#deck 52 king of diamonds

[sapphiel]

What's he planning this time...?

[americanotaku]

Markiplier Fiber Optic Cable Core except it’s the diamond guy

[amalgamited]

King Cornelius of Diamonds Kingdom✦♦✦

[flying-birdie]

[bugbeast]

Self promo for my newest card game, Jewel Thief; but you can play it for free! First, though, let's cover the basics...

TL;DR - Its a 4+ player competetive card-matching game with four rule variants; buy it here or look for the orange text in this post to learn how to play it with a regular deck

"What is Jewel Thief?"

It's a card matching game with a villain; one player tries to match jewels in a 36 card grid while their opponent, the titular Jewel Thief, periodically steals cards from the board. You can check out its page on The Game Crafter for more information, but it'll spoil the rest of this post

"What makes it special?"

The game's turn structure would theorettically allow you, perhaps via some kind of infinite cloning machine, to play a round of Jewel Thief til the heat death of the universe. While I wouldnt recommend that, its lack of a player cap (and ease of set-up; seriously, all you do is put cards on a table) makes it a good party game choice.

But that's not all!

There are three extra rule variants that drastically alter the gameplay while keeping card matching and stealing as main mechanics. I believe the cards are versatile enough to allow for many custom games, too

"Okay, but why should I buy a silly game from some bug nerd?"

First off, ouch. Second off, that's the best part; you dont have to buy it to play it! Jewel Thief can be played with a standard 52 card deck. Here's how:

Step 1. Remove the 10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Jokers

Step 2. Download the free rules from the shop page

Step 3. Play the game, matching cards based on their values. You'll need to designate a value as the Diamond jewel for game 4

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That's it for my little self-promo. If you dont buy the game, I hope you'll at least give it a try and consider supporting my future projects.

I also post art and photography, which you can find under the bugbeast art and bugbeast photos tags. I hope you check them out

Thank you for your time <3

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Edit (Mar. 25, 2024) : Thank you to everyone who liked and reblogged this; if you play the game I encourage you to share your thoughts in the comments and/or reblogs (even if you hated it). Feel free to share any custom games or house rules you come up with, too. I'd love to try them!

Edit (Aug. 10, 2024) : Final edit most likely; gonna blaze this one more time for good luck then maybe start work on a postmortem for the project, maybe give a little backstory for anyone who cares. Life is a little rough right now, but fate willing, I'll be able to work on/post about my future projects, including the future of Jewel Thief itself

[anovainspace]

script’s special card deck

these are examples of what his deck would look like when being used ^^

(1) nightmare @/jokublog | backside of the card | (ut) frisk

(2) outcast @avianoutcast | nephele @kosmickal | nems @bloobluee

(3) us!paps | ot!toriel | uf!undyne

i never went fully in depth with script’s ability with his cards back when i first posted him, so why not now? >>

lil rambling ⬇️

each suit, numbers, and faces have a role in his deck

for example: ace to ten (with the exception of nine and ten) are human-souls abilities, queen/king are boss monsters, jesters are outcodes, and the two joker cards is a bluff card

script’s card deck, in simple terms, is like a uno reverse card,, he’s able to throw back a attack that the other opponent used previously

HOWEVER,, there is rules to his deck, for example:

1. like a standard deck, he only has 52 cards (four suits of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. each suit contains: Ace, 2 - 10, jack, queen, king)

2. his cards are bound to some rules (ex. a queen card will always be a boss monster’s normal atk and a king card will always be boss monster’s special atk

3. he can one get his cards when the other person/monster is using said atk

yuh

[burdigel]

Theories and Headcannons Pt. 22

So new week, new theory about Doc's new poker game and the hermits decided to be used as the monarchs and joker for each type of deck. Innovated from the French-suited playing cards, Doc's poker deck has four suits, diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades, and each suiting having three court cards, King, Queen and Jack. This results in only twelve available spaces considering one hermit takes one court card each and leaves fifteen hermits unable to be represented by the cards. Nethertheless even with the limited representation of the hermits, each cards has its depth and lore.

Starting with the suit of diamond, has Doc representing its King, Gem representing its Queen and Scar representing its Jack. As diamonds is represented as a valuable material considering its bartering and trading value in Hermitcraft, being the main currency for shops, it's reasonable that Doc would be the face of Kings of Diamonds. Gem's reasoning is also obvious due to her talent considering both PVP and her building skills. Finally Scar, being the Jack of Diamonds is poetic due to his bartering (scamming) skills built from his charisma to trade for "diamond" tiered items with common items.

