Basic Cartomancy Skills: Suit Interactions

Part 1: Suit Interactions

I first learned to read playing cards from my paternal grandmother, who was professional reader in New York City back in the 1950′s and 60′s. She had learned to read the cards from an aunt back in Italy before immigrating to the U.S. I remember, as a young child, eavesdropping on my grandmother’s readings with fascination, and when I turned 12 years old, she agreed to teach me her method.

The first thing I learned was to read the cards based on the symbolism of the four suits only. At the time, I was feeling restless and disappointed because I desperately wanted to learn the “meat and potatoes” of card reading. Now in retrospect, I appreciate my grandmother’s immense wisdom. My ability to perform a complete, in-depth reading using only the symbolism of the four Suits, and how they interact, has contributed greatly to my success as a reader.

The cards will speak to you in a unique and personal way if you are willing to open your heart and mind to their wisdom.  These are the basic suit meanings that work best for me:

Basic Suit Meanings:

♠ Spades - negativity, problems, challenges, failure, illness and loss.

♥ Hearts – emotion, love, happiness, sharing, pleasure, and healing.

♣ Clubs - good luck, growth, activity, work, business and social interactions.

♦ Diamonds - energy, power, imagination, money, rewards, success and legal judgments.

Basic Suit Interactions:

Each Suit is influenced by the Suit that tops or falls to the right of it. Here is a table of suggested meanings for the interactions of the Four Suits that work for me. This list only scratches the surface, so don’t be afraid to work out your own interpretations based on your own unique understanding of the four suits.

	♠ Spades	♥ Hearts	♣ Clubs	♦ Diamonds
♠ Spades	serious trouble, illness, possible harm	physical or emotional healing	actively working through problems	imagined problems, improved finances
♥ Hearts	hurt feelings, emotional pain	joy, happiness, love, romance, enjoyment	creativity, service to others & good luck	happiness & success, comfort & security
♣ Clubs	increased difficulties, problems with work	happy outcome, developing emotions	action, increased activity, taking control	increase in power or money, rewards from work
♦ Diamonds	energy block, money problem, spending money	rewards, positive attraction or sharing money	applied power or investing money	great success or acquiring and saving money

With just the basic meanings to the Suits, it’s possible to provide an accurate, insightful reading. And a good understanding of the four suits and how they interact is an excellent jumping off point for delving more deeply into the symbolism of the individual cards.

In Part 2, I’ll review the basic cartomancy number meanings, and how to combine them with the suit interactions to provide a surprisingly detailed and accurate cartomancy reading.