Card meanings about the mysterious queen of spades, foolish jokers, and the “king” of all cards – the trump card.
Card meanings: the card of death – queen of spades
The queen of spades is often considered a frightening, mysterious card. In games, it is a bad card, often leading to loss or deceit.
For example, in a game called “Queen of Spades,” players shuffle the deck and draw one card each. The one who draws the queen of spades loses immediately.
Another deceitful game/trick, “Three-card Monte,” is often played for money. The main card of the game is, of course, the queen of spades.
The “victim” of this game is indirectly convinced by various methods that they can find the needed card among the three face-down cards on the table after they are shuffled. If they succeed, the player wins money; if not, the card dealer is declared the winner.
Interestingly, if the cards are shuffled correctly (apart from the luck factor), the player will never be able to track where the queen of spades is hidden. The player can only win if they are specifically allowed to do so, with the aim of enticing them to play further and for larger sums.
Moreover, in the 19th century, the famous American con artist and gangster Jefferson Smith was shot in revenge for deceit and money swindling in this very game, three-card Monte.
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Due to many eerie coincidences and stories, the queen of spades became the “death” card. Additionally, this mysterious story inspired Alexander Pushkin to write the epigraph “The queen of spades”. Later, an opera was also created.
According to the story, a completely bankrupt young prince Golitsyn asked his great-grandmother, the countess, for the necessary sum of money. She listed three magical cards that would help him win, but the fateful third card turned out to be the queen of spades instead of the predicted one. From the tension and shattered hopes, the character goes mad.
Interestingly, historical sources mention that no manuscript of “The Queen of Spades” remains, nor was the original found, only an epigraph example printed in one magazine. Also, Pushkin himself wrote that while writing “The Queen of Spades,” he was overwhelmed by gloomy premonitions and sad thoughts, despite external calm and well-being.
Many mystical stories have been created about the queen of spades, some of them fictional, some firmly claimed to be true, so even now people rarely mention this card and feel very uneasy when saying its name…
Card meanings: kings' jesters jokers
In 1857, a previously unseen, meaningless card appeared in a deck released in New York, USA, initially called the “fool.” Now this card is called the joker or jester (Eng. joker).
Today, the purpose of these cards depends on the game rules – these cards can be used in place of other cards in the deck or have the greatest power, in other words, the highest rank or value.
According to the history of these cards, it corresponds to the origin of other court cards. As mentioned, the cards were initially intended for the entertainment of the nobility and quite accurately reflected the existing hierarchy of the nobility at the time: kings, queens, knights, and jacks.
History recalls that most courts had jesters who had more rights than ordinary courtiers. The jester was granted the aforementioned “fool's freedom”: no one could restrict his speech except the ruler himself, and few dared to discipline him.
Interestingly, jesters not only entertained the participants of feasts but often mocked their lords.
From here comes the meaning of the joker in card games, where it appears unexpectedly and, being a cunning card, has the greatest value or can replace any card.
The joker usually has 11, 15, or 20 points.
What does this bad guy look like? His outfit is always bright and colorful (the dominant colors are green, symbolizing foolishness, yellow, symbolizing contempt, and red, whose symbolic meaning is hell). His made-up face reflects the characteristic smile of a crazy and cunning oddball.
Interestingly, the most important accessory of the jester is a hat sewn from fabrics of different colors (also called a fool's cap). It has two or three ends, usually decorated with bells.
Although his description has changed over time, reminders and symbols about him accompany us in one form or another constantly.
The joker character is also used in modern advertising
Based on various stories, plots, and associations, the villainous character Joker was created in books and films. This character is probably best known to everyone from comics, where he is Batman's greatest enemy and the cause of his misfortunes.
Created by English authors, the Joker first appeared in “Batman” #1 in 1940. People liked this character so much that since 1966, we have encountered him in various media, culture, and even art. The Joker appeared in all Batman parts (1966, 1989, 1993, 2016). In 2008, we also saw him in “The Dark Knight”.
As a film character, the Joker also appeared in 2016's “Suicide Squad” (angl. Suicide Squad), 2017's “The Lego Batman Movie” (angl. The Lego Batman Movie), and in October 2019, we saw his debut in a movie titled after his name, “Joker” (angl. Joker).
Both in comics and films, the Joker is portrayed as a master criminal, a villain, slightly insane, sometimes frightening or even gruesome, and seeking omnipotent power.
Joker Card Collecting
The largest collection of Joker playing cards consists of 8,520 cards, collected by Tony De Santis from Italy. He started in 1999, receiving a set of 2,000 cards from magician Fernando Riccardi, also from Italy.
Tony's collection is unique in that all the Joker images on each card are different; typically, in collections like this, differences are usually seen only on the backs of the cards, not the fronts.
Tony promised his friend and mentor Fernando that after Fernando's death, he would continue to add to the collection. Tony kept his word.
Fernando began collecting in 1942, starting with a few old cards. Tony expanded his collection by traveling to markets in various countries and searching for new specimens.
Tony enjoys memorizing his jokes, so every week he spends a few seconds looking at them one by one, similar to learning a poem. Since he is a magician himself, this practice works quite well for him.
Joker cards come in many different designs and shapes. They can be square, round like a circle, fish-shaped, or even look like a bone.
Some of these Joker cards are very small – just a few millimeters in size. Tony's collection also includes Jokers from decks that have 6 Jokers each. These cards are very rare and special.
Card Meanings: The Almighty Trump Card!
The word itself comes from the Latin “triumphus,” meaning triumph or victory. In English, this card is also called a “triumph card,” while the Lithuanian name – koziris – is believed to have come from Southern Europe.
Essentially, the meaning of a trump card can be understood as a certain special, main, cornerstone thing, often used even in colloquial speech, for example, my trump card is fortune-telling with cards.
Usually, it depends on the game which suit cards and how they become jokers, or in other words, jesters. For example, in “Ramsas,” the trump card becomes the last card dealt by the dealer, while in “Durnius,” the trump card becomes the top card of the deck, but only after the cards have been dealt to the players.
However, most often, the trump cards are usually spades.