The court of Hearts is a different story considering its representatives are Rendog for the King, Falsesymmetry for the Queen and Bdubs as its Jack. With the symbol of Hearts often depicted as red and hearts in general epitomising the living flesh of a person, Ren as the King is perfect. As RentheKing in Hermitcraft Season Nine and the Red King back in Third Life, Ren deserves the position of King of Hearts. Second to the King of Hearts, is Falsesymmetry, the winner of Season's 10 demise. With hearts also depicting the life and soul of a person, it's also fitting for the winner to recieve the mantle of Queen of Hearts. The final court of Jacks is Bdubs, who in Season Nine of Hermitcraft was the assistant or right-hand man to RentheKing. Resulting in his title of the rank below the King, Jacks of Hearts.

With the court of Spades, majority of its court was already explained by Doc in his previous Hermitcraft 10 episode, (29) with the Jack of Spades being Mumbo, a spoon, Etho being definitively cool and the suit of Spades being objectively cool (in Doc's perspective), and Pearl fitting the role of Queen of Spades. But the reasonings run deeper than this besides Mumbo's spoon reasoning. Take Pearl, the Queen of Spades. Back in Season Nine, she was the Cleaning Lady, taking on jobs of cleaning chestmonsters and other messes with a price. Spades is often linked with the concept of cleaning so it was natural to pick Pearl. The final court card, Kings of Spades, is given to Etho and rightfully so because of his connections to Shade-E-E. Originally Shade-E-E was a "subscription service" and later evolved to a "gardening service" which entailed him using dirt and other blocks to create pixel artworks for the other hermits in saeson seven. And what else is connected to dirt, spades, hence the King of Spades being Ethoslab.

The final suit, Clubs, consist of King of Clubs being Xisumavoid, Queen of Clubs being ZombieCleo and Jack of Clubs being Grian. Although the listed hermits' connections to the suit of Clubs may be vague, there is a connection hidden between the layers of history the deck of cards retains. With majority depictions of a deck of cards using French-suited playing cards, other versions of the standard 52-card deck is found throughout multiple continents with German depications of the Club being an acorn. Acorns also being a symbol of strength and resilience, a trait Xisuma has constantly demonstrated throughout the decade Hermitcraft has been running. Cleo's connections of the suit of Clubs includes her role as an enforcing monarchy, the Queen, with a royal baton otherwise known as a sceptre being a symbol of royalty. Finally, Grian's relation to the Club are the multiple depictions of the suit of Clubs being of a plant. Plants and weeds like the clover and acorns are all edible to a range of bird species, both domestic and wild and with the fandom's collective decision to represent Grian has a human with avian features, it's his connections to birds that create his relationship with the Jack of Clubs.

These twelve court cards all with their representative hermits all have depth and lore leading their portrayal as the monarchs and Jacks of each suit.

---------

So this theory is finally here and I hope it made up for the multiple weeks without theories. Still have to cope with exams but soon I will be free from these shackles.

[starlingschool]

𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐭 𝟏𝟎𝟏: 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐲

Welcome to Tarot 101 with Astrid! This is part 1 of my series. To keep each post as short as possible these will be bite sized. This part will explain the basic anatomy of the Tarot Deck and a brief explanation of its origin.

c o n t e n t s

Anatomy of a Deck

Why so many Cards?

Major vs Minor

A n a t o m y o f a D e c k

Let’s start with breaking down a tarot deck.

A tarot deck has 78 cards. It’s split into two big groups, the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana.

➸ Although some styles of tarot decks may have additional cards that act as oracle cards, the following 78 cards are what are known as the complete Tarot deck.

The Major Arcana has 22 cards. Starting from 0: The Fool and ending with 21: The World.

The Minor Arcana has 56 cards, but it’s split into four smaller sections. These smaller sections are called “Suits”

The Suits are The Pentacles, The Wands, The Cups and The Swords. Each Suit has 14 cards. Starting with the Ace going to Ten, then we have a Page, Knight, Queen and King.

➸ If you’re familiar with Playing cards for poker or solitaire, the Minor Arcana in a Tarot deck is numbered just like the Playing cards, just that the “Suits” are different. In playing cards, there are clubs, spades, diamonds, and hearts. Now back to Tarot.

Below is a graphic of the cards of a Tarot deck split into the Major and Minor Arcana and Suits.

W h y s o m a n y c a r d s ?

The reason for the number of cards in a Tarot deck has to do with its history. Tarot is historically believed to have first been created as a secular Card Game in the 15th Century in Italy.

