A R C A

The Meanings

Arca cards require no memorization or reference to use. Because the cards portray real things rather than abstract ideas and symbols, readers will naturally have many associations for each one. Consider the following examples:

The Architect could be about planning, design, intelligence, foresight, or usefulness. It could also be about long hours, stress, or arrogance.

Soap might be about cleanliness, renewal, improvement, or keeping up appearences. It could also be about guilt, shame, or a slippery situation.

The Aspects

Each card has four numbers found inscribed in the card’s corners. The reader may use and interpret these ratings any way they wish, or they can ignore them entirely. These numbers are meant to be compared and considered, but not dictate the meaning or importance of a card.

The aspects can be applied to the card, or to the subject of a reading.

The body, physical,
or tangible.

The mind, mental,
or intangible.

How the card
is perceived.

The lasting impact
of the card.

The Letters

All cards have four boxed letters on them. They can be used in many creative ways, and can be especially useful as a method of selecting cards for a reading. When looking at multiple cards in a spread, try finding words that can be spelled with the available letters. If there are many letters in play, consider restricting words to only use the top or bottom, left or right letters.

Selecting Cards

Selecting cards for a reading may be done in any way the reader chooses. Draw cards at random or use a more specific method.

To use the letters to draw cards, think of a word that resonates with you. It could be a name, your initials, a place, emotion, or anything else. Shuffle the deck and then find the first card with the first letter of your word. If the word was “friend”, find the first card that has a boxed “F” on it. Then the next card with an “R”, and then an “I”. That’s three cards to think about, you can decide to keep drawing the rest of the word or stop with just a few cards.

Readings

Like selecting cards, Arca readings may be done in many ways.

Think of a specific question to ask, or leave it open ended. Arca cards work well for single or multi card readings. Assign meanings to each card like [past, present, future], or [mind, body, spirit], or just see how each card speaks to you at the moment.

Arca readings can be used for fortune telling, or they might bring a new perspective to a complex situation. Try consulting the cards when you are stuck in a rut, or need to make sense of how someone has acted.

The Card List