How to Use Playing Cards As Tarot Cards

Written by Stina Garbis | Edited by Danielle Blinka, MA, MPA

Last Updated: October 16, 2022 References

You have questions—and a simple deck of playing cards might have all the answers. Using playing cards to tell your fortune might seem like a slumber party trick, but it’s actually called cartomancy and dates back to the 1700s.^{[1]
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Research source} It only takes a few minutes to do a simple card reading, and it’s really fun to interpret the cards. We’ll walk you through the essential steps for using playing cards as tarot cards. There are several ways to interpret the cards, but we’ve kept it simple so you can get right to the good stuff.

This article is based on an interview with our spiritual advisor and reiki master, Emily Christensen, founder of Rainbow Raaja. Check out the full interview here.

1

Clear your mind before you start your reading.

Jumbled thoughts make it hard to interpret your cards.^{[2]
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Research source} Before you begin, take a moment to breathe deeply and release any thoughts circling your head. When you feel ready, dive into your reading.
- For instance, you might close your eyes and take a deep breath. As you let out your breath, imagine your thoughts going with it.

2

Ask the cards a question to guide your reading.

Always form a question before you get started. Be specific about your topic so you can get clear direction from the cards. You might ask about your relationship, work issues, life choices, or your spiritual path.^{[3]
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Expert Source

Susan Levitt
Tarot Card Reader
Expert Interview. 20 November 2019.}
- If you’re wondering about a particular person or event, ask something like, “Where is my relationship with Alex going?” “Will I be happy if I move away for college?” or “What will happen if I take this promotion at work?”
- You can also be more general. You could ask, “What’s in store for my love life?” “How will the new year unfold?” or “Will I be successful in my career?”
- It’s okay to ask more than 1 question, but do a separate card layout for each one.

3

Shuffle your cards and cut the deck.

Ask for guidance as you prepare the deck. Shuffle the cards a few times to make sure they’re really mixed up. Set the deck on a flat surface, then cut it once. Restack the deck so it’s ready for the reading.^{[4]
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Research source}
- Think about your question as you shuffle.
- If you're planning on using your cards for yes/no questions, you might not want to think about a specific question while you shuffle. Instead, you might think, "Give me the answers I seek."
- “Cut the deck” means to separate the shuffled deck into 2 smaller decks.

4

Draw 1 card for yes/no answers.

Red cards mean “yes,” and black cards mean “no.” Simply ask your question, then pick the top card. Your questions can be general or very specific. Either way, the cards will give you a clear “yes” or “no” answer. You can keep asking questions for as long as you like.^{[5]
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Research source} Here are some good questions to ask:
- “Will I find love soon?”
- “Is Taylor the right person for me?”
- “Is this career path right for me?”
- “Should I switch majors?”
- “Can I trust Mario?”
- “Am I on the right track at school?”
- “Should I enroll in a photography class?”
- “Should I move to Portland?”
- “Will this project be a success?”

5

Lay out a spread for open-ended questions.

A spread is a series of cards that you read together. To get started, try a 1- or 3-card spread with your playing cards. Draw the cards from the top of the deck 1 by 1 and lay them in a row.^{[6]
X
Research source} You don’t need to use a special layout to read your cards. Just follow your intuition.^{[7]
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Expert Source

Emily Christensen
Spiritual Advisor & Founder of Rainbow Raaja
Expert Interview. 8 July 2020.}
- For a 1-card spread, you just draw the top card and interpret its meaning.
- In a 3-card spread, the first card represents the past, the second card represents the present, and the 3rd card represents the future.
- As you get more into tarot, you might learn how to do traditional tarot spreads. However, this isn’t necessary for reading playing cards.

6

Interpret the card's suit first.

Each card suit has a special meaning that relates to the tarot deck.^{[8]
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Expert Source

Stina Garbis
Psychic Astrologer
Expert Interview. 14 February 2022.} The suit's meaning will guide your interpretation of the card. Here’s how each suit connects to the tarot:^{[9]
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Research source}
- Hearts: Like the cups suit in the tarot, hearts represent your feelings, relationships, and home.
- Spades: Like the swords in the tarot, spades connect to obstacles, loss, planning, and intellect.
- Clubs: Like wands in the tarot, clubs represent future actions, travel, and creative thinking.
- Diamonds: Like pentacles in the tarot, diamonds connect to work and money.

7

Use the card number to deepen your interpretation.

Number cards are called “pip” cards. Like in the traditional tarot, each card number means something different. When you interpret the card number, relate the number’s meaning back to the suit's meaning.^{[10]
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Expert Source

Stina Garbis
Psychic Astrologer
Expert Interview. 14 February 2022.} Here are the general interpretations for each number:^{[11]
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Research source}
- Ace: Beginning, attributes of the card suit
- 2: Relationship, balance
- 3: Connections, growth
- 4: Foundation, stability
- 5: Change, challenge, imbalance
- 6: Harmony, success
- 7: Wisdom, spirituality, choices
- 8: Organization, movement, stagnation
- 9: Realization, understanding
- 10: Completion, transition to something new

8

Treat face cards like number cards.

