Cards Question (playing, tarot, oracle)

[Scales]

I read playing cards, and I've gotten pretty set in a method, but I still read about new ones, and I like reading about tarot and so on. A thing I've seen several times is a card representing someone. Forgive me, as I don't know how to explain this well in a sentence, so I'll just use examples (from memory, alas):

"If reading for a military man he will always be represented by the king of diamonds."

"I always represent myself with The Empress when reading, personally."

"When I read, I'm The Fool, but my friend uses the Knave of Wands to represent himself."

So, not like a card signifying a 'significant woman in someone's life' or that sort of thing, but cards to represent specific people, doing the readings or being read for.

I don't really understand how this works, at all. Do you pull that card from the deck before otherwise laying out your cards? Place it on a spot on your spread? Is it just that should that card come up, it is you/the client? If so, how does that work when you do a spread that has specific meanings for the order of cards drawn and that segment isn't about you?

You don't have to answer all of those, of course, but if you have a bit of an explanation, I'd appreciate it.

[Jenett]

I read playing cards, and I've gotten pretty set in a method, but I still read about new ones, and I like reading about tarot and so on. A thing I've seen several times is a card representing someone. Forgive me, as I don't know how to explain this well in a sentence, so I'll just use examples (from memory, alas):

 
The term for this is 'significator' - and yeah, it's basically 'this is a card that represents this particular person.

Some spreads or methods of reading have you put down a significator to indicate who the spread is about (some people like this if they're doing a reading at a distance, for example.) And yes, it does take a card out of the deck, but in general, most cards have multiple ways they can be read, and those meanings can be gotten at in other ways.

I personally don't use them, but I do use a general significator card for the question for larger readings (like a Celtic Cross spread) - if that card doesn't make any sense in context of the reading, then I tend to look carefully at whether the reading is a good idea right now (or framed well).

[Scales]

The term for this is 'significator' - and yeah, it's basically 'this is a card that represents this particular person.

Some spreads or methods of reading have you put down a significator to indicate who the spread is about (some people like this if they're doing a reading at a distance, for example.) And yes, it does take a card out of the deck, but in general, most cards have multiple ways they can be read, and those meanings can be gotten at in other ways.

I personally don't use them, but I do use a general significator card for the question for larger readings (like a Celtic Cross spread) - if that card doesn't make any sense in context of the reading, then I tend to look carefully at whether the reading is a good idea right now (or framed well).

 
Thank you, that's really helpful. It doesn't really concern me that a card is removed from use, but I couldn't really figure out whether or not that was the case, or why.

Also, thank you as having the right word will probably help if I decide to look into this further, although that's a pretty clear explanation for starts.

[Faemon]

Do you pull that card from the deck before otherwise laying out your cards? Place it on a spot on your spread? Is it just that should that card come up, it is you/the client? If so, how does that work when you do a spread that has specific meanings for the order of cards drawn and that segment isn't about you?

Some spreads have a position signifying the querent, so some readers put the pre-selected signifier there. If there's no such position, a reader can set it aside/outside the spread, just as a focal point to have a better connection with the signified person that this signifier is signifying.

But I personally just let it come up in the shuffle if it's going to come up.

My godmother and my mother's sister are both signified as the Queen of Wands. I figured this out intuitively, and also by noticing that when that card came up in the spread it would often have something to do with one or the other. I don't know how the deck would manage to describe them meeting, if that came up. I'm guessing if I considered the Queen of Wands in that spread, then it would vibe with a sense of two of them. If my intuitive antennae are really clear, I might even get a sense of them meeting.

One person's signifier changed in my readings from a knight of chalices to a queen of swords, as the nature of our relationship changed. I suppose that it was different facets, because before then this person was signified by The High Priestess which isn't a million miles from the queen of swords.

I used to identify as The Moon and a Queen of Chalices, and tried to figure out why two, why the difference? Lately, though, The Moon has felt much much less me.

[Emma Eldritch]

I read playing cards, and I've gotten pretty set in a method, but I still read about new ones, and I like reading about tarot and so on. A thing I've seen several times is a card representing someone. Forgive me, as I don't know how to explain this well in a sentence, so I'll just use examples (from memory, alas):

"If reading for a military man he will always be represented by the king of diamonds."

"I always represent myself with The Empress when reading, personally."

"When I read, I'm The Fool, but my friend uses the Knave of Wands to represent himself."

So, not like a card signifying a 'significant woman in someone's life' or that sort of thing, but cards to represent specific people, doing the readings or being read for.

I don't really understand how this works, at all. Do you pull that card from the deck before otherwise laying out your cards? Place it on a spot on your spread? Is it just that should that card come up, it is you/the client? If so, how does that work when you do a spread that has specific meanings for the order of cards drawn and that segment isn't about you?

You don't have to answer all of those, of course, but if you have a bit of an explanation, I'd appreciate it.

 
Personally if I use a significator I just pull it at random, but I've known many people who have 'their' card for themselves. A very good friend of mine for years used the Knight of Cups to represent himself - for whatever reason, he resonated with the cad and its meanings. My mother still thinks of herself as the Queen of Swords.

