My long time friend of some 20 years who visited Hungary this past fall brought me back a gorgeous deck of Piatnik
Skat cards (seen in the images) among some other exotic items. The deck has 32 of the traditional cards used in the the “old gipsy” pastime of fortune telling. There are numerous systems on the market that deal specifically with regular playing cards so that it becomes a challenge to find a “good” system and stick to it.
What I have found is the CLUBS suit has meanings as challenging as the SPADES. The modern symbolisms of the CLUBS belong to the world of business. A lot depends on if the creator of a skat/playing card system is rooted in the Tarot.
Can 32 cards provide as much detailed information as does the Regina Russell’s or Deborah Leigh’s Personal Prophesy systems? I think so. Sometimes “more” is not “better”.
Under the header (top of page) is a tab called gipsy Skat 7 – Ace. There you will find the most popular traditional meanings for the 32 cards. I use these meanings in the study example of this post.
Lets look at the Queen of Hearts, mainly because this queen is usually the card representing the female that is seeking the reading. I would like to demonstrate the traditional block of 9 layout using just this Queen.
1/3 QUEEN of HEARTS – [" The card of the female asking the cards a question. A close lady friend, the partner of the K 
, the woman of the household. She is sensitive, giving and full of affection. You can rely on her."]
.Starting with the center 3 cards. JACK H QUEEN H, JACK D. The Queen has the Jack of Hearts to her left and Jack of Diamonds to her right. She looks trapped by her own & other people’s thoughts. (Jacks can represent the thoughts of the King and Queen belonging to the same suit. Jacks are actual people as well – description below.
JACK ["Depicted a young person that is well known, usually within the family circle. This card represents the thoughts of the Queen or King as does the Page in the Tarot cards. It brings a good influence. When you see this card and the Queen or King are missing you will know it is what they are thinking about. "]
JACK 
["The card of the young lucky man. It also represents the thought of the Q and K. He or she would be someone that does not take things too seriously and seems to come out of situations smelling like a rose. "]
Before you begin interpreting these three cards it would be a good idea to gain a better understanding of all the cards involved. The Jack falls in the past or just passing spot- he is behind the Queen even though they are still looking at each other. There is a definite emotional link. However the link could very well be the Queen’s own thinking process.
Above the Jack is the Jack
["In this system, the s lean towards the modern day meanings. This card is the person that no one really likes. He or she is found as the instigator of troubles. If you are asking about a favorable outcome and this Jack comes up, the answer comes but not without a struggle."] and beneath is the
9["A card of deep worry. Sickness. Confusion & doubts. This card indicates an area were complete trust and loyalty is lacking. When touching a court card use caution in any communication. Other cards could point to a sickness of the individual as well."]
Can the reading commence yet… it could. I would like to point out that what you are reading is the step by step process of divination by cards …most of it goes on in your head before you even speak..
When you glance at all 9 cards you should have the core “theme” and then build on it as you talk (when doing a one-on-one consultation, face to face). If you are doing an E-reading for someone then you probably won’t want to provide all the details how you assimilated your information with the exception of a few cards. Most people do not care how you arrive at your interpretation unless of course they too are learning all about the cards that you are using to do the reading.
OK, the next step to get more information around the JACK and 9 . 
Let’s look at the single cards above and below the Queen .
Sitting on top of the Queen is the ACE ["The card of occupational connections. Ideas. This card brings luck to the adjoining cards. An increase of money is shown. Coupled with court cards it describes a person that is intelligent and one who will have connections in the work force."].
Beneath the Queen is the 9
["The card of negativity. In this we have an influence that is challenging. An illusion- sometimes the person’s own imagination thinking the worst. This card cautions about mis-communications and a variety of mishaps."].
2 9′s – both of them are negative in nature, and black 9 9 AND 2 Aces -one red, one black.
3 J’s – 2 red and 1 black. Sometimes 3 Jacks can be a place of employment with mostly men under 40 ish.
By this point a good part of the jig saw puzzle should be solved but there are still a few pieces missing. The last column is traditionally the future or what shall come to pass…as in outcome or results.
