car.to.man.cy n.
The art of telling fortunes with cards.

div·i·na·tion n.
The art or act of foretelling future events or revealing occult knowledge by means of augury or an alleged supernatural agency.

I decided to do some research based on a topic of calendars, and the myth that decks of playing cards were once used for cartomancy.

Here's the basic myth:
Playing cards were origionally used by prohpets who would use them for divination (fortune telling).

The four suits represent the 4 seasons.
When you add up all the pips in the deck, you get 364.
Add the Joker, you get 365.
There are 365 days in a year.

This is a nice idea, and you can certainly use it. But playing cards were not used for divination origionally. They were used for card games. And the joker never made it into the deck until 1870.

Though the 364 day calendar we come up with (minus the Joker) does not jibe with the calendar we commonly use, it does jibe with the biblical Hebrew calendar. Perhaps you may wish to incorporate that into a routine if the idea strikes your fancy. I also believe this is the calendar Moses was apparently told to use.

The Hebrew Jubilee Calendar:
364 Days: Pips and face values added up
13 Lunar Months: 13 cards per suit
52 Weeks in the year: 52 cards in a deck
4 Seasons: 4 suits in a deck

The Book of Enoch. Chapter 74, Verse 12:
And the sun and the stars bring in all the years exactly, so that they do not advance or delay their position by a single day unto eternity; but complete the years with perfect justice in 364 days. In 3 years there are 1,092 days, and in 5 years 1,820 days, so that in 8 years there are 2,912 days.

I have made a quick reference calendar, to easily find what day(s) any given card represents. The higher the card value, the more days it covers. I like to use it as a type of cold reading with card effects. You never know what response an audience will give you when you show them the day(s) their card represents. You may have big misses, but you may have big hits.

I find effects to use with the calandar are easy to find, or come up with. You have Tossed Out Decks, Invisible Decks, Brainwave Decks, and other free selections to use. You could even find out specific dates that are important to the spectator, and "force" a card corresponding to the date.

Nothing ventured…

IF YOU FIND ANY OBVIOUS ERRORS IN MY FACT FINDING ON THE HEBREW CALENDAR, PLEASE LET ME KNOW

Sincerely
Wayne Stevenson
The SpookClub
http://www.spookclub.com (The Store)
http://forums.spookclub.com (The Free Magic Forums)