CARD FORTUNE TELLING
14
that one
is
almost forced to the
belief that there
must
be some other explanation.
It is
suits
important that we should notice that the Tarot
contained ten numbered cards, as in the
pack, and also four principal cards,
now known
modem
as Court
which originally consisted of King, Queen, Knight,
and Jack, four natural grades of rank, if we look upon
the Jack as the " common people."
For some unknown reason, the Knight was omitted,
but the idea of the four Court cards was actually retained,
and the simple " On e " of the suit was promoted over
the head of the King. It seems to me probable that this
was an attempt to retain the Fool, which really forms
part of the more important section of the Tarot pack,
which was not used as a full pack of seventy-eight cards,
but a sort of twin pack, with a Major, or Great Arcana
of twenty-two cards, and a Minor, or Lesser Arcana of
cards,
fifty-six.
Having reduced the pack to fifty-six cards, the loss
was quickly realised, and the lowest card of
each suit was then made into a sort of limited or local
Fool, with the power of the original Fool, of trumping
of the Fool
the King, though only of his
introduction
of
own
suit.
what amounted to a
This superstitious
fifth
Court card
caused the throwing out of the Knight, and the universal
adoption of our curious modern pack, which consists of
four Court cards and ten commoners, yet only contains
thirteen cards
!
This explanation of the reduction of the pack to
two cards appears to be confirmed by the
fifty-
later appear-
ance of the Piquet pack, popular in France and on the
Continent
—here
the pack
is
reduced to thirty-two cards,
four Court cards and four commoners in each suit. As
the " One " card had been promoted to the proud posi-