Lesson 4 - To Start at the very Beginning ...

Aces, as i'm sure you remember, are all about beginnings. Sometimes they may represent something completely new for us, but often they are part of  a cycle of  beginning, completion and beginning again which plays out through our lives. In fact, we often hear it said that "as one door closes, another opens", and this is the nature of the Ace. The Ace provides us with opportunities, sometimes challenges, to start afresh. Both optimistic and future focused, these cards provide the energy which opens the door.

The Ace of Hearts - New Emotions

This card is often taken as the sign of a new romance, but i would caution against reading it as such as it takes 2 to tango, so to speak. However, what we do see here is the emergence of loving feelings on the part of the querant. This may be in respect of the desire for romance, though it could also indicate love towards one's friends, family, neighbours or towards people in need. This card then might be seen in the spread of a person who seeks a personal relationship, or in that of a person considering a career in nursing, for example. Equally this card may indicate artistic beginnings. You can see then, that it is important to develop a good sense of intuition, and should not be surprised if you draw the Ace of Hearts at this point as it is also linked to intuition and psychic ability.

The Ace of Clubs - New Ideas

As Clubs are ruled by the element of Air we can expect the Ace of Clubs to represent intellectual beginnings. New ideas, new ways of thinking about a situation, or starting a course of study could be represented. A person about to go into teaching might see this card in their spread. Equally the Ace of Clubs relates to all forms of communication including the written word, TV, radio, and the internet and could suggest a desire to pursue such interests or to enter such a career. At the very least, this card shows that your querant is starting to think about something in an objective way.

The Ace of Diamonds - Financial Opportunities

The Ace of Diamonds suggests new beginnings in the realms of business and finance. This card could indicate openings for financial advancement in whatever form that might be. For example, if the querant is unemployed this could suggest a new job opportunity, though for another person it might indicate new investments or even the start of a new business venture. It would be fair to say that all the Aces are opportunistic but that it is probably most evident here as it's effect is manifest in the material world of money and belongings.

The Ace of Spades - Transformation

I'm sure you will have heard the Ace of Spades referred to as the 'death card', and may be wondering what that has to do with beginnings! Would you be surprised if i was to tell you that this idea has more to do with taxes than divination? Let me explain.

'Old Frizzle' from the IPCS

You'll have noticed that the Ace of Spades is frequently the most elaborate card in the deck. It's design is often highly complex and  features much larger than the other Aces. Generally it is this card which bears the manufacturer's name. This dates back to a period in British History when playing cards were heavily taxed. Originally the Ace of Spades was 'stamped' to show the tax had been paid but this was later replaced by a government issued card (seen here) bearing the royal coat of arms which showed the 'stamp duty' had been paid. Forgery of the card was punishable by death, as to avoid taxes was seen as an act of treason. In 1805, a man named Richard Hawkins was executed for his part in forging 2000 playing cards, and that it would seem, is where the card's reputation as an omen of death began. More recently, the card was used by the US military in Vietnam, as a form of psychological weapon. They would place the card in the mouths of those they killed so that the card became associated with death in the minds of the Viet Cong.

To break with this morbid association, you may choose to select a deck where the Ace of Spades is more simple in design. Or alternatively you could use an elaborate one to educate your clients about it's history and reassure them that this is nothing to fear.

As for it's significance in a reading, it can be seen as the beginning of a spiritual phase in a persons life. Remember that Spades are ruled by Fire, and just as fire is difficult to predict, the same can be said of all the Spades. I mention that as they really do take some getting used to, so don't give up if you find yourself struggling to get to grips with them. The key word is transformation. If you think of fire burning everything in it's path and leaving room for something new, you will be on the way to understanding this card. Any positive changes that a person is considering making in their lifestyle will be indicated by this card. It often carries a degree of risk, so may well appear when a person is planning a major life change.

I suggest you spend a little time working with just the Aces. See if you can think of times in your life which relate to the different suits. Then narrow it down to events in the last year, month, and finally to the last week. Beginnings aren't always life-changing events. For example, if you have started reading a book in the last week you will have been tapping into the energy of the Ace of Clubs. See how many ideas you can come up with and keep notes. These will prove an invaluable resource and help you make real progress with your readings.

Lesson 3 - The 3 Card Spread

Now that you are beginning to get a feel for the individual cards let's take it a stage further by combining them in a reading. The 3 card spread is a nice way to do this and is a quick way to gain insight into a specific issue - but first you need to form your question.