At the time card games had 52 cards. 4 Suits of 13 cards.

It’s thought that during the 1440’s, Tarot was created when the Duke of Milan asked an Artist to make a variation of the common card game. He asked to add cards to it and the artist Bonafacio Bembo added the 22 cards that make up today’s Major Arcana and added the Queens to the court cards of the Suits. Making each suit filled with 14 cards.

In conclusion, the 78 cards we have in today’s modern Tarot were made as a cure for boredom.

It’s important to note this because knowing the history of Tarot will help you in your journey when you decide how you will use Tarot in your practice.

I know some practitioners who think of Tarot as a sacred tool and they don’t like to leave any cards out while they shuffle and read cards.

I want to include this because I believe Tarot like any form of magic shouldn’t have fear of change attached to it. You should choose how to practice based on what resonates with you.

Some practitioners like to omit the major arcana or forgo the Minor Arcana in favor of using only 22 cards from the Major Arcana. Either way you practice is fine, just remember that the way you practice should bring you peace, not fear.

However you choose to practice Tarot, know that it is valid 🩷

Personally, I like to read with all 78 cards unless I’m using a Tarot Spread that calls for just one Arcana or Suit. I'll explain this more in depth in a later post!

M a j o r v s M i n o r

So if you don’t have to read with all 78 cards in a Tarot Deck, why do they exist and why do some Readers use them all? What’s the difference?

Well, Tarot is a divination tool so it’s here to make it easier to hear your intuition or view a situation from a different perspective. Knowing this, each card has a unique meaning behind it. A definition assigned to it both historically, or over time as Tarot entered the occult.

Although the Major and Minor Arcana’s have different meanings there are similarities between some cards.

The 22 cards in the Major Arcana tell a big picture story of a protagonist— The Fool— who goes through life’s joys and complications. However, the 56 cards in the Minor Arcana tell the same story but on a much more detailed view.

I like to think of it as the Major Arcana is the bird’s eye view of a situation and the Minor Arcana is the situation under a microscope.

For example, let’s say you ask Where you need to focus your mental energy on at this time? Let’s say in two different readings you get two different cards. One from the Major Arcana and one from the Minor. From the Minor, You get the 8 of wands. This could be interpreted a lot of different ways but for the sake of this post we’ll say this means you should focus on the finishing touches needed in order for you to propel forward in your passionate adventure. Whether this is starting a business or asking out your crush. Now, in a separate reading, you ask the same question, you get The Chariot from the Major Arcana. This could translate into you need to take the reins of your life and just go for it, with less thought to the tiny things “We’ll figure out the details when we get there!” Both readings say the same thing but their advice is different.

One tells you to look at the big picture, this needs to get done the sooner the better, take the reins and have fun with it, we can worry about the details later. While the other warns you to think things through, work out the kinks in your plan but do it quickly so you don’t lose momentum.

This is why both Arcana’s are useful and this is why some readers read with all 78 cards. However, there are advantages to using just one Arcana or just one suit.

But how do you know when to do that? We’ll look into that in our next part 🩷 since this post is getting long.

If you have any questions or want me to elaborate on something in this post please reach out, either with my “Witch’s Desk”, comments or DMs.

𐐪𐑂 My Etsy Divination Shop | My Ko-Fi Divination Shop

𐐪𐑂 Follow my Shop’s Tumblr @stardustedreams222

𐐪𐑂 Follow my Personal Tumblr @withloveastrid

𐐪𐑂 Support me on Ko-Fi for $3 a month to get exclusive readings ✨

With Love, Astrid 🩷✨

[rockybloo]

I just realized Decking City gots the name after a deck of cards... Idk why but up until now i though It was named like that bc both heroes and villains tend to 'deck It out' (hit each other) a lot lol.

Decking City is a play on the term "Deck King" because I put a lot of symbols and refs to cards and suits in that specific setting.

The Beloveds are themed after hearts, the Flavor Four after spades, Cherished is clovers, the Gamers are diamonds, and the Jollies are jokers.

Decking is even labeled as the 52nd state as ref to a 52 deck of cards (we don't talk about the 51st state)

SO YEAH

Lots of card symbolism about.

WHY?...BECAUSE I think it's cool and fun.

[daydreamtravellog]

Alone Among The Stars - Takuma Okada

Shall we embark on our first adventure?

Alone Among the Stars was published alongside two other games in Alone On A Journey, which you can find here, and it was originally published separately for free here.

This is a solo journaling game in which you, as a solitary adventurer, discover new planets and the many unique features each one has.