I've known others who pick a card for their querent based on what they feel the other person is like, but it's not something I can get behind in cases where said querent is a virtual stranger. I don't know how, for example, I could pick a card to represent you Scales since I barely know you! But lots of people are more intuitive than I am.

I prefer to let the deck pick - I find a gain much more insight into a person's character that way.

[Redfaery]

Personally if I use a significator I just pull it at random, but I've known many people who have 'their' card for themselves. A very good friend of mine for years used the Knight of Cups to represent himself - for whatever reason, he resonated with the cad and its meanings. My mother still thinks of herself as the Queen of Swords.

 
I'm like this, though I have more than one card that I see as "mine." I always use the page of cups as a significator, even in layouts that don't ask for one. It's invariably a deal breaker for me if a deck's page of cups is ugly. I ended up giving up on my mystic Faerie Tarot because the Page of Cups was the ugliest card in the deck. It's one reason I just love my Shadowscapes Tarot. Not only is the Page of Cups gorgeous, but the interpretation in the book really, really resonates with me, and the image itself kind of makes me think of the qualities I prize in myself.

But like I said, I have other cards that are really meaningful. The High Priestess is the big one. Whenever she pops up in a reading, I know something very important is happening and I need to pay attention.

[Emma Eldritch]

But like I said, I have other cards that are really meaningful. The High Priestess is the big one. Whenever she pops up in a reading, I know something very important is happening and I need to pay attention.

 
Do you consider that a significator for Benzaiten or something along those lines?

[Redfaery]

Do you consider that a significator for Benzaiten or something along those lines?

Yep. :eek:

[Emma Eldritch]

Yep. :eek:

 
I have cards like that, although they tend to be deck specific.

[RoseQuartz]

But like I said, I have other cards that are really meaningful. The High Priestess is the big one. Whenever she pops up in a reading, I know something very important is happening and I need to pay attention.

 
I usually am like that with the death tarot card which often means big/major changes coming along into my life. Thankfully, though, the cards are usually spot on although I have not tried reading for my self as of yet. I tend to find the Tower card is an intriguing one but often comes up with a positive outcome.

Although back to the original question, I'd say just go with where you're drawn to place the cards, if there is a spread on your mind then use it, you will find that the messages will be different for every person that sits.

[treetrunk78]

I read playing cards, and I've gotten pretty set in a method, but I still read about new ones, and I like reading about tarot and so on. A thing I've seen several times is a card representing someone. Forgive me, as I don't know how to explain this well in a sentence, so I'll just use examples (from memory, alas):

"If reading for a military man he will always be represented by the king of diamonds."

"I always represent myself with The Empress when reading, personally."

"When I read, I'm The Fool, but my friend uses the Knave of Wands to represent himself."

So, not like a card signifying a 'significant woman in someone's life' or that sort of thing, but cards to represent specific people, doing the readings or being read for.

I don't really understand how this works, at all. Do you pull that card from the deck before otherwise laying out your cards? Place it on a spot on your spread? Is it just that should that card come up, it is you/the client? If so, how does that work when you do a spread that has specific meanings for the order of cards drawn and that segment isn't about you?

You don't have to answer all of those, of course, but if you have a bit of an explanation, I'd appreciate it.

 

Yep! This happens to me occasionally. If a court card comes up in a reading for someone, based on the question, position, etc., I might talk about a behavior or a mindset the person needs to take on for whatever reason. However, they do sometimes come up as other people, and for some of my friends, I know exactly who they are. For instance, a friend of mine who's a medium always comes up as the Queen of Cups. My boyfriend is a total King of Swords. I don't purposely pull out significators though.

[IceAngie]

So, not like a card signifying a 'significant woman in someone's life' or that sort of thing, but cards to represent specific people, doing the readings or being read for.

I don't really understand how this works, at all. Do you pull that card from the deck before otherwise laying out your cards? Place it on a spot on your spread? Is it just that should that card come up, it is you/the client? If so, how does that work when you do a spread that has specific meanings for the order of cards drawn and that segment isn't about you?

 
The woman that used to read for my family used a significator for every person. She used to say "you are the page of wands, your mother is the page of cups" and so on. Then she used to do a reading with all cards, and read depending on where your siginificator appeared. This was with Spanish cards.

Me, I only take a significator if a card falls from the deck or I can't pick it up when cutting the deck. It's a random card that I read as the querent, or, in some circumstances, the problem at hand.

[habbalah]

I read playing cards, and I've gotten pretty set in a method, but I still read about new ones, and I like reading about tarot and so on. A thing I've seen several times is a card representing someone. Forgive me, as I don't know how to explain this well in a sentence, so I'll just use examples (from memory, alas):

Not exactly, but when I read from my oracle deck, once I pull Uriel's card I know that the reading is over. He's the entity I work the most with, and I always get the feeling of "you've gotten all we have to tell you" when his card comes up.