How to Tell Fortunes

Part 1

Transcriber’s Notes:

Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (italics).

Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.

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HOW TO TELL FORTUNES

CONTAINING Napoleon’s Oraculum, and the Key to Work It

ALSO Tells Fortunes by Cards, LUCKY AND UNLUCKY DAYS, SIGNS AND OMENS.

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COPYRIGHT, 1902, BY FRANK TOUSEY, PUBLISHER 168 West 23d St., New York City

HOW TO TELL FORTUNES BY CARDS.

In telling Fortunes by Cards--as in all games in which they are employed--the Ace ranks highest in value. Then comes the King, followed by the Queen, Knave, Ten, Nine, Eight, and Seven; these being generally the only cards used.

The order, and comparative value of the different suits, is as follows:--First on the list stand “Clubs,” as they mostly portend happiness; and--no matter how numerous, or how accompanied--are rarely or never of bad augury. Next come “Hearts,” which usually signify joy, liberality, or good temper; “Diamonds,” on the contrary, denote delay, quarrels, and annoyance; and “Spades”--the worst suit of all--grief, sickness, and loss of money.

We are of course speaking generally, as, in many cases, the position of cards entirely changes their signification; their individual and relative meaning being often widely different. Thus, for example, the King of Hearts, the Nine of Hearts, and the Nine of Clubs, respectively signify, a liberal man, joy, and success in love, but change their position, by placing the King between the two nines, and you would read that a man, then rich and happy, would be ere long consigned to a prison!

SIGNIFICATION OF THE CARDS.

The individual meaning attached to the thirty-two cards employed is as follows:--

THE EIGHT CLUBS.

Ace of Clubs.--Signifies joy, money, or good news; if reversed, the joy will be of brief duration.

King of Clubs.--A frank, liberal man, fond of serving his friends; if reversed, he will meet with a disappointment.

Queen of Clubs.--An affectionate woman, but quick-tempered and touchy; if reversed, jealous and malicious.

Knave of Clubs.--A clever and enterprising young man; reversed, a harmless flirt and flatterer.

Ten of Clubs.--Fortune, success, or grandeur; reversed, want of success in some small matter.

Nine of Clubs.--Unexpected gain, or a legacy; reversed, some trifling present.

Eight of Clubs.--A dark person’s affections, which, if returned, will be the cause of great prosperity; reversed, those of a fool, and attendant unhappiness, if reciprocated.

Seven of Clubs.--A small sum of money, or unexpectedly recovered debt; reversed, a yet smaller amount.

THE EIGHT HEARTS.

Ace of Hearts.--A love-letter, or some pleasant news; reversed, a friend’s visit.

King of Hearts.--A fair, liberal man; reversed, will meet with disappointment.

Queen of Hearts.--A mild, amiable woman; reversed, has been crossed in love.

Part 2

Knave of Hearts.--A gay young bachelor, who dreams only of pleasure; reversed, a discontented military man.

Ten of Hearts.--Happiness, triumph; if reversed, some slight anxiety.

Nine of Hearts.--Joy, satisfaction, success; reversed, a passing chagrin.

Eight of Hearts.--A fair person’s affections; reversed, indifference on his or her part.

Seven of Hearts.--Pleasant thoughts, tranquillity; reversed, ennui, weariness.

THE EIGHT DIAMONDS.

Ace of Diamonds.--A letter, soon to be received; and, if the card be reversed, containing bad news.

King of Diamonds.--A fair man--generally in the army--but both cunning and dangerous; if reversed, a threatened danger, caused by machinations on his part.

Queen of Diamonds.--An ill-bred, scandal-loving woman; if reversed, she is to be greatly feared.

Knave of Diamonds.--A tale-bearing servant, or unfaithful friend; if reversed, will be the cause of mischief.

Ten of Diamonds.--Journey, or change of residence; if reversed, it will not prove fortunate.

Nine of Diamonds.--Annoyance, delay; if reversed, either a family or a love quarrel.

Eight of Diamonds.--Love-making; if reversed, unsuccessful.

Seven of Diamonds.--Satire, mockery; reversed, a foolish scandal.

N. B.--In order to know whether the Ace, Ten, Nine, Eight and Seven of Diamonds are reversed, it is better to make a small pencil-mark on each, to show which is the top of the card.

THE EIGHT SPADES.

Ace of Spades.--Pleasure; reversed, grief, bad news.

King of Spades.--The envious man, an enemy, or a dishonest lawyer, who is to be feared; reversed, impotent malice.

Queen of Spades.--A widow; reversed, a dangerous and malicious woman.

Knave of Spades.--A dark, ill-bred young man; reversed, he is plotting some mischief.

Ten of Spades.--Tears, a prison; reversed, brief affliction.

Nine of Spades.--Tidings of a death; reversed, it will be some near relative.

Eight of Spades.--Approaching illness; reversed, a marriage broken off, or offer refused.

Seven of Spades.--Slight annoyances; reversed, a foolish intrigue.