To play this game, you will need:

A standard deck of 52 playing cards (minus the Jokers)

A d6

Something to write with (this instructions imply something physical, like a pencil and small journal, but I just used a Google Doc)

To discover a new planet, roll the d6 and draw that number of cards, placing them facedown. I arranged them like this:

Lucky me, a full six! Seems we'll have lots to explore on this planet...

Speaking of which, lets see what we find first! Roll the d6 to determine how you come across this discovery, and draw a card to determine what that discovery is.

I rolled a two this time, which means it was 'arduous to get to'. A card with the Spade suit indicates a 'Natural Phenomena', and the rank of King means that this discovery was 'floating in the air'.

With that determined, write a short description of the discovery, and your reaction to finding it. (Note - You do not have to format it in the way that I did going forward, I just did it this way to sort of simulate an entry or report in the ship's log.)

Observation: Spotted in the distance after disembarking. The terrain is very uneven and rocky, making travel difficult despite the lowered gravity. There appeared to be stones of very sizes above the ground, with roots or vines of some kind connecting them to the ground. 

Remarks: “This is such a bizarre planet! I thought they were some bizarre plant life from a distance, but that’s not it… It seems like without these roots, these rocks would just float away! They’re like natural balloons! I wonder what causes this kind of thing to happen?”

With that, lets see what we find next...

Another 2, another 'arduous to get to' discovery. The Diamond suit indicates 'Living Beings', and the rank of 2 means that this discovery was seen 'under the light of the moon(s)'.

Observation: Even the lowered gravity didn’t make ascending a tall tree to investigate easy. Once I was high enough, I could see that the glowing mass was a swarm of insects, glowing as if in response to the shine of this planet’s many moons.

Remarks: “There are so many moons in the sky here, the nights are extraordinary! I noticed a bunch of little glowing things flitting through the air above me, so I climbed up a tree to get a better look. I tell ya, you'd think lower gravity would make some physical activities easier, but a tall tree is a tall tree, no matter what force the world is pulling you down with. Anyway, when I got up there, I found that they were these weird insects. They reminded me of those iridescent beetles back on Earth, except these were bioluminescent! It was like watching gemstones dance through the air, it was lovely...”

And again...

Finally, a different roll! A four indicates that 'you come upon it suddenly'. The Diamond suit once again indicates 'Living Beings', but this time, the rank of Ace means that this discovery was found 'in a field taller than you'.

Observation: There is some kind of creature living in the tall grasses, but I didn’t get a good look at it. Whatever they are, they are very fast, and flatten the grass in their path. Remarks: “Whoa, there’s something really fast here! I was trying to make my way through this field of grass that was so tall it stood over my head, when suddenly I heard something moving around in the grass... All I really make out was a purplish blur, though. From above, the trampled grass almost looks like crop circles. I wonder why… A byproduct of how they move in pursuit of prey, perhaps?"

Between arduous terrain and mysterious creatures, traversing this planet certainly isn't easy, but at least it isn't dangerous!

A 5 indicates that 'you spot it as you are resting'. The Heart suit indicates 'Ruins', and the rank of 4 means that I spotted it 'in a steep canyon'.

Observation: There was a small river running though the bottom of a canyon, perfect for taking a short rest. However, while there I noticed a series of markings that couldn’t have been natural. The carvings of an ancient people, perhaps?

Remarks: “This looks interesting… I just sat down to take a breather in this canyon, and then I noticed something on the other side of the stream. There appears to be some kind of writing carved into the opposite wall of the canyon. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it says, and there are no pictures that may illustrate its meaning…”

Between the floating stones and deep canyons, this place seems pretty rocky, doesn't it? It also has trees and tall, lush fields... Maybe this is a mountainous planet?

A 6 indicates that 'you spot it as you are resting' as well, so it seems my break isn't over just yet. The Spade suit indicates another bit of 'Natural Phenomena', and a rank of 3 means that I spotted it 'by a gentle river'.

Observations: I decided my rest wasn’t over, so I sat back down for a little while longer. By some twist of fate, this allowed me to find yet another interesting sight. Light glimmering in my eyes from the edge of the stream. Prismatic bubbles began to rise from the surface of the water, catching the light in beautiful ways.

Remarks: “This planet never rests, eh? I sat down beneath the ancient texts to rest for a little longer, and suddenly there was light shining in my eyes! I opened my eyes, and bubbles were rising from the water’s surface! As they floated up, they caught the light, and… wow. Y’know how soap bubbles have the iridescent, rainbowy film to ‘em when you look closely? This was like that, cranked up to 11. I sat for a while and watched the balls of rainbow rise into the sky.”

