The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1889-09-07
PLAYING CARDS.

Something About The&r Antiquity, Their
,+ Origin: :nd Ancient Uses. .a3 III
1t has been claimed by some historians
that playing cards were invented by the
Frenclli in the fourteenth century or later,
ard that they wore designed as gaming
cards "a tEeirst Place. 81 33z5. s4 u
Nothing could be iurther from the truth
than this account ofstEeir origin and puE.s
poses. The facts are, that the we'll known
deck OF modern playing cards was inv enteds
ages,aill ages ago BY the Egyptians, or else
by sarac previously existing nation, perhaps
the people az lost Atlantis. H. y. Il
At any rate, they were in use by the
Egyptian priests, as, abundant evidence
shows. and further, they were regarded as
= sacred emblem, or rather as emblems Of
time and astronomical combinations of the
solar system.
The religion of the Egyptians was pure,
astronomical one, and the sacred cards were
constructed with perfect mathematical ref
erence to the sacred astronomical mystic
ries and calculations in Occultism of the
magi..
The ffty-two cards correspondent to the
weeks in q year. The twelve court cards
ruled the twelve houses Of the Zodiac, and
corrcspondcd to the months in year.
The four suits represented the four sea-
sons, thus: Hearts, the spring; Clubs, sum-
nler; Diamonds, fall, and Spades, winter.
Thesuits also stood for many other matters
connected with occult symbolism.
Every aspect of the planets had its en-
blematic card Every day its ruling card.
The black cards represented darkness, the
redones daylight
1t was predicted by the Magi of Egypt
that no matter what changes should come
to peoples ana dynasties throughout all
coming time, these sacred emblems should
never be added to or taken from, but should
go '6n forever. But they also predicted
thnt they Nt0D]d be trampled under foot by
coming @liatiors'and become a by-word and
areproach in high places.
Tits aimost singular fact and one that the
superstitious might regard with wonder and
awe that the nuaaberof this singular CON-
bination has never .been changed notwith-
standing that :huntareus of inventors and
manufacturers both lin this country and in
Europe have repeatedly tried to introduce
packs of cards with more or less number OF
cards in the deck.
They have tried 81, -, 80, and so, as well
as other numbers. Even the attempt tc
add one card called s.joker'' has not me,
with much success, and the people will moi
use it except in isolated cases in games
! where only a part of the deck is used.
But this Joker $50 called) has reason
after all, for his partial existence. The
Egyptians reckoned but 1854 days to the
year i'll early times, regarding the odd day
as waste time" They figured that the
cards in "a pack, So multiplied by the ;
planets, made the days in ayear.
They knew nothing about Venus ani
| Neptune, but regarded the sun and moon a.
planets which made up the seven The
last day'of the year has no ''ruling card, ,
unless the joker be used, as each care
ruled but seven times in each year accord
ing to the Magi. This seven was held as
very sacred number, being one quarter O.
the lunar circuit and was called the ssper-
feet time" It has always occupied prom
inent place in religious symbolism, as wei
as the No. IL, which has always been prom,
nent as representing twelve Governors
| tribes, priests, councillors, disciples, etc
All these had their origin evidently i,
astronomy.
It is claimed by Eastern occultists an<
students of ancient lore that even to Thu
! day the memory and knowledge of the mys
tic properties of cards has been preserved
| and handed down from one to another ant
kept sacredly from vulgar eyes, together
with the sacred and lost word of ancien
mysticism which has been an object O.
search through all ages.
"Wol wo! the word is lost.'' Will it eve,
| be restored? Sol AMMON