The Court cards of Hearts and Diamonds usually represent persons of fair complexion; Clubs and Spades, the opposite.

SIGNIFICATION OF DIFFERENT CARDS OF THE SAME DENOMINATION.

Four Aces, coming together, or following each other, announce danger, failure in business, and sometimes imprisonment. If one or more of them be reversed, the danger will be lessened, but that is all.

Three Aces, coming in the same manner.--Good tidings; if reversed, folly.

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Two Aces.--A plot; if reversed, will not succeed.

Four Kings.--Rewards, dignities, honors; reversed, they will be less, but sooner received.

Three Kings.--A consultation on important business, the result of which will be highly satisfactory; if reversed, success will be doubtful.

Two Kings.--A partnership in business; if reversed, a dissolution of the same. Sometimes this only denotes friendly projects.

Four Queens.--Company, society; one or more reversed, denotes that the entertainment will not go off well.

Three Queens.--Friendly calls; reversed, chattering and scandal or deceit.

Two Queens.--A meeting between friends; reversed, poverty, troubles, in which one will involve the other.

Four Knaves.--A noisy party--mostly young people; reversed, a drinking bout.

Three Knaves.--False friends; reversed, a quarrel with some low person.

Two Knaves.--Evil intentions; reversed, danger.

Four tens.--Great success in projected enterprises; reversed, the success will not be so brilliant, but still it will be sure.

Three tens.--Improper conduct; reversed, failure.

Two tens.--Change of trade or profession; reversed, denotes that the prospect is only a distant one.

Four nines.--A great surprise; reversed, a public dinner.

Three nines.--Joy, fortune, health; reversed, wealth lost by imprudence.

Two nines.--A little gain; reversed, trifling losses at cards.

Four eights.--A short journey; reversed, the return of a friend or relative.

Three eights.--Thoughts of marriage; reversed, folly, flirtation.

Two eights.--A brief love-dream; reversed, small pleasures and trifling pains.

Four Sevens.--Intrigues among servants or low people, threats, snares, and disputes; reversed, that their malice will be impotent to harm, and that the punishment will fall on themselves.

Three sevens.--Sickness, premature old age; reversed, slight and brief indisposition.

Two sevens.--Levity; reversed, regret.

Any picture-card between two others of equal value--as two tens, two Aces, etc.--denotes that the person represented by that card runs the risk of a prison.

It requires no great efforts to commit these significations to memory, but it must be remembered that they are but what the alphabet is to the printed book: a little attention and practice, however, will soon enable the learner to form these mystic letters into words, and words into phrases; in other language, to assemble these cards together, and read the events, past and to come, their pictured faces pretend to reveal.

There are several ways of doing this; but we will give them all, one after another, so as to afford our readers an ample choice of methods of prying into futurity.

DEALING THE CARDS BY THREES.

Take the pack of thirty-two selected cards (viz., the Ace, King, Queen, Knave, Ten, Nine, Eight, and Seven of each suit), having before fixed upon the one you intend to represent yourself, supposing always you are making the essay on your own behalf. If not, it must represent the person for whom you are acting. In doing this, it is necessary to remember that the card chosen should be according to the complexion of the chooser, King or Queen of Diamonds for a very fair person, ditto of Hearts for one rather darker, Clubs for one darker still, and Spades only for one very dark indeed. The card chosen also loses its signification, and simply becomes the representative of a dark or fair man, or woman, as the case may be.

This point having been settled, shuffle the cards, and either cut them or have them cut for you (according to whether you are acting for yourself or another person), taking care to use the left hand. That done, turn them up by threes, and every time you find in these triplets two of the same suit, such as two Hearts, two Clubs, etc., withdraw the highest card and place it on the table before you. If the triplet should chance to be all of the same suit, the highest card is still to be the only one withdrawn; but should it consist of three of the same value but different suits, such as three Kings, etc., they are to be all appropriated. We will suppose that, after having turned up the cards three by three, you have been able to withdraw six, leaving twenty-six, which you shuffle and cut, and again turn up by threes, acting precisely as you did before, until you have obtained either thirteen, fifteen, or seventeen cards. Recollect that the number must always be uneven, and that the card representing the person for whom the essay is made must make one of it. Even if the requisite thirteen, fifteen, or seventeen have been obtained, and this one has not made its appearance, the operation must be recommenced. Let us suppose the person whose fortune is being read to be a lady, represented by the Queen of Hearts, and that fifteen cards have been obtained and laid out--in the form of a half circle--in the order they were drawn, viz., the Seven of Clubs, the Ten of Diamonds, the Seven of Hearts, the Knave of Clubs, the King of Diamonds, the Nine of Diamonds, the Ten of Hearts, the Queen of Spades, the Eight of Hearts, the Knave of Diamonds, the Queen of Hearts, the Nine of Clubs, the Seven of Spades, the Ace of Clubs, the Eight of Spades. Having considered your cards, you will find among them two Queens, two Knaves, two tens, three sevens, two eights, and two nines; you are, therefore, able to announce:

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