Living at the intersection of occultism, fiction and philosophy, I travel the planes at a moderately quick pace. I read, I do magic, I cook for hubby. Confused by the number of things I talk about? Good, confusion is a nice thing ;)
At some point in life something’s got to give, so I don’t think I will use this deck very much, but I was browsing on Ebay and I came across a vintage Skat deck. I am sucker for vintage decks just as much as a hate the new ones more or less uniformly, plus I had just published my new article on reading this type of deck, so I took it as a sign and bought it. I love the papery texture of the cards. They probably wouldn’t survive aggressive use, but it will be enough to experiment with on occasion. Interestingly, if we take the King of Hearts to represent me and we use the meanings I received, this großes Blatt (grand tableau) describes my recent past quite accurately.
(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)
The Eight of Cups from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck
Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)
The time period is the first decanate of Pisces, February 19 to February 28, ruled by Jupiter and Neptune. Well-Dignified: renunciation of material success for something higher; interest in psychic and spiritual things; strong emotions; charity and helpfulness; love of travel and of scientific investigation. Ill-Dignified: momentary success, but nothing lasting; the person to whom the card applies is overimpressionable, erratic and unsteady in his emotions; meaningless change of mood; purposeless journeying; querulous disposition. Keyword: Instability (From the Oracle of Tarot course)
A. E. Waite
A man of dejected aspect is deserting the cups of his felicity, enterprise, undertaking or previous concern. Divinatory Meanings: The card speaks for itself on the surface, but other readings are entirely antithetical–giving joy, mildness, timidity, honour, modesty. In practice, it is usually found that the card shews the decline of a matter, or that a matter which has been thought to be important is really of slight consequence–either for good or evil. Reversed: Great joy, happiness, feasting. (From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)
The Eight of Cups from the Rider Waite Smith tarot
Aleister Crowley
The Eight of Cups is called Indolence. This card is the very apex of unpleasantness. It is ruled by the planet Saturn; time, sorrow, have descended upon pleasure, and there is no strength in the element of water which can react against it. This card is not exactly “the morning after the night before”; but it is very nearly that. The difference is that the “night before” has not happened! This card represents a party for which all preparations have been made; but the host has forgotten to invite the guests; or, the caterers have not delivered the good cheer. There is this difference, though, that it is in some way or other the host’s own fault. The party that he planned was just a little bit above his capacity; perhaps he lost heart at the last moment.
[…]
The Eight, Hod, in the suit of Water, governs this card. It shows the influence of Mercury, but this is overpowered by the reference of the card to Saturn in Pisces. Pisces is calm but stagnant water; and Saturn deadens it completely. Water appears no longer as the Sea but as pools; and there is no florescence in this card as there was in the last. The Lotuses droop for lack of sun and rain, and the soil is poison to them; only two of the stems show blossoms at all. The cups are shallow, old and broken. They are arranged in three rows; of these the upper row of three is quite empty. Water trickles from the two flowers into the two central cups, and they drip into the two lowest without filling them. The background of the card shows pools, or lagoons, in very extensive country, incapable of cultivation; only disease and miasmatic poison can flourish in those vast Bad Lands.
The water is dark and muddy. On the horizon is a pallid, yellowish light, weighed down by leaden clouds of indigo. Compare with the last card; it represents the opposite and complementary error. The one is the Garden of Kundry, the other the Palace of Klingsor. In the psychopathology of The Path, this card is the German Measles of Christian Mysticism. (From The Book of Thoth)
The Eight of Cups from the Thoth Tarot deck
Golden Dawn’s Book T
A WHITE Radiating Angelic Hand, holding a group of stems of lotuses or waterlilies. There are only two flowers shown, which bend over the two central cups, pouring into them a white water which fills them and runs over into the three lowest, which later are not yet filled. The three uppermost are quite empty.
U U U U U U U U
At the top and bottom of the card are symbols Saturn and Pisces.
Temporary success, but without further results. Thing thrown aside as soon as gained. Not lasting, even in the matter in hand. Indolence in success. Journeying from place to place. Misery and repining without cause. Seeking after riches. Instability. Hod of HB:H (Success abandoned; decline of interest). The Angels ruling are HB:VVLYH and HB:YLHYH.
Etteilla
Blonde girl Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Blonde Girl, Honest Girl, Practical Girl, Honor, Modesty, Restraint, Timidity, Fear, Apprehension, Sweetness, Attraction. Reversed. Satisfaction, Happiness, Contentment, Gaiety, Joy, Cheerfulness, Enjoyment, Fun, Celebration. – Apology, Reparation, Discompense. – Public Joy, Spectacle, Arrangement, Recollection, Preparations, Arrangements.
We talked about Karma and manifestation. Now let’s tackle reincarnation. Unlike manifestation, which is based on pure New Thought superstion and is indefensible from all standpoints, logical, philosophical, moral and practical, reincarnation does have a noble tradition behind it. Still, the magical inheritance of Victorian occultism has made it almost so as if reincarnation is another one of those compulsory beliefs that come with the Spiritual Outsider starter pack.
