through the 6s. This leaves all of the 7s through the 10s, the face cards, and the aces.) A log bridge in the French Alps near Vallorcine. ... A game of Texas holdem, the most popular form of poker, in progress. ... Piquet is a card game for two players. ...

In recent years, however, the popularity of Tarot readings have diminished to a certain degree the popularity of the once-common cartomancy readings using standard playing cards. The High Priestess, card number 2 in the major arcana. ...

According to some traditions, a deck that is used for cartomancy should not be used for any other purpose. Cartomancers generally feel that the deck should be treated as a tool and cared for accordingly. Some cartomancers also feel that the cards should never be touched by anyone other than their owner.

Methods of Cartomancy

Although a standard card deck can be used for cartomancy, many other decks have also been designed that are intended specifically for use for divination, the best known of which are tarot decks. In the view of some, including the webmaster of the Aeclectic Tarot website, any deck that is not a tarot deck is referred to simply as a cartomancy deck; however, others are of the view that the use of any cards (including tarot cards or non-tarot oracle cards) in this way is still cartomancy. Visconti-Sforza tarot deck The tarot is a set of cards featuring 21 trump cards and a special card called The Fool, in addition to the usual suit (face and pip) cards found in ordinary playing cards. ... A webmaster is a person responsible for designing, developing, marketing, or maintaining Web site(s). ...

The Tarot deck differs somewhat from the standard deck used for cartomancy. The Tarot deck consists of 22 Major Arcana cards, and 56 Minor Arcana cards (Arcana means "hidden things"). Each Minor Arcana suit consists of 4 court cards (usually king, queen, knight and page) along with 10 numbered, or pip, cards. The fifty-six minor cards are similar to the regular deck of playing cards most people know today, while the Major Arcana cards are present only in the Tarot deck. The Major Arcana (Trumps Major, Major Trumps) of the Tarot deck consists of 22 cards. ... The Minor Arcana of the Tarot deck consist of 56 cards, which are closely related to the deck of 52 playing cards used in most modern card games. ...

Traditional (Etteilla/Mathers/Waite) Playing Card Suit and Tarot Suit Equivalents^[2]:

• Spades = Swords (intellect; education) Air element
• Hearts = Cups (emotions) Water element
• Diamonds = Batons, aka Wands (power) Fire element
• Clubs = Coins or mirrors, aka Pentacles (health; material matters) Earth element

The suits "Swords" and "Wands" are disputed between modern cartomancers, especially those that follow a Pagan path that believes each suit belongs to a special element of nature. Some consider the suits, Swords and Wands, to be switched in their meanings. Likewise Wands are considered to equate with Clubs, and Pentacles with Diamonds.

Heathen redirects here. ... Chinese Wood (木) | Fire (火) Earth (土) | Metal (金) | Water (水) Hinduism and Buddhism Vayu / Pavan — Air / Wind Agni / Tejas — Fire Akasha — Aether Prithvi / Bhumi — Earth Ap / Jala — Water Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical elements to explain patterns in nature. ... Galunggung in 1982, showing a combination of natural events. ...

References 1 and 2, and further reading

Huson, Paul, Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage, Vermont: Destiny Books, 2004, ISBN 0-89281-190-0. Paul Huson is a British-born artist and author currently living in the United States. ...

Criticism

Cartomancy along with other forms of divination are dismissed by most scientists as lacking in any evidence. See for example the work of the Australian Skeptics and CSICOP. Mascot of the Australian Skeptics. ... The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, or CSICOP, is an organization formed to encourage open minded, critical investigation of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims from a responsible, scientific point of view. ...