Secrets of the Spanish Playing Cards Read online

  Secrets of the

  Spanish

  Playing Cards

  Fortune Telling Using

  La Baraja Española

  By Kara Janssen

  Copyright © 2015 Kara Janssen.

  All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electrical, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author, except for brief quotations in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Disclaimer

  The author disclaims any liability for actions taken on the basis of the interpretations offered in this book.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  WHAT IS LA BARAJA ESPAÑOLA?

  HOW TO USE THE SPANISH PLAYING CARDS

  THE SUITS

  KEYWORDS

  COINS – OROS

  CUPS – COPAS

  SWORDS – ESPADAS

  CLUBS – BASTOS

  JOKER – EL COMODÍN

  SPREADS

  CARD COMBINATIONS

  SPANISH PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

  WHAT IS LA BARAJA ESPAÑOLA?

  La Baraja Española is a deck of Spanish-style playing cards consisting of 40 or 48 cards that is used in Spain and Latin America. The Spanish playing cards can be used for both games and fortune telling purposes.

  Playing cards were first brought to Spain by the Moors during the fourteenth century. The Arabic name for a playing card was na’ib which survived in Spanish as naipe.

  The pip cards range from ace to nine. Many games and card readers prefer a deck of 40 cards, where the eights and nines are not used.

  The court cards are numbered ten, eleven and twelve. The tenth card is known as the Jack or the Knave (Sota). The eleventh card is the Knight (Caballo). The twelfth card is the King (Rey). The is no queen in the Spanish deck, although in the Mexican pattern the Jacks are all female.

  The Spanish deck often includes two Jokers (Comodines) in addition to the full set of 48 cards, bringing the total number of cards to 50.

  The Spanish playing cards have four suits or palos. These four suits are Coins (Oros), Cups (Copas), Swords (Espadas) and Clubs (Bastos). Historically, the different suits referred to different segments of society. Coins symbolized the merchant class, Cups symbolized the clergy, Swords symbolized the nobility, and Clubs symbolized the peasants on the land.

  There is an inner border on each of the cards called la pinta which identifies each suit. This inner border may be a solid line (Coins), broken once (Cups), broken twice (Swords), or broken three times (Clubs) at both the top and the bottom of the card.

  Spanish decks appear in many variations. The Castilian pattern is the most widespread pattern found in Spain. It was developed by Heraclio Fournier in 1889 from the older Spanish National pattern. It is easily recognized by its red cups and the coins with faces.

  The Modern Spanish Catalan pattern is very common throughout both Spain and Latin America. The Cups in this deck are green and yellow and look very much like eggcups.

  The Mexican pattern appeared in 1923. It is based on the Castilian pattern. In this deck, all the Jacks (Knaves) are female. This deck usually only contains 40 cards.

  If your deck has cups that look like golden chalices, then you have the Cádiz or Andalusian pattern of cards. This deck is often used in the Philippines and in some parts of Latin America.

  The least common and oldest pattern is the original Spanish National pattern. In this pattern, the Jack of Coins shows a goat tethered to a pole in the background. This deck is still used in Ecuador and North Africa.

  In addition to these common patterns, there are many modern decks based on cartoon characters or which carry commercial advertising.

  HOW TO USE THE SPANISH PLAYING CARDS

  Life is like a game of cards.

  The hand you are dealt is determinism;

  the way you play it is free will.

  - Jawaharlal Nehru, Former Prime Minister of India

  The Question

  Shuffling and Cutting the Cards

  Surprise Cards

  The Base Card

  The Significator

  Laying Out the Cards

  Combining the Cards

  Reversed and Badly Aspected Cards

  The Question

  The Spanish playing cards can be used to discover concrete answers to everyday questions revolving around your daily life, such as work, romance, money and health. They can also be laid out in complex spreads that reveal deeper insights into your most spiritual and philosophical questions.

  It is important to spend some time to enter a calm, peaceful and relaxed state of mind when framing your question. When you consult the cards, you are consulting the divine to answer your question. Divination is by definition a connection to the divine. You may personally perceive the divine to be part of a traditional religion, a natural force or something more personal.

  Be specific with your question if you want an answer that is detailed and to the point. A general question will produce a generalized answer, which nonetheless may bring up some unexpected aspects to the question that may surprise you.

  The cards reveal the framework of the situation that is surrounding you, the reactions of people around you, and the paths that lie ahead. But it is still up to you to choose how to react to these conditions and how to use the resources that the cards reveal to your best advantage.

  Regardless of those elements in the reading that are immutable and unchangeable, your free will still allows you to choose your own individual approach and personal reaction to each and every situation, both good and bad. Exercising your free will gives you the ability to learn and grow from even the most constrictive and negative situations.