Face cards are called “court” cards. In general, they reflect real people, though knaves (jacks) can also reflect a situation. These cards may mean someone is coming into your life. Here’s how to interpret them:^{[12]
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Research source}
- Knave (jack) of hearts: Romantic partner; confidant
- Knave (jack) of spades: Focused, clever
- Knave (jack) of clubs: Adventurer, risk-taker
- Knave (jack) of diamonds: Grounded, serious
- Queen of hearts: Kind, nurturing woman
- Queen of spades: Honest woman
- Queen of clubs: Passionate, ambitious woman
- Queen of diamonds: Practical, helpful woman
- King of hearts: Wise, calm man
- King of spades: Calculating man
- King of clubs: Inspirational man
- King of diamonds: Hard-working, rich man

9

Interpret the joker as a surprise waiting for you.

The joker represents the person being read, similar to the “fool” in tarot. When it appears in a reading, it may mean a situation you’re facing is going to suddenly change. It’s not really positive or negative on its own. Connect it back to the other cards in your spread and use your intuition to figure out what it means to you.^{[13]
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Research source}
- For example, let’s say you’re doing a reading to find out if you’re going to meet someone special soon. In that case, the joker could mean that you’re about to have a sudden change in your love life.

10

Set a meaning or intention for each card for a simpler reading.

Tarot reading isn’t about rules—it’s based on intuition. Traditional card interpretations can provide a lot of guidance for your readings, but they’re not necessary.^{[14]
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Expert Source

Emily Christensen
Spiritual Advisor & Founder of Rainbow Raaja
Expert Interview. 8 July 2020.} If interpreting your cards feels difficult or constricting, just go with your gut.
- For example, let’s say the number “8” has always felt lucky for you. When an “8” comes up in your reading, you might interpret it to mean something positive in your future.
- Similarly, clubs look like clovers, which might remind you of your childhood playing outdoors. You might decide that clovers represent your inner child and spending time in nature.
- The key is being consistent. If you assign special meanings to your cards, always interpret them that way.

11

Put your interpretations together to get your reading.

Combine all of your card interpretations to get a full picture. First, pair each card’s suit meaning and the number or face card interpretation.^{[15]
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Expert Source

Stina Garbis
Psychic Astrologer
Expert Interview. 14 February 2022.} Then, look at all the cards together and see how they play off each other. Finally, use your intuition to decide what the cards mean to you.^{[16]
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Research source} Here are some example readings for the question, “Should I switch jobs?”:
- Ace of Spades: Spades can represent obstacles, loss, planning, and intellect, while the ace represents beginnings. This card might mean that changing jobs will require a lot of planning, but it could be a good idea because you see new beginnings in the cards. The loss could represent your old job.
- 3 of Clubs + 4 of Diamonds + 5 of Spades: In this 3 card spread, the 3 of clubs represents the past and could mean that you had creativity and connection in your job before. The 4 of diamonds represents the present and could mean you have money and stability now. The 5 of spades represents the future and could mean you’d have change, obstacles, and loss. This might mean it’s best to stay at your current job, depending on what your intuition tells you.

Expert Q&A

Question

Can you use normal playing cards as tarot cards?

Stina Garbis
Psychic Astrologer
Reverend Stina Garbis is a Psychic Astrologer and the Owner of Psychic Stina. With over 30 years of experience, she specializes in providing personal and professional advice through astrology and tarot card readings. Reverend Stina has experience working with high-profile celebrities, sports figures, politicians, and CEOs. She has been featured in many publications, including Bustle, Vice, The New York Post, and Readers’ Digest and she also has a 200k+ following on TikTok. Stina holds an Ordained Minister License from The International Metaphysical Ministry University Seminary.

Stina Garbis

Psychic Astrologer

Expert Answer

Yeah, definitely! It’s called cartomancy. Tarot has a major and minor arcana, and a regular deck of playing cards does not have that, but that is fine, since you can find you have all of the answers in the major arcana, or in a deck of regular playing cards.
Question

How do you tell fortunes with playing cards?

Stina Garbis
Psychic Astrologer
Reverend Stina Garbis is a Psychic Astrologer and the Owner of Psychic Stina. With over 30 years of experience, she specializes in providing personal and professional advice through astrology and tarot card readings. Reverend Stina has experience working with high-profile celebrities, sports figures, politicians, and CEOs. She has been featured in many publications, including Bustle, Vice, The New York Post, and Readers’ Digest and she also has a 200k+ following on TikTok. Stina holds an Ordained Minister License from The International Metaphysical Ministry University Seminary.

Stina Garbis

Psychic Astrologer

Expert Answer

In cartomancy, you use the number to mean something, and the suit to mean something and you combine the messages together to get the meaning. When in doubt, you can look up the meaning of the card and refer to it as its tarot equal.