About Me

Welcome to the Art of Cartomancy blog.

I am a professional predictive cartomancer, and I have been reading playing cards for most of my life. I was introduced to cartomancy at an early age. My grandmother read playing cards at the tearooms in New York City back in the 1940s and 1950s. Tarot cards were not widely available back then, and most card readers used the regular playing cards. I can remember watching my grandmother read cards at family gatherings when I was a child. The aunts and uncles and cousins would all queue up for a reading.

I was fascinated by the life stories and the family secrets that were revealed in my grandmother’s cards. Her readings sparked my own interest in learning to read the secrets in the cards. I was 13 years old when my grandmother taught me the basics and got me started. Then I continued to expand my knowledge and skills by mentoring with other card readers and by studying an expanding collection of cartomancy books. I have been reading cards professionally since 1991.

The two books that had the most influence on my own style of card reading (which I like to call Modern Cartomancy) are: It’s Written in the Cards by Dr. Leo Louis Martello, and The Card Reader’s Handbook by Regina Russell. In my opinion, these two books are indispensible for anyone seriously interested in learning Modern Cartomancy. Sadly, Dr. Martello’s book is out of print, and is difficult to acquire. Regina Russell’s book can be purchased from her Tearoom, and I believe it is also available now on Amazon.com. You'll find that I utilize the basic meanings taught by these pioneers of modern cartomancy, but over the years I have developed my own style reading the playing cards.

I created The Art of Cartomancy blog as an online journal where I can record: personal readings, cartomancy musings, sample readings for study and contemplation, experimental techniques, and other interesting bits of card-reading information. As an added benefit I hope my writings may prove useful for other people who are interested in learning this system of Modern Cartomancy.

If you are interested in a private reading with me—either by email or telephone, you can find a list of my services and my contact information on the Cartomancy Readings page.

Thanks for stopping by!
Kapherus
(J. David Arcuri)

Modern Cartomancy /’mädǝrn ’kärtǝmansē/ n. a system of fortune-telling by interpreting a random selection of playing cards based on the Italian Playing Card Tradition and the teachings of Dr. Louis Leo Martello and Regina Russell.