  The one thing you should not do is ask the same question over and over again, hoping for a different outcome. If you do not understand the message of the cards, write it down and come back to it later after some time. Sometimes an outcome seems impossible until further events take place, often unexpectedly, and then it all begins to make sense and falls into place.

  And remember that if the outcome seems negative, nothing is final. The one thing you can count on is change. Often the failures and dead ends we encounter in life are necessary to force us towards our greatest successes.

  One thing you can always rely on is that circumstances will keep evolving and changing, no matter how sunny or stormy the present day might be. Luckily, the cards are there to give you a helpful “heads up” on what’s around the corner.

  Shuffling and Cutting the Cards

  Either the reader or the querent (the person who is receiving the reading) shuffles the cards. Calm your mind, concentrate on the question, and shuffle the cards.

  Place the shuffled cards on the table, face down and cut the cards once so that you have two piles. Restack the cards so that the pile that was previously on the bottom is now at the top.

  Some readers prefer to cut the cards twice, creating three piles, before restacking the deck and laying the cards out.

  Surprise Cards

  While you are shuffling the cards, you may find that a single card falls or jumps out from the deck, perhaps even a couple of cards. These cards are clamoring for your attention, so take note of them. They may be giving you a quick and concise answer to whatever was in your mind while you were shuffling. Alternatively, they could be bringing your attention to another issue that is demanding to be taken into account.

  After taking note of them, replace them in the deck and continue shuffling. If they reappear in the reading, their importance is emphasized, an
d they should be given more weight in the reading.

  The Base Card

  After shuffling and cutting, take a moment to glance at the card which sits at the bottom of the deck. This is the Base Card and it can provide important insights before you even start the reading. It reveals what lies at the base of the question and what is impelling the querent to ask for a reading. At the very least, it can confirm the direction of the reading, so that you know you are on the right track.

  For example, if someone has come for a reading about love and the state of their relationship, the Base Card may reveal that their biggest worry is actually the state of their finances or their social status.

  The Significator

  The Significator refers to the card that represents the querent, or the person who is receiving the reading. Some readers use a Significator in their readings, others do not. It is generally used in spreads that include all or almost all of the cards in the deck to provide a focus.

  Traditionally, one of the court cards is usually chosen to be the Significator for the querent. A King is chosen for an older man, a Knight for a younger man, a Jack for a woman or a young person.

  You can match the personality to the suit by appearance, by star sign or by your own personal preference. A few modern readers use the Joker as the Significator

  A Significator can also be chosen to represent the question itself or the issue at hand, although this is less common.

  Laying out the Cards

  There are many spreads that you can choose from, and it is usually comes down to a matter of personal preference after a process of experimentation and practice. You can also create your own spread if you prefer. Read more information about Spreads.

  Combining the Cards

  You will find that the best results from readings are obtained when you read the cards as if they make up phrases or sentences. Let them tell you their story. Each card may combine with another card, just as adjectives and adverbs add meaning to bare nouns and verbs.

  The basic unit in card reading is the pair. You can also see the two cards as being joined in a temporal progression, with one leading into the other as the first card moves forward in time.

  For example, the Ace of Cups plus the Four of Swords speaks of problems in the home or with the family (home + problems = family problems). In other words, there is the home or family situation which is described as problematic. The first card is the premise or the basic idea, and the second card describes it and adds further information.

  The order of combining the cards can make quite a difference to the meaning. Keeping in mind that the first card is the main idea, you can see that the Seven of Swords plus the Four of Clubs represent some form of sexual violence (strife + sex = sexual strife). In other words, there is strife or aggression which is described as sexual in nature.

  However, the Four of Clubs plus the Seven of Swords represents sexual problems (sex + strife = sexual problems). In other words, there is sex which is described as problematic.

  More examples include the Ace of Coins plus the Nine of Coins. This represents success, fame and good fortune. However, the Nine of Coins plus the Ace of Coins denotes a gambling win.

  The Ace of Clubs plus the Seven of Clubs indicates success at work. The Seven of Clubs plus the Ace of Clubs reveals a new job.

  The Seven of Swords plus the Ace of Swords means a separation. But the Ace of Swords plus the Seven of Swords reveals illness, accident or even a death.

  Many new readers find this the most challenging aspect of card reading. But with practice, practice, and even more practice, certain combinations will start becoming more and more familiar to you.