Why do these strange phenomena happen? It's fun how this game can give you a small glimpse into an entirely new world.

Onto our final discovery of the day...

A discovery similar to the first, but not exactly. A 2 indicates that this one was yet another 'arduous to get to' discovery. The Diamond suit means that was have found another 'Ruin", and the rank of King means that it was 'floating in the air'.

Observation: Climbing some vines to a rock like the ones I found earlier, but much larger in size, I found an entire building atop the floating rock! It seems like the ancient people who used to live here were able to use this bizarre phenomena to their advantage…

Remarks: “More of the floating, vine-bound rocks! This one was huuuuge, though! I couldn’t resist the curiosity, and that bit me in the ass… climbing ain’t fun, I’ll say that much. At least my effort was rewarded, because I found an old house! Its in ruins, of course, but Im impressed by the ingenuity of the people that used to live here! I wonder if this would allow them to move their buildings by moving the vines, almost like a parade balloon…”

Having exhausted all of our cards, that means we just have one thing left to do: give this new planet a name! I'm not the best with coming up with names, so I'll leave this one up to Fantasy Name Generators...

This is where our adventure will conclude for now, as we blast off from the newly-dubbed 'Aihri', taking off into the stars once more.

You can continue by rolling your d6 again and drawing more cards to discover another planet, but for my first time this one took me awhile, so we'll close the book on planet-hopping for now.

I will mention that the instructions say "If you want to remember your travels, save the journal. If the memories bring you pain, burn it."

... I wrote all of this directly onto Tumblr via my laptop, so let's hope these memories never sour.

That's all from me! I hope you enjoyed this peaceful adventure, and who knows what's in store for the future? I hope this first post doesn't feel too rough, but please feel free to let me know if there is anything I can improve upon to make it a better experience!

Until next time, I bid you adieu, and we will meet again when there is a new tale to be told...

[stars-n-spice]

Some New Ocs! - WIP

Been wanting to make an Ocean's 11 inspired heist group and a clone squad based on a deck of cards for a while now and finally got to it, lol.

Introducing: Auro's 10 (Name pending) and Deck Squad!

I guess these are first-draft headshot designs for now. I don't know if they're concrete or anything, but I'm pretty satisfied with how they've turned out so far!

Also,, just now realizing that they're both groups consisting of 10 members AND they're like,, casino-themed. Lmao.

Anywho! Some miscellaneous information/lore about them (at least what I have so far) under the cut!

Auro's 10

Heist Group - their motto? be gay do crimes. Don't have an allegiance but they aren't exactly pleased with the Empire

Reluctant found family - forced to work together and gradually become used and fond of each other (they don't want to admit it though)

Danu Felis (he/him) - "The Leader" - Former Cathar Jedi - Based off Danny Ocean

Chae Oro (they/he) - "The Demo Expert" - Nautolan Mandalorian - Based off Rusty Ryan/Basher Tarr

Aure'yela Dava (she/her) - "The Financier" - Pantoran - Based off Rueben Tishkoff

Ishani Pazel (she/her) - "The Charmer" - Twi'lek - Based off Tess Ocean

Keox [Redacted] (she/her) - "The Pick-Pocket" - Human - Based off Linus Caldwell

Yobit (they/it) - "The Guy-in-the-chair" - Reprogrammed Super Tactical Droid - Based off Livingston Dell

Lucky (he/him) - "The Pilot" - Former clone pilot - Based off Turk & Virgil Malloy

Amon Lavull (he/they/she) - "The Inside Man" - Clawdite - Based off Frank Catton

Vatnuoi Djalu (they/them) - "The Greaseman" - Lasat - Based off Yen

Tacui Beno (he/him) - "The Muscle" - Dowutin - Based off Bruiser

Danu and Chae have a hate/love relationship - they do NOT get along but unfortunately they actually have impeccable chemistry (somehow) to the point where they can practically read each other's minds

Keox doesn't have a last name because she's an orphan that Chae forced Danu to let onto the team (he's still traumatized over losing his padawan)

Danu and Lucky don't get along because of Order 66 - however this is one-sided because Lucky has amnesia and has no recollection of it happening (his plane crashed during it and he sustained injuries as a result)

Deck Squad

Don't know their armor/battalion colors yet but as you can tell they're based off the cards in a deck (plus Uno + Wild Card)

Probably will deal with the number "52" since that's how many cards are in a deck - 52nd Battalion or something, idk

Probably specializes in recon/undercover missions or something idk - I'm just picturing them all dressed up in a casino

Queen (she/her) - Commander

King (he/him) - Also a Commander (idk if it works like that but bare with me)

Diamond (he/she) - ARC Trooper

Spade (he/him) - ARC Trooper

Club (he/him) - ARC Trooper

Ace (he/him) - Pilot

Wild Card (he/they) - Pilot

Uno (they/he) - Trooper

Jack (he/him) - Trooper

Joker (they/them) - Trooper

The Main Deck (Queen, King, Diamond, Spade, & Club) + The Special Deck (Ace, Wild Card, Uno, Jack, & Joker)

Space and Ace are tube twins!

