A "Bunch" of fortune-telling games.

Some time ago I featured a fortune-telling game from "Mother Bunch's golden fortune-teller". I shall now describe the other divinatory games in that book. I present a summary of the rules below

Love in a Bag
An extremely simple game. Players deposit a stake into a pool. A deck of cards is shuffled, and placed in a bag. Players draw two cards from the bag, and observe the combination:

Combination/ card	Symbolizes/	Foretells a…	Action
Pair		Marriage	Wins Half a stake
J♥	Cupid	A constant lover	Wins One stake
J♥, Q♥	Cupid &Venus	“great settlement”	Wins whole pool.
4s, 8s,		“Losses and crosses”	Pay one stake + extra forfeit to pool.

One feels that this would make an excellent party-game.

Cupid's Hearts

 Deal out all the pack among four young persons equally, as if for whist, but make the hearts always trumps, or conquerors : she that gets most tricks this way shall have most lovers, and hearts must be first led off by the person next the dealer. Hard is their fate, at least in affairs of love and marriage, that have no heart to answer the first call, but the more and higher in suit the better for the party ; Cupid and Hymen will befriend them, and the smiling loves attend them. 

  This game is merely a form of whist, but with the following differences:
1) Hearts are always trumps
2) The hearts must be first lead by the person next to the dealer. If the player cannot do this, then they would have bad luck in affairs of love. One assumes they will also be penalized. 
  The number of hearts in the hand dealt, is directly proprotional to the number of lovers the player will have. Same for the number of tricks won.


Cupid Crowned

Not a game per se, but involves playing cards. This game uses a deck of 20 cards, namely the courts, the aces and the 3s. Only four women may play, for reasons that will become apparent. Deal the cards evenly. Players observe the composition of their hands, which will foretell their future. 

Hand	Prediction/ symbolism :
Hand with most Kings	Holder has most friends
Hand with most Queens	Holder has most Enemies
King and Queen in hand	Marriage
Queen and Jack in hand	Intrigue ( an affair?)
Jacks	Lovers
3s	Sorrow
More than one Jack or 3	Holder will have children before marriage
More than one Jack or 3, Plus Jack	Holder will never marry
More than one Jack or 3, Plus King	Holder “Stands a good chance” [of being married?]
More than one Jack or 3, Plus Queen	Holder “will be brought to great shame”

A fascinating insight into the anxieties of women. Feminists and historians, take note. 

******

Mother Bunch's golden fortune-teller was not the only text attributed to this lady. A collection of divination methods, called Mother Bunch's closet newly broke open seems to have existed as early as the 1680s. ( see https://archive.org/stream/motherbunchsclos00vill#page/n5/mode/2up   for a 19thc. reprint, and Here  and here . for two older editions ) 

This work is in the form of a series of dialogues, where Mother Bunch advises youths on their problems.They mostly concern marriage and love. These solutions typically take the form of some ritual. Most notable is the practice of dreaming for a Lover on St Agnes' eve. This was immortalized by the poem (The Eve of St. Agnes)  of John Keats.

 The format of the book seems to have been well-known enough to be parodied. A religious organization published a similar chapbook, but with the intent of mocking divination. Tawney Rachel; or, The fortune teller shows the adventures of an fortune-telling crone. She goes around implanting superstitions in impressionable young minds, causing them to waste money and time.
  She ends up being caught  selling obscene ballads. Rachel is denounced by all whom she defrauded, and is transported to Australia. "A happy Day it was for the county of Somerset when such a nuisance was sent out of it". Presumably not so happy for that continent.

Jokes were also attributed to the woman, as for example in a work called Pasquil's Jests, Mixed with Mother Bunches Merriments , Even fairy-tale collections bear her name ( see  Here)

"Love's Delight": A fortunetelling game:

The delightfully named "Mother Bunch’s golden fortune-teller". (Available here)   is a manual of divination. It is one of the many fortune-telling manuals that were published in the 19thc. It contains several games of cards that also function as fortune-telling methods. Here is the most elaborate of the games called "Love's delight".

Here is how the game is described in the book:

*** *** *** 

LOVE'S DELIGHT; 

Or, Game at Cards by which young People may amuse an Hour sociably, and at the  same time ascertain future Events. 

VENUS. 

THE knave of hearts is Cupid, the rest sweethearts ; the ace of hearts, a new house; the ace of clubs, conquest ; the ace of diamonds takes all before it, and makes capture of any of the other aces; the two of diamonds is a ring and marriage, the rest of the deuces good luck; trays, surprises; fours, a long continuance in your present way of life ; fives, love meetings ; sixes, pleasure ; sevens, disappointments ; eights, mirth ; nines, changes ; tens, settlements ; queens, women ; and kings, men.