  As you gain more experience with card combinations, you will be able to start spotting some combinations of three cards that tell a story. For example, the Knight of Coins plus the Ace of Clubs and the Jack of Clubs announce a vacation overseas. The Knight of Coins plus the Ace of Clubs and the Eight of Clubs announce a vacation in the countryside. And the Knight of Clubs plus the Ace of Cups plus the Jack of Clubs shows a move of house overseas, or immigration.

  A list of card combinations can be found in Card Combinations.

  Reversed Cards

  Many readers do not read reversed cards. Sometimes, a random reversed card might show up in a spread and become important by its unexpected appearance. But in general, all the answers you need can be found amongst the upright meanings of the cards.

  However, if you do decide to use the reversed meanings of the cards, only the suits of Coins and Cups would have reversed meanings. The cards from the suits of Swords and Clubs are not traditionally considered to have reversed positions. But modern readers may, and often do, make exceptions.

  Usually the reversed meaning of the card is the upright meaning interpreted through a negative lens. Sometimes the meaning of the card is simply weakened and diluted. Or alternatively, the positive meaning of the card will be realized but only after delays and problems. Whichever meaning you choose to use will depend on the surrounding cards and your own intuition.

  For example, the Four of Coins has a general meaning of money flowing in towards the querent and its keyword is prosperity. It represents financial stability and success, contracts, deals, gifts, loans and investments. But reversed, it represents money flowing away from the querent or obstacles blocking the arrival of money. It could represent expenses, financial problems and bad investments. But this concept could also be shown by the combination of Four of Coins plus the Five of Swords without the need of reversed cards.

  Selected meanings for reversed cards have been included in this book. It is up to you whether you want to include them in your readings as interpretations for reversed cards or interpretations for badly aspected cards. Alternatively, you could simply ignore them altogether.

  Badly Aspected Cards

  If a positive or neutral card is surrounded or overwhelmed by negative cards, its positive aspects may be dampened, or brought to bear in a negative way.

  For example, the Ace of Cups is almost always a positive card centering around the home, the family and love. But when it is badly aspected, then it may indicate the possibility of problems and arguments developing in the home, within the family and in love issues.

  When a card is badly aspected, this can also simply mean that the positive aspects of that particular card may be delayed or muted, or perhaps more difficult to achieve than expected.

  It is always important to allow your intuition to guide you when bringing together the meanings of all the cards and deciding how they affect other cards. If you feel a particular card remains a positive card offering hope when badly aspected, then always go with your intuition.

  THE SUITS

  COINS – OROS

  Money, property and possessions.

  Key Words: Financial issues, prosperity, wealth, money matters, business, work; property, gardening, gambling; success; debts, losses, bankruptcy.

  Coins or Oros are associated with the element of Earth and indicate practical and down-to-earth issues.

  The Coins highlight issues involving practical and tangible rewards and losses. How is the state of your health? What about the state of your finances? How are you feeling? Are you feeling well grounded or uprooted in your life?

  CUPS – COPAS

  Home, love and emotions.

  Key Words: Home, background, family, nurturing, domestic environment, emotions and reactions, love, friends, fertility; beauty, pleasure, the public face, society, fun; spirituality.

  Cups or Copas are associated with the element of Water and indicate emotional and spiritual issues.

  Cups signify your emotional state, your love life, the way you relate to the people around, and how they relate to you. Cups symbolize nurturing and fertility. Cups indicate how well situations are developing or growing.

  SWORDS – ESPADAS

  Problems, challenges and decisions.

  Key Words: Health, medical issues, illness, medicine; justice, do
cuments; obstacles, struggle, loss, death; decision-making, state of mind.

  Swords or Espadas are associated with the element of Air and indicate mental, intellectual and health issues. Swords signify your mental state and your ability to make decisions and navigate your way through life. Logic, clear thinking, fairness and ruthlessness are indicated.

  CLUBS – BASTOS

  Work, energy and willpower.

  Key Words: Beginnings, movement, action; travel, journeys; physical and spiritual strength, force, willpower, energy; burdens, problems, weakness; work, business.

  Clubs or Bastos are associated with the element of Fire and indicate work and business issues, planning issues and the execution of those plans.

  Clubs reveal your energy levels and willpower to push your way ahead. How resilient are you when problems arise? Do you give up or immediate start thinking of ways to overcome any obstacles? Hard work may be necessary and Clubs indicate how prepared you are for this.

  JOKER – EL COMODÍN

  Coincidence, fate and destiny.

  Key Words: Unexpected. New developments, fresh starts. Taking risks, jumping off the cliff with not a care in the world. Eccentricity. Unusual coincidences. Happy go lucky attitude. Crazy success. Deus ex machina. Sit back and relax, because what will be, will be. It’s all in the lap of the gods now. Destiny or fate.