ORDINARY PLAYING CARDS are derived from the Minor Arcana and court cards of the Tarot. The first cards to arrive in Britain came from France five hundred years ago, probably from the city of Rouen, and the design of the cards, today is still based on a pattern used all those years ago. The court cards still show figures wearing clothes that date back to the 14th century. According to legend these costumes derive from the pack designed by Odette, the mistress of Charles VI of France, having been given a pack by Romanies who brought them from the East.

The suit marks – spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs – are also French, although they have been given English names. Since they were introduced to Britain, what we now call ‘the English pattern’ has spread to the USA and other English-speaking countries. In other parts of the world, playing cards have developed differently. France uses cards that deviate slightly from the English pattern, although the four suits remain the same; Italy, Spain, Germany, and Switzerland have packs that are all quite different. Clubs become acorns in Germany and Switzerland and swords in Italy and Spain. Diamonds are bells in Germany and Switzerland and coins in Italy and Spain.

Spades are flowers in Switzerland leaves in Germany and batons in Spain and Italy. Hearts are shields in the Swiss pack, hearts in the German one, and cups in the other two.

What is constant is that in these and all other countries where cards are played, they can be used to divine the future – and, being descended from the Tarot, probably always have been.

https://blackheartbrotherhood.family.blog/2023/11/09/mastering-card-magic-a-comprehensive-guide-to-advanced-playing-card-techniques/