Wild Card and Uno are also tube twins!

[sapphiel]

King's Night~

[americanotaku]

Uhhhhhhh deck 25

I’m doing asks I promise-

[amalgamited]

♦✨

[happyinjection]

X-Playing Cards and Cartomancy

High Card takes a lot of ~stylistic inspiration~ for its X-playing cards system from the standard 52-card deck and related card games, but it never occurred to me until someone pointed it out that the French deck was also based on tarot cards, precisely the minor arcana! (media usually make parallels from the major arcana so it took me longer to connect the dots)

More elaborate explanation under the cut...

1. The abilities and meaning of each suit

To be frank this one is obvious enough from the beginning, both the standard deck and minor arcana have 4 suits, and each suit (hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs) symbolizes emotions, wealth, creativity, and will, in that order! I think the description of each suit’s abilities fits quite well with its original symbolism.

It’s also interesting to note that the spades is associated with military/nobility. I can see that with Wendy, given that her father owns a dojo, but Finn...? Yeah, so I guess we know what’s coming.

2. Correlation between the five main characters and the interpretation of their respective card in minor arcana

Note that I’ve never dabbled in tarot reading before (I know someone who does, but asking them a favor especially for cracking anime lore is embarrassing, so no), and this is all based on a quick Wikipedia search, please bear with me.

I see a lot of... similarities, but you decide.

2 of Swords/2 of Spades (Finn): Intuition, balance, calmness, it’s also related to the justice and judgement card of major arcana (making moral decisions, essentially carries the same meaning). In general, 2 in tarot represents opposing forces, seeking balance and peace of mind, then moving forward from an inner struggle once they find it.

5 of Cups/5 of Hearts (Chris): Grief over past events, inability to see the bright side in any situation. 5 card symbolizes tragedy in all suits... it either means loss, defeat, or betrayal, but the meaning is somewhat brighter when reversed, and I think it’s the only card to do so? Tarot cards generally have better outcome when upright. Its major arcana counterpart, the hierophant, can represent a role model.

7 of Pentacles/7 of Diamonds (Leo): Success, commitment towards work. In reverse position it also means bad investment haha. 7 in general represents not only determination and self confidence, but also overcoming challenges in the “survival of the fittest” sense.

1 of Swords/Ace of Spades (Wendy): Conquest, triumph, a great force in everything, so it can either mean victory or disaster. In tarot 1 symbolizes beginnings, potential, and early stages of endeavor. I like the sound of that!

3 of Wands/3 of Clubs (Vijay): Achievement, optimism, fresh start, partnerships. It’s a calm card? 3 in general represents communication and interaction, also influence over partners in friendships and work. It can mean facilitating creation, growth, development, and growth as well.

3. Original design of each suit’s King card

Okay so this one is one of the less important details but it’s just too interesting to pass up. Apparently the visual interpretation of the Kings is like this:

...sounds familiar, huh?

I just want to appreciate Ebimo aka HC character designer, it seems that she really did her research right lmao.

Another interesting point is the King of Hearts is sometimes called the “suicide king” because he appears to be “stabbing his own head” in his card due to mass production error, but it’s hilarious to me.

4. Correlations with the major arcana?

The 52-card deck we have right now have nothing to do with the major arcana, but we can still draw lines between some of the cards and figures in the Fourland folktale?

The Magician card, for example, fits right with the role of the Mage from whom X-playing cards’ abilities originate. The Magician represents manifestation of desire and one’s potentials, and the card illustration itself show all four of the suits symbols (cup, sword, coins, club). Meanwhile, there is also The Fool card, sometimes called to be the Joker of tarot, as it can be the highest or lowest trump. The Fool represents a “protagonist” or just “humankind itself”, which I think fits right with the role of the boy-king.

Let me know what you think!

[trans-lykanthropie]

Playing Card Master Infodump

Ok gang, let's talk about playing cards again.

