I first heard this idea of a “soul deck” from fellow cartomancer, Kapherus, when he referred to Hessler’s Enhanced Playing Card Deck as his in a blog post.
It got me to thinking about the deck I would consider my “soul deck.”
Cards from the Prince Karte No. 402 deck originally published by Dondorf.
For the longest time, I had my eye on the Prince Karte No. 402, a vintage deck of playing cards originally published by Dondorf in the 1920s and 1930s.
I first saw this set in a blog post by another cartmancer, Madame Nadia, and I was immediately taken by its beautiful court cards.
She mentioned in the post that she had found some reproductions of the deck, so I set out to land a copy of my own.
I soon discovered one of two things: The deck was either hard to find, or the copies that I did find (which were mostly on eBay) were way out of my price point (or at least what I’d be willing to spend on a deck).
So, I put the search for Prince Karte No. 402 to rest and moved on.
After some time, I discovered a deck by Rick Davidson called Origins: Shadows of History, in which the artwork was inspired by playing card decks circa 1567. The project was on Kickstarter, so I immediately backed it, and once it got funded, I patiently waited for my copy to arrive.
If I were to pick a deck in my collection at that time, Origins would have been close. Notice what I said there: Close.
And that’s because, one day, toward the end of last month, I found it. The deck.
I was “randomly” doing an internet search on vintage playing cards when I came across a site named “Rare Playing Cards.” I thought I’d check it out and see—just by chance—if a copy of Prince Karte No. 402 was amongst the inventory.
So I’m searching, looking through a number of pages, coming across some interesting decks of all types, and that’s when I came upon the Uusi Classic deck.
Cards from the Uusi Classic deck by Uusi.
One look and I fell in love with it instantly. The pip cards were yellowed to give them an antique, vintage look and feel.
But it was the court cards…oh my gosh. They were hand-painted, done in a Renaissance art style that made me think of the Prince Karte No. 402.
And the best part? I could afford a copy. Sold!
The deck arrived just yesterday (February 2, 2018), and I haven’t been able to put it down for long. I watched TV last night while holding the deck in my hands, shuffling the cards, touching them, looking at them. I’ve got it bad for Uusi Classic.
It feels as if this is my “soul deck.”
So I thought I’d ask the cards directly, using the Answer Spread (currently one of my favorite spreads): “Is the Uusi Classic my ‘soul deck’?”
The Reading
In response, I drew 3 of Clubs, 5 of Hearts, Jack of Spades, 4 of Hearts, 6 of Hearts, and 5 of Spades.
The 3 of Clubs and 4 of Hearts represent aspects of the situation.
As part of the situation, the 3 of Clubs talks about an opportunity for growth and development, as well as the beginning stages of an endeavor that progresses gradually.
The 4 of Hearts following is known as the “marriage bed” card, and can mean the formation of a serious relationship, that a foundation is being laid to build on in the future. I tend to read this card as one of intimacy and closeness, and sharing a future together.
The pairing of Clubs + Hearts could be read as “working on a relationship.”
Very interesting to see at the start of the reading.
The 5 of Hearts and the 6 of Hearts answer the question.
The 5 of Hearts can mean wishes being fulfilled and a dream comes true, so this is very nice to see as part of the answer to the question. I also read the 5 of Hearts as holding hands (a hand has 5 fingers), and I do have to hold the deck in my hands when reading with it (and I’ve been doing a lot of that already).
And the answer gets better with the 6 of Hearts, which not only means a love affair—but a karmic relationship as well. It’s the karmic relationship aspect of the 6 of Hearts that specifically answers the question of Uusi Classic being my “soul deck”; it goes right to the heart (I couldn’t help myself).
Having two Hearts as the answer to the question is a definite yes.
A couple of interesting notes here:
The first is that the 5 of Hearts can represent female energy, while the 6 of Hearts can represent male energy. So my relationship with Uusi Classic is yin and yang; we balance each other out.
The other thing worth noting is the influence of the pair, which comes from adding 5 + 6, for a total of 11. 11 is a master number, and a spiritual one at that, which fits nicely with the idea of a “soul deck.”
But the number 11 is also made up of two 1’s, and in that regard, it can suggest two individuals coming together—one-to-one.
And then the 11 reduces to 2, the number of relationship, partnership, and compatibility.
This just gets better and better.
The Jack of Spades and 5 of Spades provide additional information to be considered.
At first glance, seeing both cards from the suit of Spades (challenges, problems, blocks, and obstacles) wasn’t thrilling, especially because the previous cards were so positive.
I considered the Jack to represent my thoughts, since I’m the only person involved in the situation/question. But this Jack would suggest thinking about a problem or difficulty, or there being a problem with my thinking, with regard to my idea of Uusi Classic being my “soul deck.” And that didn’t sit right with me.
But here’s a thought that did: The Jack of Spades can turn up to represent a rival. And then this thought popped into my head: Jacks can represent news and messages; the Jack of Spades can suggest bad news or messages that are troubling.
So, I kept those thoughts “under my hat” (the Jack has a hat on in the image), as I moved to the pivot card, 5 of Spades.
My first thought of the 5 of Spades was separation and divorce (my immediate go-to meanings), but I also considered the idea of handling (another 5) a problem or difficulty.
And then it came to me that the 5 of Spades can also mean having to stand on your own two feet—leading me to come up with the word “standalone.”
And then the pair came together and made sense: The deck, as the Jack of Spades, was delivering a message that might be difficult for me to “hear” in the moment—and that was, while the Uusi Classic is indeed my “soul deck,” it knows it will have to compete for my affections (Jack being a rival), and that it would be challenging for me to break away from my other decks (5 of Spades) and read with it exclusively (5 of Spades being independence).
This makes me love the deck even more, because it gets me. It really gets me.
life of HIMM 