Ramble: Writing Exercises and Practice

A Loose and Brief History of Cards

One single question sparked the entirety of my novel. I was really into card games, and was fascinated by the sheer number of varieties. Old Maid, Go Fish, Texas Hold 'Em, B.S., War, Lucky Card, Five-Card Poker, Garbage, Bridge...as a "practicing minimalist" it was a life saver, but incredibly fascinating. Cards had been around for so long, and the one thing I didn't understand was why Jokers were included in a deck of cards.

So I googled it, and the answer that spurred the child I call my novel was simply "a joker is used to substitute a missing card in the deck". I was surprised, and the next time I corralled my friends into a game of poker I offered up the tidbit of information. My friend looked at me and shrugged saying he knew that already, but for me it was an eye-opener. Then I wondered what the symbolism of the Joker might be, and found none but learned that in old France decks of cards the four kings (King of Spades, King of Hearts, King of Clubs, King of Diamonds) were modeled after great leaders and kings in history.

This carried over to the Queens, but they weren't always present in the deck. As much as I'd like to say by name the rulers they were modeled after it's unclear as each country would hand-pick who they wanted to represent. The deck of cards we know today has had many iterations since ancient Egypt. Even the origin is argued between European countries and Asian countries. China has the oldest suggested use via paper slips that resembled modern day dominoes more than cards. The deck of cards we know, however, is modeled after the Tarot Deck. Cards were in Europe as early as the 1400s, but they had to come from somewhere, the only certain thing is they must have traveled east to west. Historians believe they could have come from China by gypsies, crusaders, and traders.

When examined deeper, the most obvious difference is that the Tarot deck is more heavily illustrated and each card has a defined meaning. Tarot diviners can even substitute for a regular deck of cards in a pinch. Spades translates to Swords, Hearts to Cups, Clubs to wands, Diamonds to pentacles. You can see some of these other "suits" and more throughout history. Italy and Spain used clubs, cups, swords, and coins whereas Germany had acorns, hearts, leaves, and bells. France and England popularized the modern suits, and England is responsible for the intricate designs we see on the Ace of Spades in modern decks. 

When England began taxing playing cards in 1765 they'd stamp the Ace of Spades to prove the deck was legal and had been taxed. Forging an Ace of Spades was punishable by death. Another visual to note would be the King of Hearts, "the suicide King". If you take a deck and find the king of hearts you'll see he's the only king without a mustache and seems to be stabbing his own head with the sword. The reason for this isn't as dramatic, simply an error from cut corners when it came to printing decks of cards.

That's not to say the deck of cards is without meaning. As mentioned earlier playing cards are modeled after the Tarot deck, and has its own significance. Each number correlates to a numerology meaning, some have a specific planet associated to it, and the suit correlates to an element and/or concept. Spades has the element of fire, and represents courage and willpower. Hearts has the element of water and represents emotion and love. Diamonds is the element of earth with representation rooted in material and wealth. This leaves Clubs with the element of air and meaning associated with the mind, speech, and words. The cards 3-10 are associated with the planets in our solar system (exceptions of six associating with the sun and nine associated with the moon).

The deck of cards we know today is shrouded in vague theories and loose understandings but that mystery is what I find so alluring. The more known about it the more questions asked. In the end it's just a tool in nearly every modern home. I still wonder about it, and ask why certain games came about and it's never been a boring answer. Save for Texas Hold 'em, originating because someone wanted more players included in their game of poker. The hands of time carved our modern deck, but the heart of playing cards throughout history has always been linked to gambling and spiritual use. The symbolism seems forgotten, very least not-so-common knowledge, and seeing the whole picture puts a fresh coat of paint on something normally not looked twice at.  When I asked that first question, "what's the point of the joker if it's not used in games" I never expected to be here two years later midway through the second draft of my first novel.