I’m going to try and get through this as systematically as possible but I will inevitably end up repeating myself due to the interconnected nature of the whole thing. Also I’ll try putting in subheadings to make it more readable. Let’s crack on!

Mameluk Playing Cards

I mentioned in my first post that European playing cards are based on ones from Mameluk Egypt, so let’s see if we can find some historical examples.

From the Topkapu Sarayi Museum in Istanbul, an amazingly preserved set of Mameluk playing cards depicting the four suits

These cards are a perfect starting point. Dating from the 15th or 16th century, we’ll be seeing their influence percolate throughout playing card design throughout Europe. Here we see the suits that will directly influence Spanish and Italian playing cards: coins, cups, swords, and polo batons (a common sport of the ruling class). The court cards are King-Lieutenant-Second Lieutenant, the deck would’ve contained 52 cards (1-10 plus three court cards), and the illustrations are rich in detail and heavy with Islamic calligraphy. We will be tracing the evolution of European cards back to these ones as we go along, so it’s important to have an example of where it all started.

Spanish Patterns

The Islamic influence in southern Spain makes it the perfect entry point for playing cards to arrive in European material culture around the late 14th century. Spanish patterns follow the same suits as Mameluk ones (coins, cups, swords, and staffs), but a deck would contain only 48 cards, numbers 1-9 and three court cards. The court cards follow the Mameluk rankings but with a European twist, making it King-Knight-Page. Swords in Spanish cards are depicted straight, as opposed to Italian swords which are curved.

Old Catalan / Spanish National Pattern, modern day

Piacentine Pattern, found in Italy in Bourbon ruled Piacenza, shows remarked Spanish influence yet is the only Spanish pattern regularly sold today to feature reversible court cards

Some syncretism would occur with the intermediary Franco-Spanish pattern, as Spanish cards would arrive in France prior to the establishment of the French standard patterns. The use of Spanish suited cards continues in areas such as Brittany and the Vendee through the game of Aluette, however the original Franco-Spanish pattern is now extinct. These decks would also consist of 48 cards: 1-9 and three court cards, King-Knight-Page (Roi-Cavalier-Valet). The use of these patterns would directly influence French patterns to come

The court cards in the Franco-Spanish pattern showing Spanish suits

French Patterns

French patterns would begin with Spanish ones around the 14th Century, and would mesh with Germanic ones to produce something we would start to recognise as the Anglo-American pattern. The French suits (Hearts, Clovers (Clubs), Tiles (Diamonds), and Pikes (Spades)) are based on the Germanic suits (Hearts, Acorns, Bells, and Leaves respectively), however for a brief period a suit of Crescents was used instead of Tiles.

Cards celebrating the union of the kingdoms of Britanny and France, 1500, show the Spanish suits

An example of the short-lived Crescents suit, Lyon, late 15th century

The majority of Italian, Spanish, and Germanic patterns follow the Mameluk tradition of all male court cards, which causes French patterns to stand out with the inclusion of Queens in place of the Knights. Queens had appeared in decks in both Italy and Germany in the 15th century, but had mostly been dropped in non-tarot decks. The inclusion of Queens, however, continued in France where their inclusion replaced the Cavalier (Knight) with the Dame (Queen). The naming convention of Dame for Queen will also be seen in Germanic patterns.

The Paris pattern, as distinct from Anglo-American or Hamburg patterns (about which more anon), is unique in that each of the court cards reference a historical or biblical figure, and are so named even to this day in the portrait officiel pattern (a deck of 32 cards, however sometimes printed in 52-card deck variants). As an example, the Kings of the Paris pattern refer to Charlemagne (Hearts), Alexander the Great (Clovers), Julius Caesar (Tiles), and King David (Pikes). The use of Julius Caesar as the historical figure associated with the King of Tiles, and most known in the past by his depiction on Roman coins in profile, might explain why in the later Anglo-American pattern the King of Diamonds is the only King to be depicted standing in profile.

Belgian pattern cards are similar to Paris (portrait officiel) decks and likewise come in 32-card and 52 card variants.

