With the recent upsurge in the popularity of poker, most of us have a deck or two of playing cards lying around the house. The next time the poker party ends, why not have a little fun and test out your fortune-telling abilities?

Fortune-telling with playing cards is an age-old art, and although Tarot cards have gained immense popularity for divination since their appearance in the 15th century, there are still readers who swear by ordinary playing cards as their favored psychic tools.

While Tarot is highly symbolic in its images, symbols, color, astrological and mystical references, it shares some important basics with regular playing cards: elements and numbers.

Simply by learning the meaning of the numbers and the four basic elements represented in a regular deck of cards, you can shock Aunt Betty by describing her ideal fantasy man, or baffle your brother-in-law by predicting which stocks he plan to dump next week.

In a poker deck, the 4 suits correspond to the 4 basic elements:

Diamonds (Pentacles in Tarot) represent 'earth' (money, manifesting, property)

Hearts (Cups in Tarot) represent 'water' (emotions, relationships, love, intuition)

Clubs (Wands in Tarot) represent 'fire' (activity, energy, business, work)

Spades (Swords in Tarot) represent 'air' (thoughts, the intellect, conflict and communication)

The numbers 1 through 10 relate to qualities or circumstances such as:

1 (Ace) - beginnings, action; 2 - relationships, duality; 3 - growth, friendships; 4 - work, foundations; 5 - change, challenges; 6 - beauty, balance; 7 - spirituality, options; 8 - manifesting, success; 9 - integration, attainment; 10 - wholeness, completion and renewal.

This is only a very brief description of meanings but you can see that if your friend asked about how her upcoming yearly review at work was going to go and the 8 of Clubs turned up, that would be an indication of a good solid review and maybe even a promotion if that's what she is aiming for. The Ace of Clubs would also be welcome here, suggesting a new beginning at work, as would many of the other clubs and even the 8s, 9s and 10s of other suits, which could represent a YES while providing circumstantial info.

If your best friend is wondering if she will hear back from the guy who asked for her phone number at a party the night before, and the Ace, 2 or 6 of Hearts turns up, chances are good that she'll not only be hearing from him soon but that this could be the start of a wonderful new relationship. A 5 of Hearts on the other hand, would mean there may be some difficulties surrounding this relationship materializing right now, and a 7 would suggest that maybe one or the other person isn't really focused on relationships at this time or maybe even that the guy is playing the field!

The Jacks, Queens and Kings represent people with traits corresponding to the suits (elements). I will be sharing an article on elements, astrology and character traits shortly. Jacks are young people, Kings and Queens are mature men and women.

You can see a detailed chart of number and element correspondences for playing cards and Tarot at: http://www.arcanamatrix.com/articles/index.html

As with all other forms of fortune-telling, remember to keep an open mind and an attitude of compassion and caring when reading for yourself or others. Never read for anyone without their agreement and always phrase your predictions in the spirit of universal love and positive intent.

Unless you have previously studied metaphysics and developed or fine-tuned your psychic skills, playfully peeking into the future with poker cards may or may not provide you or your querents (those asking questions) any earth-shaking revelations. Remember that any predictions or insights certainly should be taken with not a grain, but a good shake of salt. But, as we ALL have psychic skills, it is very possible that even without any formal training, you will find plenty of food for thought and some deliciously mystical insights from your humble deck of cards, a little study and a healthy helping of imagination. Just take care to be kind to your 'victims' as they may be dealing the cards next.

2005 Zsuzsana Summer, www.arcanamatrix.com