Cartomancy Meanings for all 4 Suits of Cards

May 20, 2024

Tarot cards and oracle card decks are staples in many people’s spiritual toolkits for turning to whenever they need help tapping into their intuition for clarity around an issue or a quick vibe check of what the day up ahead has in store. If you’re totally new to card reading or are always game to try a new divination tool, there’s another alternative: using a deck of playing cards, which is a practice called cartomancy.

Wait, what is cartomancy?

Technically speaking, cartomancy refers to using any cards to tell fortunes or for inner guidance, says Fahrusha, a professional intuitive; however, a narrower definition of cartomancy focuses specifically on playing cards, she says. As with many mystical practices, Fahrusha says the true history and origin of cartomancy is a unknown, but we do know that it goes way back. “Playing cards were well established in Europe in the 14th Century, though there were different cards and numbers of cards in the various countries,” she says. “Games with cards were reported [even] earlier in India and China.”

Unlike tarot, which uses 78 cards, a playing card deck only has 52. The latter also lacks the abundance of visual imagery found in a former except for face cards (i.e. kings, queens, jacks). Both types of decks, however, are broken down into four suits, albeit different ones: Playing cards feature hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades, while tarot’s are pentacles, swords, wands, and cups.

Experts In This Article

Fahrusha, professional intuitive based in New York

Cartomancy meanings

Similar to tarot, Fahrusha says cartomancy meanings will differ and depend on how the cards are laid out and the question asked. For instance, if you pull the Ace of spades in a career reading it may mean something different if it comes up during a love reading.

Also, there aren’t as many resources on how to read a 52-card deck as there are for tarot, so many experienced readers have developed their own unique system of meanings, she adds. As a starting point, below, Fahrusha shares her interpretation of cartomancy meanings.

Spades

According to Fahrusha, the suit of spades focuses on themes of thoughts and planning.

Ace of spades: Ready your plan
Two of spades: You’re feeling uncertain
Three of spades: Communication is poor
Four of spades: Ideas are growing
Five of spades: You’re receiving push back from others
Six of spades: You’re going somewhere with a purpose
Seven of spades: Prepare for new possibilities
Eight of spades: Stoppage has occurred
Nine of spades: There is fear of future
Ten of spades: Do it or forget it
Jack of spades: Young man becomes important to your future plans
Queen of spades: Woman becomes important to your future plans
King of spades: Mature man wants a say in your plans

Diamonds

The diamond suit, which refers to the shape not the precious stone, is focused on energy and work, Fahrusha says.

Ace of diamonds: Start your work with energy
Two of diamonds: Your energy is finite—use it well
Three of diamonds: Teamwork is highlighted
Four of diamonds: Trust your coworkers or helpers
Five of diamonds: Accept a helping hand
Six of diamonds: Help others in their work
Seven of diamonds: There’s confusion over what to do next
Eight of diamonds: You’re learning a new job
Nine of diamonds: Business is booming
Ten of diamonds: A responsibility or alliance
Jack of diamonds: reliable young man
Queen of diamonds: reliable woman
King of diamonds: new boss or someone who wants to be your boss

Hearts

The suit of heartsnis all about relaxation, love, and peace, Fahrusha says.

Ace of hearts: feelings of friendship, romance, or peace
Two of hearts: falling in love or lust
Three of hearts: a new and important friendship
Four of hearts: peace and tranquility prevails
Five of hearts: loss of love or contentment, or illness
Six of hearts: being with children or being like a child
Seven of hearts: decisions based on emotions
Eight of hearts: breakup of friendship or romance
Nine of hearts: alone and happy
Ten of hearts: deal with family issues
Jack of hearts: young man for romance or friendship
Queen of hearts: woman for romance or friendship
King of hearts: older man for romance or friendship

Clubs

Fahrusha says the suit of clubs homes in on the themes of harvest and fruition.

Ace of clubs: Rewards are coming
Two of clubs: Gather up what you've got
Three of clubs: Share your bounty
Four of clubs: You win
Five of clubs: Financial reversal or loss
Six of clubs: You can't buy love or friendship
Seven of clubs: buying luxury items
Eight of clubs: saving money or investing
Nine of clubs: spending on travel or traveling
Ten of clubs: Pay back debts of all sorts
Jack of clubs: man you share with
Queen of clubs: woman you share with
King of clubs: Person who wants to manage or use your resources, money, or gains

How to do a cartomancy reading

Like with tarot, how a cartomancy reading is conducted will differ from reader to reader. Typically, you’ll start with a shuffle before laying out the cards. Fahrusha notes there are many possible layouts. The easiest to start with is a three-card spread focused on a specific question or a prediction for a certain time period (i.e. What’s up ahead in the upcoming month?), she says.