The meaning of the Spanish 40-card deck differs from its close cousin the tarot, although both decks today are used to understand the present and even predict or guess the future. Next we tell you How are the tarot and the Spanish 40-card deck different? How they have been used for centuries and even how to read Spanish letters to oneself.
What is the Tarot and what is it for?
the tarot itself is a deck of cards that for more than three centuries has been used as a means of consultation to understand the past, interpret the present and even guess the future. It is made up of a deck of 78 cards, divided into major and minor arcana. Of the total number of cards, 22 represent the major arcana and 56 the minor ones. sure you wonder And what is an arcanum?, a word that in Latin means mystery.
Spanish cards: meaning, the tarot and its differences
We tell you what tarot is about, because It is often confused with the protagonist of this note, which is the meaning of the Spanish deck of 40 cards. If they have something in common, it is that both are decks used for cartomancy, an ancient art of reading and interpreting life through decks of cards.
Although both decks are used in cartomancy, it is usual to think of the Spanish cards, their meaning, the tarot, and their differences, since they are often confused and even believed to be more similar than they really are.
There are marked differences, such as the number of cards each one has and the regions from which they come. In the case of tarot, this deck is made up of 72 cards while the Spanish deck is made up of 40 cards.
As for its origin, Tarot is said to date back to ancient Egypt although the most accurate evidence comes from Italy. Who popularized it was the Duke of Milan Filipo Visconti in the fifteenth century.
For its part, the Spanish 40-card deck is said to come from the Ottoman deck, which was adapted to the European worldview since the fifteenth century. Some of the changes were: use full-length iconography for all figures, replace the queen with the knight, swords become straight instead of the curved shape characteristic of the cutlass (Ottoman sword).
Over the centuries, several editions have been generated that, although they have varied in certain aesthetic details, have sustained the meaning of the Spanish 40-card deck. One of the most important was born in 1810, created by Clemente Roxas, who put special emphasis on graphics. It went from an old-fashioned deck to one with more refined and detailed neoclassical illustrations. It should be noted that the current decks are mostly based on Roxas’s design.
What is the meaning of the Spanish deck of 40 cards?
To understand the meaning of the Spanish deck of 40 cards the first thing is to know how they are organized. the mallet It is divided into four families or suits: cups, clubs, swords and coins..
Each suit is identified by a distinctive iconography, made up of twelve cards: nine cards numbered from one to nine, usually called number cards, and three figures numbered consecutively from ten to twelve.
In the current decks the figures are represented by: The jack, identified by the number 10, the knight that accompanies the number 11 and finally the king that is identified by the number 12. There is one important fact to understand the meaning of the Spanish deck of 40 cards and is that in this deck he has no eights or nines.
It is important to know that In Spanish decks, although each card has a precise meaning, this is always open to the interpretation of each cartomancer (the reader of the cards).
Although in each suit there are ̈ good ̈ or ̈ bad ̈ cards, it is believed that cups and clubs have a more positive connotation, while coins and spades are usually associated with more negative visions.
Now let’s see what each family or suit refers to, more specifically:
Cups: they tend to refer to sentimental issues of the person consulting, their partners, love, family, their relationships in general. Connect with the water signs, Cancer, Pisces and Scorpio.
Bastos: deals with labor issues, action, movement and energy, such as travel. It represents the signs of fire, Sagittarius, Leo and Aries.
Swords: refers to the health and mind of the one who consults. They are symbols with a negative charge that are usually related to dislikes, illnesses and accidents. They identify the air signs, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius.
Pentacles: they are related to everything economic and material, such as debts, inheritances, expenses and investments, money in general. It represents the earth signs, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.
Spanish deck: meaning and key combinations
In the reading of the Spanish deck its meaning and combinations go hand in hand to achieve the most accurate interpretation possible. We must remember that although in this deck each card has a meaning on its own, knowing its main combinations is key to achieving the most accurate divination possible.
Meet below, the key combinations that allow us to understand the meaning of the Spanish deck of 40 cards more precisely:
– 2 of Cups and 2 of Wands: if these symbols appear together, it usually refers to “Witchcraft”, depending on the cards that accompany it, we can be facing a love spell, if it is surrounded by good cards, while if around spades or bad cards appear, it can refer to black magic.
– 1 of clubs and 2 of coins: with this combination we are faced with the presence of a possible pregnancy, this can take the form of a birth or a possible abortion if the accompanying cards are bad.
– 1 of Pentacles and 7 of Pentacles: this is a very positive union of cards, which usually refers to good fortune, for example winning the lottery or meeting a person whose influence can be seen as a gift in your life. A stroke of luck in work or love.
– 4 of Swords with the 4 of Wands: we are in the presence of a possible illness or the need to rest, rest, everything depends on the cards that accompany it.
– 3 of Swords and 6 of Swords: refers to a possible depression or sadness that is maintained over time, becoming a chronic illness.
– 5 of spades and 3 of spades: it can mean illness, the severity will depend on the cards that accompany this combination.
– 1 of Cups and 4 of Pentacles: the sale of some property is approaching, surely a house or property.
– 7 of Cups and 3 of Swords: can refer to a possible hospitalization or visit to the doctor.
– 1 of spades and 2 of spades: signature of contracts or some important document.
– 1 of spades and 3 of spades: an operation or surgical intervention may be approaching, its seriousness or not, will depend on which cards accompany them.
– 1 of spades and 10 of spades: it is perhaps the most complicated union of cards to interpret, since it can refer to “death”, which will depend on the cards that accompany it.
How to read Spanish letters to oneself?
understanding the base of the meaning of the Spanish deck of 40 cards, we can advance to know how to read the Spanish cards to oneselfso that we can interpret the events that happen to us in the future.
There are at least three possible paths in readingso that the meaning of the Spanish deck of 40 cards gives us precise answers according to the unknowns, doubts or suspicions that we have about our future.
– Spread of yes and no: to get the cards to answer us yes or no, the first thing is to mix the cards and concentrate on the topic or query. This should always be simple, concise and be able to be answered with a Yes or No.
Once the deck has been cut into three, always from left to right, select three cards and put them one below the other. If the number 1 comes up and belongs to the suit of coins, the answer will be positive, while if the 2 of clubs comes up, we will have a negative answer.
If it were the case that the aforementioned cards did not come out, you can try to see if the answer comes out in another group of cards. If it were the case that the 1 of the suit of coins and the number 2 of the suit of clubs come out, you will be facing a positive answer.
– Analysis of a theme: if your search in the reading of cards is focused on knowing what awaits in love, this is the ideal technique. After collecting the cards and cutting them into three decks, you must select 22 cards from the deck. Then choose only one. The one that comes out will define the problem you want to consult, the next card represents you and must be placed after the first.
Once you have completed this step, you must spread four of the 5 cards that you have overlapped. This will allow you to capture the problem and everything that surrounds it.
– Cross roll: this technique is focused on solving very specific questions, it is used to determine what is for and what is against a certain situation.
Shuffle the cards and choose five. Then make a cross with the cards you have selected. The card in the center can represent you as well as the result you want to know. Everything that is in favor will be shown to the right side, while everything that is against will be shown to the left. The past will be embodied at the top and whatever the future holds at the bottom.
And you, do you dare to read the Spanish deck, its meaning and combinations?