Several may play at this game, there being no given number ; and let the cards be equally dealt, always leaving out ten on the board. The one that deals being first chosen  by lot, each one puts on the board some trifle agreed on, and the dealer gives double ; then examine your cards, and, according to them, you will see what is speedily to come. The dealer must then call for Venus ; she is the queen of hearts, and ranks next to the ace of diamonds: as to the rest, kings take queens; queens, knaves; knaves, tens; and so on, exactly as in whist playing, and the more tricks you have, the more you have off the board on the division of the money after each game.

They that have none are sure to have no luck at all that year, and they have also to pay the sum agreed on toward the next game ; so are those who hold misfortunes, or the sevens  and those who are to have the worst disappointment in love or life that can possibly happen, which comes in the shape of the nine of spades, is to pay a treble sum, and to have no cards dealt in the next round to them. The ace of diamonds only tells for one; but she who has these cards Venus and Cupid, in the same hand, clears the board of all the money on it, and ends the game ; it also tells a speedy and advantageous marriage to the single, and to a married person, it is a sure and certain sign of some important event, of a most happy and profitable nature, speedily approaching.

*** *** ***

It must be admitted that the above description is fairly rambling and imprecise.  Here is what I make of the game.

Deal:
  The text implies that the game is played by four persons, but as the game progresses there may be only three players.
  The dealer is chosen by lot. All place a stake. Dealer places a double stake.
  Deal out all the cards evenly between players. When dealing, 10 cards from the deck are left out, and are not used. ("always leaving out ten on the board") . This is not actually necessary. But it certainly makes the following stage more interesting.
  When the cards are dealt, players examine their hand. The composition of the hand will tell the player's fortune in the near future.

Card/ Rank	Symbolizes…	Card/ Rank	Symbolizes…
J♥	Cupid	5	Love meetings
A♥	A new house	6	Pleasure
A♣	Conquest	7	Disappointments
2♦	Marriage/ A ring	8	Mirth
2	Good luck	9	Changes
3	Surprises	10	Settlements
4	"A long continuance in your present way of life"	Q	Women
		K	Men

 Anyone who holds the 9 of spades in his hand must pay a triple sum to the pool, and sit out of the next deal.
  Those who hold 7s in their hands at the start must also pay an extra sum to the next pool.  I suggest increasing the stake for every seven one holds. So, having a pair of 7s pays a double sum, etc.
  Anyone who holds both the Queen and Jack of hearts wins the game, and claims the whole pool. This is also a sign that they will be married soon, or their marriage will be a happy one.

Play: 
The text implies that the game is a trick-taking game similar to whist . The text says the dealer's partner is the person who holds the Q♥ . The cards rank as follows:
A♦ [high]
Q♥
The rest of the aces
Kings
Queens
Jacks
( etc. )
2s [low]

Scoring:
  The pool is divided proportionately to the number of tricks each player has won.
  Parties who did not win any tricks must pay an extra sum to the next pool.

The Author's Suggestions:

  The scoring is unusual. It is implied that the game is played in partnerships. However the scoring system is unsuited for such play.  One thinks that the "partner" may refer to a partner in marriage rather than at cards.

Removing 10 cards from the deck leaves a deck of 42 cards. This is a fairly awkward number to dispose of evenly between 4 players. For 4-player games, it might be better to remove 12 cards instead. The remaining 40 cards can then be divided evenly among the players.

For three-player games I suggest removing 7 cards. The resulting deck of 45 cards can then be evenly disposed of.

"bresciane" (modanio)

Bresciane by modanio. 52 cards.
The Brescian pattern is the only italian pattern that invariably has 52 cards. You will not find a 40-card version of this pattern.
The design of this pattern is not unlike the bergamo pattern ( see:http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/11/bergamasche-modanio.html), viz: it has the same distinctive red & black coins, the cupid on the ace of cups & the 5 of coins has a starburst around the central coin.
other than that, this pattern is much smaller ( 8.5 x 4 cm) ,and the court figures are drawn in a more crude fashion ...

compare : http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/11/bergamasche-modanio.html,
http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/10/trentine-trent-pattern.html

"bergamasche" ( modanio)

Bergamasche ( bergmao pattern) by modanio. 40 c.
This pattern is used in the city of Bergamo, and is rather plain.
that is to say, it does not have interesting fatures. for example,  on the ace of cups stands a Cupid, and the ace of batons exclaims "VINCERAI"-  "Victory!"
Some of the pip cards have little pictures inserted in them (see 3rd pic)
Another interesting feature is the ace of coins, which is Normaly a simple ring in red & black ( the inside of the coin was cleared so the tax stamp could be put on it) but here, the ring has been filled in with the characteristic black & red coin of this pattern.