Four Suits of Cardology

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Hearts suit governs the first period of our lives and the first season of the year – the time of childhood and the season of spring. Olney H. Richmond,  Grand Master of the Order of the Magi and the Father of Cardology,  wrote in his "The Mystic Test Book" published in 1893,  “Thus the heart is an emblem of love the world over." Family, love, home, relationships, emotions, and children all fall under the domain of Hearts. The Hearts suit signifies emotion. Birthdays identified with this suit find the greatest fulfillment in a positive expression of love, compassion and understanding. Hearts people, above all others, are best “suited” to demonstrate these attributes. People who are born as a Hearts card are child-like in nature because they are the children of the deck, often maintaining a youthful exuberance even into later years. They never really get old, not on the inside. They usually love children.

Hearts people live through emotions and relationships and are most concerned with and affected by their personal relationships, especially within their families. Hearts is also the suit of sex and Hearts people seem to make that a greater priority than the other suits. The Hearts person is here searching for the perfect love. The positive Hearts is friendly and affectionate; the negative Hearts is self-indulgent or flirtatious. The negative ones are vulnerable to their emotional temperament, which can turn love into violent hate. Excess in the sensual can also turn them away from sensitive expressions to promiscuity and obsessive behaviors.

Hearts rule art, music, poetry, and any pursuit of beauty in any form. At best, Hearts people are sensitive and their sensual nature can make them among the greatest of artists, sculptors, musicians and poets. Because Hearts excel in people-oriented careers, they also make good nurses, teachers, and counselors.

The Hearts suit governs 52 birthdays. Its ruling planets are Venus and Mercury. In the book "The Mystic Test Book" Olney H. Richmond said that while Mercury rules the Hearts suit from the standpoint of instinctive passion, Venus rules from the standpoint of emotional love and harmony.

The Clubs suit governs the period of life after childhood when we are sent off to school every day. It is the second season of the year and represents the summertime of life. In Cardology, the Clubs suit represents the mind and mental activities. Clubs people love to read and to learn new things and thrive on conversation and communication in all forms. To a Clubs person, education of some sort is a prerequisite so they may fulfill their responsibility of comprehending and translating the facts of life. They are the detail-oriented people, too, and will notice and find things that other suits overlook.

The Clubs person is here searching for the perfect truth. Clubs people are creative and experience life through talking and learning. As the eternal college students of the deck, Clubs are curious, always thinking, and love to talk, read and teach. The positive Clubs is brilliant and well-informed; the negative Clubs can be a dishonest know-it-all. The negative Clubs person should avoid the temptation to abuse their power through the manipulation of fact, negative arguments and the distortion of knowledge.

The Clubs suit governs education, communications, both written and verbal, our thinking, and information-based activities and jobs. Legal matters are also ruled by Clubs. They do well in occupations that provide them with the opportunity to share their insights and intellectual powers such as journalism, law, teaching, writing, and counseling.

The Clubs suit governs 133 birthdays in the year. Its ruling planets are Mars and Earth. Olney Richmond, known as the Father of Cardology, stated that while Mars rules Clubs mainly from the standpoint of action and aggressiveness, Earth rules from the standpoint of selfishness and greed.

The Diamonds suit represents the harvest season, both in the year and in our lives.  Olney H. Richmond,  Grand Master of the Order of the Magi and the Father of Cardology,  wrote, “The diamond is an emblem of wealth.” Diamonds is, indeed, the suit of values and accumulation of value, material or otherwise, but too often the “otherwise” is overlooked. Where people of the Clubs suit accumulate knowledge, Diamonds people prefer money and things. To Diamonds, all things, including people and relationships, have a value. The Diamonds person is the one who assigns this value and in truth, through the accumulation of things and money, the Diamonds person is seeking his or her own value in the world. All the money cards in the Cards of Life are Diamonds, the good ones and the bad ones.

As the adults of the deck, Diamonds can’t stand being told what to do. Even children who are Diamonds do not like being treated as a baby. And they generally choose to hang out with kids a little older than themselves. Some of the greatest money people in the world have Diamonds cards. The Diamonds person is ultimately seeking self-worth and are on the planet to clarify values. They do like to spend money and like nice things. Diamonds on a positive path are generous and philanthropic. A truly positive Diamond individual should be able to recognize and accept spiritual as well as material responsibility. When their material know-how is positively applied, family, communities, and even nations benefit. The negative-minded Diamonds can be greedy or miserly. They can be trapped by material concerns, devoting lifetimes to an ever-increasing spiral of acquisitiveness.

The Diamonds suit rules merchants, manufacturers, large corporations, producers, investors, bankers and world traders. Careers for the Diamonds person include banking, investing, merchandising, politics, retail, producing and big business.

The Diamonds suit governs 131 birthdays. Its ruling planets are Jupiter and Neptune. Olney Richmond said that while Jupiter rules the Diamonds from the standpoint of wealth, Neptune rules from the standpoint of commerce.

The Spades suit represents the season of winter, both in the year and in our life.  Spades is the suit of wisdom and wisdom can only be obtained through experience. Though a Clubs may have wealth of knowledge, their knowledge is, by definition, inferior to wisdom. And all Spades people know this. These are the workers of the deck. All the workaholic cards are Spades and any Spades person can be accused of it at one time or the other. Spades are also connected to health and health issues are a common symptom in the last years of our life which Spades govern. Olney Richmond wrote, “But the spade being an instrument of labor, it becomes a symbol of labor and death combined." Not all Spades have health issues but quite a few of them do. A Spades person is interested in doing, as opposed to the feeling, thinking or wanting of the other suits. Spades children like to hang out with their grandparents and much older people since they are essentially old souls, even from birth.

A Spades person is seeking self-perfection through doing and their work. Spades people are confident, strong-willed, and wise. Spades are more interested in doing their jobs well than talking about them or becoming too emotionally involved with others. Even when they are young, they will often act more mature than their age. Spades can be stubborn and don’t like it when others try to control them. A suit of extremes, Spades on the negative side can represent the unhappy side of life, drudgery, despair, illness and even death. On the positive side, it is the suit of mystics and spiritual gurus.

As a rule, people of the Spades suit have to work hard for everything they want. Spades find satisfaction in careers in construction, broadcasting and health care. As the symbol of transformation, Spades can also be successful in industries that deal with death, dying, religion, spirituality and mysticism.

The Spades suit governs 49 birthdays in the year. Its ruling planets are Saturn and Uranus. Olney Richmond stated that while Saturn rules the Spades from the standpoint of death and rebirth, Uranus rules from the standpoint of labor.

Sources: The Mystic Test Book by Olney H. Richmond and What’s Your Card? by Arne Lein