For example, maybe you’re a superstitious person on your way to take an important test, and you come across an Ace of Spades in some form. Exposing people to good luck symbols (if they believe in them) increases confidence and optimism.īoth of these states can easily affect the future. Researchers have found that when people believe in certain bad omens, if they encounter those omens or symbols, they may experience a psychological effect that results in a state of fear, uncertainty, and lack of confidence. In fact, if you give in to the belief that the Ace of Spades will cause you to experience poor fortune, you may genuinely be more likely to fall prey to bad fortune in the future. None of this is to say the Ace of Spades actually does bring about bad luck. Throughout history, it hasn’t been uncommon for some gamblers to believe that the Ace of Spades also represents poor fortune. Those exposed to French fortune-telling may not have been the only ones who considered the Ace of Spades to represent bad luck. Regardless, this helped propel the idea that the Ace of Spades is an omen of ill fortune. This type of psychological warfare maintains some of its roots in western assumptions that eastern foreigners may be more superstitious than their American invaders. They would place the Ace of Spades cards on the corpses of slain enemy combatants, leave them in villages, scatter them in the jungle, and according to some reports, even wear them in their helmets, as if to tell the enemy they brought death with them.įear of the Ace of Spades may not have been as widespread in Viet Cong soldiers as some reports claim. The troops who received the Ace of Spades-only decks reportedly used them as a means of promoting fear among the Viet Cong. According to the company’s account, Bicycle honored this request, sending thousands of such decks at no charge.

Thus, two Lieutenants from Company C, Second Battalion, 35th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division actually contacted the Bicycle playing card company asking if they’d provide decks containing only the Ace of Spades. United States troops in the Vietnam War heard this caused some superstitious Vietnamese to fear the card to such a degree that they’d retreat at the very sight of it.

In the French fortune-telling tradition, an Ace of Spades indicates bad luck or death in one’s future. They brought with them a range of customs. While it’s true that beliefs about the Ace of Spades symbolizing death date back centuries, in modern times, people began commonly referring to the Ace of Spades as the Death Card after the Vietnam War.īefore the Vietnam War, the French occupied the Indo-China region to which Vietnam belongs. Why Is the Ace of Spades Called the Death Card? That means some might easily associate a spade with digging a plot for a casket or coffin. There’s also reason to suspect these beliefs stem not only from the card’s dark color but also from the fact that we use spades to dig into the earth. In numerous cultures, its dark color (or lack thereof) associates it with imminent death, bad fortune, disaster, hatred, war, and even the end of the world. The Ace of Spades symbolizes many different fearful ideas or experiences depending on the context. What’s the Meaning of the Ace of Spades, or the Death Card? It will also explore how pop culture has kept these superstitions alive (no pun intended) throughout the years. This brief guide will cover some of those beliefs, describing how their roots in early fortune-telling influenced modern interpretations of the Ace of Spades.

Examples of the Ace of Spades in Popular Culture.

Why Is the Ace of Spades Called the Death Card?.

What’s the Meaning of the Ace of Spades, or Death Card?.

Like symbols of mourning and euphemisms for death, such traditional and/or superstitious beliefs can potentially help us cope with our own mortality by forcing us to confront it, even if they also induce fear. People and cultures throughout the world have long considered the Ace of Spades to be a symbol of bad luck and death. However, to some people, this card carries a heavy energy. Many readers might see the Ace of Spades as nothing more than another innocuous card in the deck.

Ace of spades symbol