What Does Each Card Suit Represent?

When it comes to playing cards, you probably haven’t thought much about card suits outside of how they sequence with other colors and numbers, but they’ve had deeper meanings for centuries. So, what does each card suit represent? In this guide, we’ll explore what each suit symbolically means–and how they play out in the game.

What is a card suit?

Or maybe you’ve never noticed the symbols on playing cards, and don’t know a suit in a deck of cards from something to wear to the beach. Loosely translated into French from the Latin word, sequitus, which means “to follow", the term “suit" has been used to categorize playing cards into four distinct groups for hundreds of years. Each of the four suits - hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades - has its own symbol and a ranking from Ace to King, as well as a relevant origin story for each suit symbol about how it was chosen and standardized.

Deck of Cards Symbolism: What Does Each Card Suit Represent?

In the next section of this blog, we’ll detail what each card suit represents and how it’s used in games like solitaire. Each of the card suits has a few notable similarities. They each represent human values individually, theorized class representation, and a respective association with a stage of life, an element, and a year's season.

Hearts: Emotion, Love, and the Human Spirit

The most self-explanatory of the four suits is the Hearts. There are a variety of interpretations for the representation of a heart, but it can be associated with love and emotion. Some historians believe that the card suits were meant to represent parts of medieval society. As such, the Hearts were meant to symbolize the clergy, who acted as the moral compass.

Among other things, it can symbolize “childhood," evoke spring, and bring to mind the element of fire. It also has a more loaded contemporary meaning when applied to fortune-telling. The ace of hearts, for instance, could signal the beginning of a new relationship.

When used in card games, Hearts are one of two red suits, with ranks ranging from Ace to King (Aces are sometimes high, depending on the game). Depending on the game, heart-suited cards can be different levels of helpful. For instance, in the Hearts game, you want to avoid actively picking up heart-suited cards. But the heart suit can also become a trump suit in games like bridge, and in poker, heart-suited cards can be used to make high-scoring hands like a royal flush in hearts.

Diamonds: Wealth, Power, and Practicality

With its sharp edges and clear lines, the Diamond suit is seen as a deck of cards symbolism of wealth, material goods, and prosperity. Historically, the Diamond symbols on a deck of cards is said to have been associated with merchants and the commerce side of Medieval society. Diamonds are also connected to autumn months and can represent a stage of process and maturing.

When used in card games like Poker, a hand filled with diamond suited card can be seen as particularly lucky. Some more advanced players will also turn to diamond-suit specific techniques for bluffs in poker or achieving certain hands in bridge.

Clubs: Growth and Grit

The Club suit, which resembles a three-leaf clover, is often linked to strength, growth, and vitality when discussing what each suit of cards represents. Historically, it was seen as a representation of the peasantry or working class, as the club was a blunt weapon that the peasantry would have access to. The Club's suit signifies hard work, effort, and perseverance in Medieval society. It’s also often linked to the element of Earth, the summer season, and the state of youth..

In card games, Clubs are one of the two black suits, but they aren’t considered the most powerful suit on their own. In games like bridge, club-suited cards don’t carry as much weight as spades or hearts, but you can build on them. And in solitaire, smart usage of your club-suit cards can be a key to winning the game.

Spades: Intellect, Challenge, and Power

The Spades suit represents wisdom, power, and overcoming challenges. Resembling a spearhead and derived from an old Spanish word for “sword," the spade's meaning in cards is often linked to the warrior class of society and connected with the nobility of the military. When Spades are used in tarot, they can symbolize big decisions, conflict, and deep thoughts. And the meaning of spade in cards are also often linked to the winter season and the element of air.

When used in card games, Spades are often considered the most powerful suit, including in games like Spades where it’s a permanent trump suit, and Bridge, where the suit itself can determine the winner. Also, spades have their own association with power, intellect, and pop culture through songs like Motorhead’s Ace of Spades and as a symbol of rock ‘n’ roll rebellion.

So, Do Suit Meanings Matter When You Play?

Now that you’ve learned about all the associations of the different card suits, you can go into your card games with more knowledge about their original intentions.

Different suits may not affect rules in some games like solitaire, but they do shape how we feel about the cards. You may already have certain suits that you see as good or bad luck and play games according to your own experience with suits. If you want to explore all four suits in-depth (and see some cute seasonal deck designs), go to 24/7 Solitaire and play on their free, easy to use browser-based platform.

DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no "winnings", as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.