Fortune Telling by Cards, by P.R.S. Foli, [1915], at sacred-texts.com
The number of cards may vary—The method—The reading in pairs—Diagram of the Grand Star—An example.
THERE are various ways of telling fortunes with cards arranged in the form of a star, and whichever of these may be preferred, it will always be found necessary to use an uneven number of cards in addition to the one representing the inquirer. Some stars are done with thirteen cards, some with fifteen, and so on, but the real Grand Star must have twenty-one cards placed round the representative one.
Suppose the inquirer be a fair man, the king of hearts would be the card selected to form the centre of the star. This representative card is placed face upwards on the table, and the remaining thirty-one cards of the pack (the twos, threes, fours, fives, and sixes having been previously removed) must then be shuffled, and cut with the left hand.
In the accompanying diagram the cards are numbered in the order that they are placed in upon the table, taking the representative as No. 1. The mode of withdrawing the cards from the pack is as follows: The first ten cards are thrown aside after the first cut, and the eleventh card is placed below No. 1; then cut out a second time, and place the top card of the pack on the table above No. 1; cut a third time, take the bottom card of the pack in the hand and place it to the left of No. s. The cards must be cut every time a card is to be
withdrawn, and they are taken alternately from the top and bottom of the pack as above directed. Great care should be observed in the placing of the cards in due order, as any deviation will affect the reading at a subsequent stage of the process. The last card, No. 22, is placed across the foot of the representative.
When the Grand Star has been thus formed, the cards must read in pairs, taking the outside circle in this order: 14 and 16, 21 and 19, 15 and 17, 20 and 18. Then take the inner circle, moving from left to right thus: 6 and 10, 9 and 12, 8 and 13, 7 and 11; the four centre points are paired thus: 4 and 2, 5 and 3; and the last card, No. 22, is taken separately. The significations are, of course, taken with regard to the relative positions of the cards, and their special reference to the central figure of the inquirer. This is a picturesque and simple way of consulting the cards, and will probably be a favourite with most people.
The central card, No. 1, represents the inquirer, and each card is numbered in the order in which it is taken from the pack.
We will take the king of hearts as representative of the inquirer, and the twenty-one cards come out in the following order:—
Before taking the above in pairs as directed, it will be well to glance at the groups contained in the star as it lies before us. We find:—
Four aces.—Love troubles and hasty news for the inquirer.
Three kings.—Success in an important undertaking.
Four queens.—A good deal of social intercourse.
Four knaves.—Somewhat noisy conviviality.
Two tens.—Unexpected good luck.
Three nines.—Health, wealth, and happiness discounted by imprudence as one is reversed.
Two eights.—Passing love fancies, one being reversed. The king of hearts, a fair, open-handed, good-natured man
is the starting-point in reading the pairs which surround him. He is connected with (14) the queen of diamonds, a fair woman with a tendency to flirtation. She is amusing herself with (16) a very dark man, probably a lawyer, of an ambitious and not too scrupulous character, who does not wish well to the inquirer. The next pair (21) shows the knave of hearts, representing Cupid, or the thoughts of the one concerned, linked with (19) the ace of diamonds, a wedding ring. While this important item is occupying his thoughts he gives a small present (15), the nine of clubs, reversed, to (17) the queen of clubs, a charming dark lady, who is the real object of his affections. (20) The knave of spades, figuring a legal agent, or the wily lawyer's thoughts, makes mischief, and (18) the eight of diamonds, reversed, causes the inquirer's love-making to be unsuccessful. (6) The ace of spades warns the inquirer against false friends who will frustrate his matrimonial projects, and in (10) we find one of them, the queen of spades, a widow with possible designs upon him herself; (9) the knave of diamonds, reversed, shows the mischief-maker trying to breed strife with the inquirer's trusty friend (12), the king of clubs, and (8) the queen of hearts, a fair lovable woman possessing (13) eight of clubs, a dark person's affections; (7) the nine of diamonds, reversed, tells of a love quarrel, owing to (11) the knave of clubs, reversed, a harmless flirt The inquirer will get (4) the ace of hearts, a love letter, but his happiness will be succeeded by (2) the ten of spades, a card of bad import; (5) the nine of spades, tells of grief or sickness, possibly news of a death; but (3) the ten of hearts, counteracts the evil, and promises happiness to the inquirer, who shall triumph over the obstacles in his path, and find (22) joy in love and life.