Erklärung
Explanation
Explication
Használati utasítás
Nr. 1901
Traditionelle Wahrsagekarten
Traditional fortune telling cards
L’Oracle Traditionnel
Jóskártya
PIATNIK – VIENNA
© 1986 by PIATNIK, Wien
Printed in Austria
Preface
Playing cards have been used for the pur-
poses of fortune-telling since they came into
existence some six centuries ago. Indeed,
cartomancy is the most widespread tech-
nique fortelling the future.
Recent years have seen a notable revival of
interest in cartomancy. Two factors account
for this trend: First, mankind has always had
a hankering for knowledge of what the future
has in store - not merely out of curiosity but
often for immediate practical reasons, as a
guideline in making important decisions.
Second, in the early stages of his evolution
man possessed a far more highly developed
intuitive sense than today. Many people are
now rediscovering that faculty as they ex-
plore their own inner selves.
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Fortune-telling cards with their evocative
yet enigmatic images are signposts on the
path to the inner self. Merely by focusing
on our subjective perceptions we regain an
awareness of an intuitive understanding
which has long since been suppressed by
the technological super!ciality and the hec-
tic pace of modern-day life.
lt should be added that cartomancy also
possesses a high degree of entertainment
value. Yet this is not to deny the possibility
that the cards may reveal a great deal of
truth. lt is left to the discretion of the indi-
vidual to decide how much trust he or she
places in what the cards have to say.
Herein lies the true fascination of carto-
mancy: it opens up a new approach to hu-
man understanding without prescribing
literal conclusions.
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Cartomancy over the centuries
Little as we know about the history of play-
ing cards, we have even less historical evi-
dence to shed light on the origins of carto-
mancy. What we can say with some degree
of certainty is that: "e earliest documen-
tary reference to playing cards in Europe
dates from the 1370´s. "e oldest playing
cards that have come down to us go back
to the beginning of the !fteenth century.
"e !rst reference to fortune-telling by cards
is contained in the “Mainzer Losbuch”,
which was printed by Johann Schö#er be-
tween 1505 and 1510.
lt seems probable, then, that playing cards
were used for the purposes of fortune-telling
more or less from their !rst appearance in
Europe. "e earliest playing cards were as-
sociated with adages which point to a car-
tomantic context.
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"e great heyday of fortune-telling cards
came in the eighteenth century and coin-
cided with the Age of Enlightenment. lt was
during this period that the traditions of the
magic circles and the revival of interest in
alchemy emerged in the form which they
have largely retained to the present day.
Several card decks have come· down to us
from the eighteenth century - most notably
from England, France and Germany. "en
there were the celebrated cartomancers; !rst
and foremost the French wigmaker Aliette,
who inverted his name and called himself
Etteila; and the best-known of all nine-
teenth-century fortunetellers, Mademoiselle
Lenormand from Paris, of whom Napoleon
was far from enamoured because she had
been consulted by the Emperor’s wife Jose-
phine de Beauhernais.
See PIATNIK card set No. 1941: Mlle.
Lenormand Cartomancy Deck.
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The Cards
"e cards contained in PIATNIK series No.
1901 and 1904 lend themselves well to use
by the inexperienced cartomancer. "eir
meaning is relatively easily deciphered, al-
though it is important to avoid falling into
the trap of adhering too closely and literal-
ly to the meanings suggested by the pictures
and captions. However, the cards are explic-
it enough in their connotations to make a
detailed commentary unnecessary. When
using this deck it is essential that you should
concentrate less on the signi!cance of the
individual cards than on their relative po-
sitions and the overall meaning suggested
by their arrangement on the table.
"e present deck can be used for virtually
any system of laying the cards. "ere follow
descriptions of three simple and popular
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techniques: 1. Rows, 2. !e Wheel of For-
tune and 3. !e fortune tellers Answer.
1. Rows
"e cards are shu#ed until both the inquir-
er and the card reader are satis!ed that they
are ready to be laid out. "e inquirer cuts
the deck.
"e cards are arranged face up on the table
in four rows of 9 cards each (Gipsy Cards)
or 8 cards each (Cartomancy Deck).
"e diagram above represents one possible
starting point. "e cards adjacent to the
inquirer’s card (always “ Merriment”) shed
light on it. "e cards on the horizontal axis
to the left and right of “Merriment” disclose
information pertaining to the past (left) and
the future (right). On the vertical axis, the
cards above the inquirer’s card reveal his or
her thoughts and preoccupations (what is
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What is in your head
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Merriment
Past Future
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What you tread under foot
in his or her head), those below the inquir-
er’s card what the inquirer is reluctant to
accept (what he or she treads under foot).
"e cards located diagonally to the inquir-
er’s card have a bearing on both the hori-
zontal and the vertical axis.
2. The Wheel of Fortune
"e card at the centre of the Wheel of For-
tune represents the problem or question
about which the inquirer is seeking enlight-
enment. lt may relate to Malady, Marriage,
Death, Jealousy, Enemy, Fidelity, or Desire.
"e appropriate card is selected by the card
reader from the deck and placed in the cen-
tre. "e inquirer then arranges seven cards
in semicircles on either side of the problem
card.
"e semicircle on the left deals with events
and developments leading up to the prob-
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7 1
6 2
5 3
4 Past Problemcard Future 4
3 5
2 6
1 7
lem, that on the right presages future events.
"is technique requires no great experience.
lt is important to remember that even ap-
parently inappropriate cards reveal as much
meaning as those that are obviously con-
nected with the problem. "e signi!cance
of each card should not be understood too
literally. For instance, “O$cer” could also
indicate an o$cial “Loss” could also mean
a business setback. "e most revealing as-
pect of the arrangement lies in the combi-
nation of cards.
3. The fortune tellers Answer
"is is a question-and-answer routine in
which the inquirer must pose three ques-
tions.
"e cards in the bottom row relate directly
to the question but may also contain hints
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Merriment
Present
Past Future
Problem-(solution)
1. 2. 3.
as to a possible solution. "e cards on the
left deal with the past, those on the right
with the future. "e top row has to do with
the present.
lt is best to lay out all three groups of four
cards at the same time instead of one by
one, since the relationships between the
cards across the groups are often extremely
revealing.
General Remarks
"e message which the cards reveal will
always relate to the broad questions and
problems of a person’s life and cannot deal
with the speci!cs of when what particular
event will occur. "e inquirer is advised not
to seek detailed answers but rather to regard
the information disclosed by the cards as
an incentive to re%ect on his or her own life
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within the perspectives of the past, present,
and future. For the cartomancer reading the
cards will prove a valuable exercise in
!ne-tuning his or her understanding of
human nature. Above all, it will o&er im-
portant insights into one’s own personality.
PIATNIKS Tarot and Cartomancy Series:
No. 1945 Tarot of Marseilles
No. 2825 Pointner Tarot
No. 1943 Eclectic Tarot
No. 1942 Deva-Tarot
No. 1941 Mlle. Lenormand Cartomancy
Deck
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