In a spread, Fata Morgana names the glamour: an attraction or allurement whose beauty is surface-deep, a fantasy mistaken for feeling, a change of heart riding on illusion.
— The divinatory art of the 52-card deck —
The 5 of Hearts is the card of the beautiful illusion. In the Playing Card Oracles it is Fata Morgana — the spell of Morgana, the Spade Queen herself — an enchantress poised in the lake who, on second look, is a hag: allurement without depth, and a restless, uncertain heart easily led astray.
The words Fata Morgana come from the Arthurian tales and literally mean the spell of Morgana — and Morgana is none other than the Spade Queen herself, the legendary sorceress of the pack, here casting her influence across suit boundaries into the Hearts.
A casual glance in the direction of this enchantress poised in the lake would cause many a heart to flutter. But take a second, more careful look — and behold the reflection of a hag.
Over the course of time, many illusions — fata — will be cast upon the waters of our emotions, but these are only shadow images, reflections lacking depth. How easy it is for the quivering, uncertain heart to be led astray. Can one be still enough to find one’s center, to see beyond the clashing of dreams, to penetrate the surface of what is being shown?
In a spread, Fata Morgana names the glamour: an attraction or allurement whose beauty is surface-deep, a fantasy mistaken for feeling, a change of heart riding on illusion.
As an energy, it counsels the second look. Be still enough to find your center before acting on what dazzles — the first glance flutters the heart; the careful one shows the reflection.
It is one of the deck’s cross-suit cards — Morgana’s spell reaching from Spades into Hearts — so when the Queen of Spades appears nearby, ask whose enchantment is on the water.
Traditional cartomancy reads the 5 of Hearts around jealousy and indecision in love — affection unsettled and wavering.
In the Playing Card Oracles, the Fives are the crossroads cards: two roads crossing, a traveler faced with a choice, confusion born of newfound freedom or options. More often than not, they are difficult cards.
In the Playing Card Oracles it is Fata Morgana: illusion and fantasy in the emotional life — a restless heart, an allurement lacking depth, a change of heart cast by glamour rather than truth.
It is Arthurian for “the spell of Morgana” — Morgana being the Queen of Spades in this deck, the legendary sorceress. The card shows her enchantment on the waters of emotion: an enchantress at first glance, a hag on careful look.
Fives are crossroads: two roads crossing in the pip pattern, a traveler faced with options and the confusion of new freedom. At worst they are traps of one’s own making; at best, new possibilities and change.
The full grammar of the deck — geometries, timing, and the voices of all fifty-two — lives in The Playing Card Oracles: A Source Book for Divination.