Now we will look at this last column to see what’s around the JACK who doesn’t seem be very interested in what the Queen is doing. 
Above the Jack is the 10["The card of travel usually connected to a necessity. Foreign matters- a person at a distance. A major change- much depends are neighboring cards. Questions involving “time” - the answer is a long wait.]
Below the Jack is the ACE["The card of large institutions such as court, hospitals, educational facilities, high profile offices. Divorce, death and terminal illness."]
10- this card suggests a matter that will take a long time. It also means that the Jack will embark on some long distance travel in the future.
+ Jack + Ace = young man is trained in any of the areas depicted by the Ace.
Now that we know the [meanings] and we can see the fans of 3 cards horizontally + vertically the reading could begin. Understanding the Block of 9 layout is important too and is detailed below.
RIGHT ABOUT NOW is a good time….to get a refreshment
2/3
suggested EXPLANATION of the Block of 9 layout
1st vertical COLUMN- cards falling here describe the recent past, a situation that may still be active.
TOP CARD- what lead up to the center card. JACK
CENTER CARD- the influence card JACK affecting the Queen
BOTTOM CARD- the result of both top and center. 9
2nd vertical COLUMN- the now or current spot
TOP CARD- what is on the Queen s mind, this card will also describe her personality ACE
CENTER CARD- the female of the reading, (can also be the male KING)
BOTTOM CARD- this card summarizes the situation 9at present, or describes something pending
3rd vertical COLUMN- the near future
TOP CARD- describes what lead up to the center card. 10
CENTER CARD- the future influence card JACK affecting the Queen
BOTTOM CARD- the outcome of both top and center cards. ACE
1st horizontal ROW – what is on the Queen’s mind, the past and future
2nd horizontal ROW- the immediate past and future situation around the Queen
3rd horizontal ROW- culmination of the situation or influences from the past leading to the future.
top left to bottom right DIAGONAL line- far past that leads to the far future result
JACK QUEEN ACE
bottom left to top right DIAGONAL line- result of past leading to the beginning of the future result
9QUEEN10
interpretation STEPS next post 3/3
You referenced my own teacher, Deborah Leigh, in this post (by the way, I found your post to be very interesting!) and just wanted to say that Personal Prophesy teachings in the additional levels of her course take a person beyond what is actually put down as cards in a layout for a reading. The cards, she stresses, are only intended to trigger a much deeper intuitive response from the reader and that response is always very spiritual in nature. She also encourages her students to find their own meanings for the cards as they get more experienced with the method.
When the cards are used as an intuitive tool, it doesn’t matter so much (by Deborah’s method) what the cards themselves “mean” but instead what the reader personally interprets intuitively from them. That intuitive message is always empowering and deeply inspiring, I’ve found.
The Personal Prophesy method has been extremely effective for me as a professional Tarot reader. I use it to ‘zero in’ on a client’s particular difficulty and it’s not failed me yet to get right to the heart of the problem. Tarot has a tendency to be rather vague at times.
This method actually saved me from a terrible addiction that had me at the brink of suicide a few years ago, thanks to the tremendous amount of hope Personal Prophesy readings offered me. I bought a reading from Deborah and then decided to learn the method myself by buying her book. I’ve been using the method on my clients ever since.
Thought you might like some feedback on the subject….
Nina
Hi Nina,
Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you. I am so glad that you took the time to share your story & insights.
I read the entire Personal Prophesy book many years and found it an excellent source of information. I have recommended this book to some other “card-bloggers” as well.
I agree with Deborah to a great extent about the intuition part of it… but for those people who are not comfortable with their intuition or do not understand it -like knowing the difference between the intuitive voice & the temptations of the ego voice….a simple keyword system provides some core meanings.
Me- I go with my gut, no matter how much mind boggling information I know about various (too many to count) card-systems.
Please stop by again….
Wishing you your hearts’ desires in 2008.
SQ