Don Clemente Cards Can Be Used As Tarot Cards?

Lotería cards, originally hand-made by local artists, have a compelling, iconic quality due to their 300 years of European and Mexican folk culture. They were first printed commercially in the mid-1800s and became the standard in the early 20th century. Lotería cards can be used as a personal “tarot” for fortune-tellers, or for playing concentration games. The game involves a four-by-four “tabla” with images of different lotería cards, and the “cantor” draws a card from the deck and recites a verse, short poem, or a poem.

Lotería cards are first and foremost made for and used as a game, not a divination system. Over time, the Don Clemente card style became the standard. This blog post provides a quick “How To” guide for using a plain old regular deck of playing cards to read the Tarot.

Known as Spanish Cards or Mexican Cards, this sealed deck of wax-glossed cards is manufactured by Don Clemente in Mexico and consists of 78 cards in the traditional order of the tarot, 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. The names of the cards are mostly derived from the original cards designed by Don Clemente Jacques.

Tarot cards are not just for fortune-telling; they are also used in other traditional French card games, such as the classic French tarot deck. This item contains 1 pack with 40 cards, which are regular casino sized 3-3/4 x 2-1/2 inches. The quality of the cards is nontransparent and smooth to the touch.