Germanic patterns

The closest pattern to connect Germanic decks to French ones is the Hamburg pattern, which would directly influence the North German or Berlin pattern. Taking the suits that we know today (hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades) and beginning production in the early 19th century, a clear link to the Paris (portraits officiel) pattern is shown in the depiction of the King of Spades holding the Harp of King David, a reference to the association of King David with the suit of Pikes (Spades) in the Paris pattern, and the laurel wreath under the crown of the King of Diamonds (Julius Caesar, King of Tiles). Germanic patterns closely associated with the French patterns name the court cards as King-Lady-Farmer (König-Dame-Bauer)

The Kings from the North German pattern showing links to the Paris (portrait officiel) pattern conventions

Germanic pattern playing cards, however also predate the suits used in French patterns and had a direct influence on them. The Germanic suits of Hearts, Acorns, Bells, and Leaves became standard around 1450, where upon it would directly influence the French suits and finally the modern Anglo-American system of Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, and Spades. Many packs using this system contain only 32 or 36 cards, as is appropriate for the kinds of games played in the areas where they are common, and the court cards are typical established as King-Over-Under (König-Ober Knabe-Unter Knabe) in the Mameluk style of a leader and two ranks of soldier. The Ace in Germanic suits is really, and was referred to in the past as, a Deuce (Daus in German), which is why the Ace in these decks, the highest card in many regional games, actually exhibits two suit symbols rather than one. In the William Tell pattern deck, the four Deuces represent the four seasons of the year, however this is not typical across Germanic decks, which typically depicted a boar or sow in older decks, a tradition that continues today only on the Deuce of Bells.

The Deuces (Daus) of Germanic decks

Saxon pattern

Polish-Silesian pattern for the game of Skat

Altenburg Doppelkopf pattern, exhibiting the North German pattern court cards of König-Dame-Bauer with the Germanic suits

Salzburg pattern showing non-reversible court cards typical of earlier patterns, and Franconian pattern showing reversible ones, typical of later patterns

A hybrid deck showing both Germanic and French suits, in this instance the Germanic pattern is listed as William Tell and the French as Viennese

Italian patterns

Italian patterns closely resemble Mameluk and Spanish patterns, and it is in Italy where the polo baton of the Mameluk deck was replaced with a staff, or baton or club, for an area where polo was not well known or played.

Trentine pattern, showing the Mameluk influence in both suits and court cards (King-Knight-Page)

In South Tyrol, a region acquired by Italy at the First World War, the Germanic Salzburg pattern is still used with Italian translations known as the Salisburghesi pattern.

It was in Italy that the first tarot decks were produced, where additional ‚trumps‘, known in Italian as trinofi, were added for more advanced card games. Typical to Northern Italy in the Italian suits, tarot cards for games such as Tarrochi, Tarock, and Scarto spread to France and Germanic areas whereupon there was further alterations made.

Tarot patterns

Tarot cards were never originally intended for Cartomancy, such associations came later in the 18th and 19th centuries, however there is a distinct split between Franco-Italian patterns and Germanic ones. A rare Italian deck serving as a progenitor of sorts to later 78-card tarot decks that now lost, was described in a letter from Milan in 1449 and supposedly consisted of a deck of 60 cards with only the four Kings as court cards, sixteen trump cards, and the suits as birds rather than any surviving system. Early 78-card decks replaced the court cards with classical figures and made the trump cards those of classical deities. Many of these early decks survive only as incomplete examples, damaged printing sheets, or in descriptions alone.

The Tarot of Marseilles is likely the first 78-card tarot deck to resemble the one we know today. The suits follow the Italian and Spanish patterns, synthesises the French and Spanish-Italian-Mameluk courts cards to give four in each suit: King-Queen-Knight-Page. The Major Arcana, or the trumps when ranked by value, are similar to modern tarot decks, albeit with some notable differences: the Magician is replaced by Le Bateleur (The Juggler), the High Priestess by Le Pances (The Popess, likely a reference to the myth of Pope Joan), and the Hierophant with Le Pape (The Pope). In Swiss tarot decks, the High Priestess is replaced by the classical deity Juno, and the Hierophant with Jupiter, in the style of the older historical Tarot de Besançon pattern.

Germanic tarot cards, however, are entirely different in nature. Trump cards in the Bourgeois Tarot pattern, with its sub-pattern the Tarot Nouveau, depict scenes rather than figures, and are split into groups of four (such as the times of day and the four elements), with the final three depicting Games (trump 20), the Collective (trump 21), and the Individual (trump 1)

Example Tarot Nouveau trumps, reversible but each scene depicting the card’s meaning

The trumps of the Industrie und Glück pattern, a standard tarot deck for games in the Germanic regions that uses the French suit system for value and court cards

One variation of tarot decks, known as Animal Tarot patterns, uses both real and fictional animals for the trump cards, and continues today only in the south German Adler Cego pattern

The End?

Honestly, this is all I have energy for at the moment, but I wanted to show just a hint of the huge variety of different playing card designs throughout the centuries and their effect on the modern decks of today. There is so much more I’d like to get into, so if you have some questions please please please ask!