general

• a card deck contains: 10 pip (numbered) cards from ace through 10
• 3 court (picture) cards (jack, queen, king)
• 4 suits, 2 in red (hearts, diamonds), and 2 in black (clubs, spades)
• 2 jokers
• and sometimes 2 blank cards to replace missing or damaged cards

theory

• the 52 cards represent 52 weeks in a year
• the 4 colours represent the 4 seasons
• the 13 cards in a suit represent the 13 weeks in a season
• the pip cards represent situations or events
• the court cards represent people
• the joker represents the unexpected
• each of the 4 suits represent one of the four elements (fire, earth, water, air), along with an aspect of our daily lives, and three of the twelve signs of the zodiac, as well as one of the four humours
• the aces represent seasons and: when dignified (upright) represents early season; ill-dignified (upside-down) represents late season

suit of clubs

• fire
• careers, work, and business
• leo, aries, sagittarius
• the ace represents spring
• associated humour: choleric

suit of hearts

• water
• love, friendship, and domestic concerns
• pisces, cancer, scorpio
• the ace represents summer
• associated humour: sanguine

suit of spades

• air
• mental activities, communication, journeys
• gemini, libra, aquarius
• the ace represents autumn
• associated humour: bilious

suit of diamonds

• earth
• money, material things, sports and hobbies
• taurus, capricorn, virgo
• the ace represents winter
• associated humour: melancholic