The best questions are those which need more than a yes/no answer. To give you an example, rather than ask "will my team win the cup?" it would be better to ask, "what needs to happen to ensure my team has a good  opportunity of winning the cup?". You can see that not only does the second of these open the way for greater insight into the situation but it also accepts that there are other factors which can affect the result - it is not a matter of fate! This is a crucial lesson in reading the cards as our futures are not set in stone. The best reading is one in which you have been able to give another person insight into their situation so that they may make the best decisions for their own futures.

Once you have formulated your question, hold it in your mind and shuffle the cards until you feel you are ready to start the reading. Then draw 3 cards from the pack (whether you take the cards from the top or from throughout the pack is really a matter of personal preference) and lay them face down and side by side in front of you. Of these, the card on the left will represent the past, the centre card will represent the present, and the one on the right, the future. Another way of looking at this spread is that the first position is that of influence, the second is the current situation and the third is the potential outcome. Turn the cards over one at a time giving yourself enough time to recall what each signifies.

    past                                   present                                    future

Next you will need to consider what they indicate in relation to where they are situated in the spread, and in relation to the question. This isn't difficult but may take a bit of practice. For example, if you asked a question about romance and were to turn over the 2 of Hearts in the first position, you might feel that this refers to a past relationship. However, if your question was about your career, the same card in the same position could indicate that a relationship had somehow contributed (past) towards your (present) career concerns. In the second example the relationship itself may not be in the past, but it's position tells us that it has influenced the current situation.

The best way to get the hang of this is to give it a go. Ask your friends and family to suggest topics that might form the base of a reading. Think how you would phrase a question around this topic. You can then start reading the cards as a set rather than individually, remembering that the future (or outcome) is a result of decisions and actions taken in the present.  Most importantly, try to remember that reading the cards is an art not a science. You wouldn't expect to paint a masterpiece in 3 lessons, so be kind on yourself. No-one expects you to be an expert overnight, except maybe you! Relax and let your intuition guide you.

Congratulations!!! You have completed a great deal in 3 lessons. If there are parts you aren't sure of you can always go back and recap. In the next lesson we will be looking at the Aces in a little more detail and finding out why the Ace of Spades has the reputation it does. Intrigued? See you there.

Lesson 2 - Making Friends of the Court Cards

Court cards refer to the people in our lives, though they can also refer to qualities in ourselves. Keeping things simple for now let's assume that they refer to other people and that a Queen indicates a woman, a King indicates a man and a Jack refers to a young person who might be male or female. As before, the suit indicates the element and corresponding characteristics; so a Queen of Clubs would indicate a woman who portrays the qualities of Air.

To make it easier to understand the elements as they relate to people it is useful to compare the Court Cards with Astrology.

Hearts = Water Signs: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces / Emotional and intuitive.

Clubs = Air Signs: Gemini, Libra and Aquarius / Objective and idealistic.

Diamonds = Earth Signs: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn / Practical and pragmatic.

Spades = Fire Signs: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius / Passionate and motivated.

If you think of your friends zodiac signs and the qualities they possess in relation to the playing cards you will soon get a feel for this.

A word of caution though - when a Court Card appears in a reading don't assume that this means a person of a particular sign will be significant. That is to say that drawing the King of Diamonds, for example, does not necessarily mean that a Taurus (or Capricorn or Virgo) man is indicated. Sometimes that might be the case, but more often than not it will indicate that a person who portrays the characteristics of that sign will be relevant to the situation to which the reading refers.

In the next lesson i will teach you how to carry out a simple 3 card reading but now it's time to have some fun. Spread the Court Cards out in front of you and taking one at a time consider them in relation to the qualities given above. Do they remind you of anyone you know. What about celebrities, politicians, or characters from your favourite book or movie? Try to understand the personality of the card and in no time at all they'll be like old friends.

Lesson 1 - Getting Started

I started using playing cards for divination in my teens, when other people were starting to explore tarot. I think one of the things that attracted me to it was how easy it was to get started. At it's most basic it is a matter of combining simple Numerology (the card denominations) with an understanding of the Elements (the suits). Of course, there is more to it than that but that's really all you need to begin ... so, discarding the court cards for now, let's get started.

it's not as daunting as it seems

The Pip Cards

Ace = Beginnings.

2 = Partnerships

3 = Choices

4 = Stability

5 = Change

6 = Balance

7 = Spirituality

8 = Power

9 = Endings

10 = Success

The Suits

Hearts = Water (relationships and emotions)

Clubs = Air (knowledge and communication)

Diamonds = Earth (financial matters)

Spades = Fire (passion and spirituality).

Working with just the information above it's not hard to work out what might be indicated if you were to draw a 3 (choices) of Hearts (relationships), or what a 10 (success) of Diamonds (finances) could mean. And that's all there is to it ... for now. I will go into each in more detail in another lesson but in the meantime have fun choosing cards at random and hazard a guess at what each might mean.