Black-Black or Red-Red pairs generate "Person" imagery

Black-Red or Red-Black pairs generate "Object" imagery

VALUE NUMBERS

PICTURE NUMBERS

STRUCTURAL KEY

STRUCTURAL RULES:

Picture value(s) always before Suit value

Suit value always before Number value(s)

Primary Picture value always before Secondary if both are picture cards

Picture value always before Number value (this causes Number/Picture pairs to be read "backwards")

Use "variable image stacking" to designate primary or alternate suit combo when memorizing:

Place the first pair's image in your first loci.

if first pair image starts with a black card, add the second pair's image to that same loci, with typical interaction to maintain order.

if first pair image starts with a red card, it will be the only image at that loci. Move on and place the next pair's image in your second loci

As soon as a pair starts with a red card, it is the trigger to end that loci. That pair will be the final image at that loci. The next pair's image will be the first one at the next loci.

NOTE: if you need to use a new loci for the VERY LAST pair of the deck, you will need to come up with a way to differentiate this final pair as it could start with Black or Red.

One possible way to do this is to mentally tint this last image so that you visualize it in either black and white or dripping with red paint depending on need.

By organizing your image stacking within loci this way, your recall process will follow a simple rule:

If a loci only has a single pair's image on it, that pair starts with a red card.

If a loci has a stack of pair images on it, all of them will represent pairs that start with BLACK cards, except for the LAST image.

The LAST image of a loci stack will always represent a pair that starts with a RED card.

In an ideal luck-of-the-draw situation, there will be around 2 or 3 images per loci, which would allow for a full deck to be memorized using only between 9 to 13 loci.

On the one unlucky extreme, there is the possibility of having every single pair start with BLACK cards. This would cause a single loci with 26 images interacting there.

Clear organization of image order/interaction will be key in this situation.

It's also possible to commit to move on to a new loci after a set number of black-first pairs and use some kind of "marker" image to indicate the stack has been split before hitting a red-first pair.

For example: you may decide to limit images to 5 per loci. If you reach 5 black-first pairs and then the 6th is also black-first, you could visualize a portal at the end of the first loci

and the beginning of the second loci, which would indicate that these two loci are still connected and all pairs are black-first.

On the other unlucky extreme, there is a possibility of hitting an unlucky run of pairs that all start with RED cards. This will cause a long string of loci with single images on each.

Having strong familiarity with your loci and strong interaction of pair image with the loci itself will be key in this situation.

It's possible to get around this by capping your image number per loci at a specific number, say 5. If you hit 5 straight black-first pairs, move to the next loci. During recall you'll need to remember that a 5 image stack does not end in a red-first pair.

Exception: of the 5th pair is a red-first pair, add more images until you get to black-first again. Then the overage clues you in that image 5 is red-first.

*NOTE: If it is more intuitive to have your primary suits begin with RED cards, that's fine! All primary suit pair phonetics and their "alternate pairs" are swappable.