Until “The Playing Card Oracles” was written, there was NO written material on how to make use of the natural, OBVIOUS, calendar in the 52-card deck.* We have been using this deck for GAMES for at least seven centuries, overlooking it’s most apparent and illustrious built-in feature. As I state in my book, there is no known game that uses a calendar, so why put it in a deck of cards?
To quote myself further (from page xv of the introduction): “When you think about it, a calendar provides a layout in which to chart events that have not yet occurred. It is a map of the future. Of all the features of the playing deck, these perfect calendar correspondences are perhaps the hardest to pass off as mere circumstance. Far from a haphazard creation, the construction of the deck alludes to a clearly thought out intention, to a purpose far greater than ordinary gaming.” For those of you not already familiar, here are the rudimentary calendar correspondences, with which we unwittingly toy with each time we play a card game:
Calendar Correspondences chart from “The Playing Card Oracles.”
And so, the calendar is there. To quote Maurice Sendak, “Let the wild rumpus start!” Let’s use it!!!
Here is the basic idea (further instruction and use are in “The Playing Card Oracles,” of course.)
Your deck as it sits on the table is already in calendar form. Because the Playing Deck has 52 cards and the year has 52 weeks, each card naturally represents one week of time. So cutting into the dick simply exposes a little slice of time or literally a calendar page within the deck that is a calendar.
So here is a little exercise to try: Shuffle any 52-card deck and choose a question in your own mind that you would like some guidance on. When you feel ready, simply set the deck down on the table. Breathe, and cut the deck once. Now turn the card over that was exposed by the cut. Voila! Calendar moment!
Now to calculate: When using the deck as the calendar, consider the top of the deck as the present moment. This is the time closest to you. The bottom card in the stack is farthest from you, or 52 weeks (one natural year of time) in the future. And where you cut is somewhere betwixt. So to find the time indicated by your cut, simply remove cards off the top of the deck in piles of four until you reach the card turned by your cut.
Four cards are easy to count since they represent four weeks. Each pile is approximately a month (actually a lunar month.) Any extra cards not divisible by four simply represent additional weeks. The date you receive by counting in this method is a date significant to your question. The particular card turned gives you information about this date.
To see meanings for the 52 cards and for complete instructions on how to use the calendar and the cards, just download the free eBook version of The Playing Card Oracles (in the side bar of this page), or pick up a signed paperback version in the shop.
Happy Oracles,
— Ana Cortez
*There still may be no other written material. I expect copy cat approaches at any moment; however, have not checked the market to see what’s out there.