The Nivalan card deck resembles the one we’re familiar with, but there are some key differences. First off, there are 4 suits: Soul, Rose, Gem, and Sword (these correspond to Heart, Diamond, Club, and Spade respectively.) Each suit typically has its own color, with Soul being white, Rose being red, Gem being green, and Sword being black. If not, all suits are colored black.
A Nivalan deck is somewhat larger than an real-world deck, because there are slightly more numbers. The numbers are typically divided into 3 categories: The Mass, The Royalty, and The Paragons.
- The Mass consists of numbers 1-10 in each suit.
The Royalty consists of the four royal positions–King, Queen, Prince, and Knight–in each suit.
The Paragons are similar to Aces, differentiated from 1s by a larger and more detailed depiction of the suit (like the Ace of Spades, but for all four suits). They are referred to as The Soul, The Rose, etc.
Symbolism:
The Nivalan card deck reflects the dominant spiritual, mythological, and cosmological beliefs of Nival. Each suit is seen as a cosmological principle that contains a set of values and components of existence. They are summarized below.
- Soul: Love, cooperation, the good inclination
Rose: Harmony, ideals, the non-material world
Gem: Action, reality, the material world
Sword: War, rebellion, the evil inclination
There are two axes between the suits. The axis which separates Soul and Rose from Gem and Sword is sometimes referred to as the Axis of Fulfillment. In their purest forms, Soul and Rose are content and happy with how things are, while Gem and Sword always seek to change things–in both cases, for better or for worse. Sometimes, in more traditional contexts, this is referred to as the Axis of Good and Evil, and embodies that divide.
The axis which separates Soul and Sword from Rose and Gem is the Axis of Domain. Soul and Sword reflect themselves within the individual spirit, while Rose and Gem reflect themselves within the external world.
The numbers can be best analyzed within their groups. The Mass cards, 1-10, stand for people, objects, or concept that embody their suit’s principle. The strength of the principle grows as the number gets larger. The Mass cards are most commonly used as a whole in regards to symbolism, referring to all the people, objects, or concepts that embody that principle. However, in fortune readings, it’s not uncommon for a diviner to draw from a shuffled pile of the Mass cards when reading into the nature of a certain person.
I’ll skip over the Royalty for now, because that gets rather detailed. The Paragons represent the purest form of their principle, without being the principle itself. From a mythological perspective, they are leaders, bringing the principle into the world. Some see them as gods, and occasionally one will find a card deck that depicts them in such a way.
The Royalty show the interplay of the different principles. Each royal position is an archetype ruled over by a certain suit.
- LaKafti, The King: Ruled by the Soul. A kind and cooperative individual who works best alongside others. Commanding and encouraging. May become too controlling, or “rule from the throne” too often (“rule from the throne” is a turn of phrase common in Nival and other provinces, not unlike the phrase “armchair activist.”)
LaRei, The Queen: Ruled by the Sword. A forceful and independent individual who can influence others easily. Competitive and social. May become too prone to guilt, or too manipulative.
LaSor, The Prince: Ruled by the Gem. An energetic and determined individual, who loves to get involved. Sophomoric and down-to-earth. May become too detached from matters, or too materialistic.
LaRisa, The Knight: Ruled by the Rose. A brave and loyal individual who stands by their morals and ideals. Orderly and discerning. May become too demanding, or neglect to take action.
These four archetypes can be further developed by adding suits to them. The King of Souls embodies a typical King, but even more so, since the King is already a Soul archetype. A King of Gems would now have some more Gem-like characteristics to him. He’d still be a King, but in a Gem way. (Adding this element to the other possible archetypes would make a very cool system!! Complex, sure, but very cool.)
Finally, there’s a wild card: LaDetra, or The Dealer. This cards represents a “blind orchestrator,” a figure who sets large events into motion, without knowing what the results will be. Typically, in mass-produced decks, this card shows a man covering his face with his hands (in decks where the suits are colored, the man is printed in gray ink.) In handmade or signature decks, it depicts the face of the maker.
The Dealer’s position in the hierarchy of cards is debated; some believe he is at the very bottom, some say he is in between the Mass and the Royalty, and some say he is above even the Paragons.
Phew, that was a lot, but I believe that’s everything I can say about the Nivalan card deck! I’d love to post more about this in the future, perhaps going into more detail with the natures of the four principles, or developing some more archetypes. I hope you all enjoyed!