A Quick Overview of The Four Suits in Playing Card Divination

This is simply an overview of the four suits of playing cards with respect to fortune-telling/divination/intuitive reading/psychic reading/whatever you want to call it. It is important to know that each suit has a variety of meanings beyond the generic four (love, cash, disaster, and work.) These meanings are entirely context-dependent with respect to the question of the inquirer, and the place within the reading. They can mean anything from the big four, to seasons of the year, age of a person, or even be used for yes/no questions!

Each of these four suits will be given a brief paragraph explaining what they usually represent. Alongside of this, I will provide a few other meanings that I have learned/worked out through years of education and giving readings of my own. As this will be part of a series, you can expect to see additional articles explaining the suits in greater detail.

Spades: The first suit that will be discussed will be the suit of Spades. Traditionally, this is the suit of strife and misfortune. It covers everything from conflict (and not the useful kind,) illness, disaster, or even death. Face cards in this suit – King, Queen, and Jack – are rarely, if ever, good for the inquirer. They usually represent malicious figures in the life of the one receiving the reading, either through deliberation or simple inaction. Either way, with only a few exceptions (which depends entirely on the placement of other cards,) expect unfortunate business ahead and plan accordingly. When a person is inquiring as to timing, the Spades may represent spring or it may indicate weeks. Should the inquiry be about a direction, it is north. Being a black card, if it is drawn in response to a yes/no question, it should be considered a definitive and emphatic “no.”

Incidentally, the suit of Spades also indicates lust, rather than love.

Clubs: This suit usually indicates prosperity of a definitely worldly stripe, a cheerful home life with intelligent, useful pleasure and enterprises which are successful. A pleasant set of cards to draw if these are things that you hope for! The rewards in this suit come with work that is either minimal or in reasonable proportion to what is put in. The few cards which provide the possibilities of trouble are either heavily context-dependent or are avoided with a little work. This suit may also warn against imprudence in speech or behavior. When indicating times, the clubs represents either the season of summer, or it may indicate days. Being a black card, if it is drawn in response to a yes or no question, it can be considered something akin to “no, but…” The direction this card represents, if asking such a question, is “south.”

Diamonds: The Diamond suit mainly represents money matters, either petty or important, depending on the person and the placement in the spread. It can sometimes represent information and its flow, as well as socializing. Usually when a diamond shows up in a spread, it’s favorable to the inquirer. Interestingly enough, the diamond suit is traditionally used to represent a man in a military career (King of Diamonds, usually.) When the inquirer asks about timing, this suit usually represents either the season of  Winter, or it can indicate years. If the question involves a direction, it is east. As a red card, if asking a simple yes/no question, the answer indicated may be considered something along the lines of “yes, but…”

Hearts: The last suit in this article, it deals with all matters of love and affection. It may also be considered a suit with close reference to home and hearth, as well as domestic and social affairs in the inquirer’s life. This suit can also represent religion, or anything deeply emotional to the one receiving the card reading. When the query concerns time, this suit may indicate the season of Autumn, or it may represent months. The direction that is associated with this suit, in case of such questions, is west. When the question is a simple yes or no inquiry, this suit traditionally means an emphatic “yes!”

The four suits of a playing card deck have a variety of uses, as we have seen here. However, as always, their use or signification depends entirely on where they are present in the spread, as well as the question being asked. A question regarding money is very different from a general reading, after all. The best thing to do to get comfortable with this is to simply explore them.