The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-07-25
WORLDS OLDEST BOOK
SOME FACTS CONCERNING PAcR
OF PLAYING CARDS.
+ ,.. ~
Have Been Known as Far Back nj
History Reaches, and Their sIanlf-
Has Seldom Been Thor
oughly Appreciated. I

THE Oldest book in the world safd
the wise woman of the party of card
players, Indicating the pack Of cards
held Ia her hands. Its leaves have
been called playing cards since the
fourteenth century, but they Wera
known as far back as history reaches,
by the Chinese, Persians and Egyp-
t1ans, not to name the anctents OF,
prehistoric times. A pack Of cards.
said to be a thousand years old liz
preserved in the museum of the Roy
al Asiatio society.
The women who play bridge al
the morning and then all the after
noon, and after that go to bridge par
ties in the evening"" said another of
the party, little think what ancient
things they are playing with. But
what was the purpose of this book
In the time before 1t became a gamer
The mystic book" answered the
wise woman, held the hidden wis
dom Of the ancient world. It was
used by the priests in their temples
when time was young. Call it's orI-
gin Egyptian or what you will, It Is
full Of astronomical symbolism, and
the wisdom of numbers; such Learnt
ing as men had of old was carefully
concealed from the uninitiated. But
to those who could read it the mys-p
tic test book was a veritable book OF
fate.
The cards, for one thing, are all
symbols Of the astrological art. EACH
n Is an emblem. 1t would tire yoar
If / would attempt to go iato the SUBJ
1ect deeply. l can only glance along
the top waves of the deep ocean
But notice a few particulars which,
lie upon the surface. S'"
"The So emblems or pages Of this
book represent the So weeks in the
year. The IL court emblems are the r
IL months, the 10 cards in each suit
represent the sun and the Il signs
OF the zodiac, the four suit figures the
four seasons. 49,
"Further-but this you can easily
see-the heart is the emblem of spring
and love, the trefoil or clover leaf
we call 1t club-of summer and knowl-S
edge, the diamond Of autumn and.
wealth, and the acorn or spade, or
labor and death.
The pages Of this book are in red
and black. White was once used in
place of red. These colors in the
cards symbolic night and day, astro-
nomically, and the lights and shadea
Of life as applied to man. ~
Look closely at the court cards and
notice the emblems carried. These
all survive from the ancient FORMS
The queens hold the lotus flower
in the case of the queen
Of spades by the distaff, emblem OF
Industry, kept through all the long
centuries. The king and queen of,
clubs bear symbols Of wisdom, the
king still plainly showing the winged
globe. II
Each suit has its mystic symbol
Ism, corresponding to the planets, in
both suit and spots. Venus and MerJ
curry rule hearts, Mars and the earth
rule clubs, Jupiter and Neptune; diarT
Saturn and Uranus, SPADES
But I am becoming too astronomical
must close this fascinating bookssra
mo, no" the others protested. And
what about the joker?'
"Oh, the joker is a modern, inven-9
ion. He does not count in any So
ious game of life or Of cards. Yet:
was in the days of old always al
court jester, SO this new card is not"
'eally out Of place among queens and
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