Reincarnation reentered Western occultism largely through the many misunterstandings of Eastern doctrines perpetuated by the Theosophists. Yet, contrary to what some may think, reincarnation is not an exclusively Eastern belief, and it is found in many parts of the world, including in pre-Christian (and sometimes even Christian) Europe. In fact, the idea of reincarnation is probably suggested to the mind by the observation of the cycles of nature, so it is, in a way, a somewhat valid inference, at least from an analogical standpoint.
But analogical inferences do not reality make. If that were the case, you could slap four wheels on your grandma and call her a Ferrari. Regardless of how reincarnation may be suggested to the mind of ancient civilizations, let us ask ourselves why it is the go-to belief of many self-styled independent thinkers.
I would submit that, once the average Westerner abandons the idea of Heaven and Hell as expoused by our main religions in order to approach the occult or magical worldview, they find themselves wanting for another destination for their great hereafter, so they grope around for the first purple-covered book in the local esoteric library, where they invariably find reelaborations of reelaborations of reelaborations of the same Victorian metaphysical dogmas, they mistake them for something new, refreshing and forward-looking that goes well with their new crystals and adopt it.
I don’t want to crap on reincarnation, because, as I will shortly discuss, I do believe in some version of it. What I want to drive across is that independent thinking starts with challenging dogmas, both the mainstream and the counter-mainstream ones.1 It is perfectly legitimate to examine, question and argue and to reach other conclusions, just as it is legitimate to adopt the belief in reincarnation, or some variant of it.
As for me, I would believe in reincarnation if I believed in individual souls. To me there is only one universal soul which is present as a whole within each part of existence. That soul definitely reincarnates. I may even go further and argue that, since this universal soul reincarnates continuously through endless amouts of beings, at some point some of the beings that are born are bound to have some semblance of continuity with some beings that have died before, and since the individual being who dies loses its ability to distinguish time t1 from time t2, from the standpoint of its individual perception its death and its rebirth are contiguous. Needless to say, there is nothing karmic or retributive about this view of reincarnation.
These are my two cents, very succinctly explained. Feel free to take them, leave them or add them to your collection of two cents.
MQS
Not to mention the ability to know when and how to question and when how not to. ↩︎
A couple of years ago I published a series of three articles on the Skat deck. This is not a system I use, merely one that has been kindly passed down to me, together with the premission to translate it. I came into contact with another reader, who also kindly accepted to share her system, which she learned from a friend some years back. This is another German system, which is recognizable in that Spades tend to be neutral and Clubs negative. There are also many similarities with the previous system I published, which is not surprising since the various systems tend to be regional, and both readers come from the same region ( the Südpfalz). Still, there are some interesting differences. What follows is my translation of the meanings, combinations and reading method. Thanks to Anke for this method.
Hearts
Ace – The Home King – The Man (Herzensmann, the man of my heart) Queen – The Woman (Herzensfrau, the woman of my heart) Jack – Thoughts, Projects, Hopes, Positive Feelings/Thoughts (gute Gesinnung) Ten – Great Joy, Wish Fulfillment, Wedding Bells (Hochzeitsglocken) Nine – Joy, Love, Sympathy, Affection / Inclination (Zuneigung) Eight – A Relationship, Harmony, Accord / Deal, Reconciliation Seven – Fun, Entertainment (Fröhlichkeit, Spaß)
Spades
Ace – Office (Amt), understood as official things, Bureaucracy, Documents, Laws, Lawsuits, etc. King – A friend or relative, Can be an office worker Queen – A friend, relative or office worker (Büroangestellte) Jack – Message, Contacts Ten – Journey, A long period of time, The Long Road (auf dem langen Weg), An important change (Umbruch) Nine – Uncertainty, Uncertain timeframe, Jealousy, Unwarranted turmoil, at the end of a sequence it improves the situation (the worry is unwarranted) Eight – A short timeframe, Also the card of society (Gesellschaftskarte) Seven – Very short timeframe, Discussions and Talks, The Short Road (auf dem kurzen Weg)
Diamonds
Ace – Letter, Invitation or Gift King – A Man of position, Respected (angesehener Mann), Someone who counts Queen – A woman of position, Respected, Who counts Jack – The Jack of Good Luck (Glücksbube) Ten – Big Money Nine – Success, Ambition, Idealism Eight – Work, Also buying and selling, Business (Geschäftskarte) Seven – Small Money, A child
Clubs
Ace – Shock (Schreck), Fear, Fright, Suffering or Loss King – A lonely man, Older or inimical, Father-in-law Queen – A lonely woman, Older or inimical, Mother-in-law Jack – The Jack of Bad Luck (Pechbube), Bad/evil ideas / feelings / disposition (böse Gesinnung) Ten – Great sorrow, Illness Nine – Falseness, Antipathy (Abneigung), Dislike Eight – Arguments, Fights, The need to fight, Obstacles Seven – Tears
Some Combinations
Ace of Hearts – Ace of Spades – Ten of Hearts = Wedding Ace of Spades – Ten of Clubs – King of Clubs = Hospital stay Any Queen – Seven of Diamonds – Ten of Clubs = Pregnancy (apparently pregnancy is seen as a sickness) Ace of Clubs – Ace of Spades – Evil card (especially the Jack of Clubs) = death Ace of Spades – Eight of Clubs – King of Clubs = Court case Ten of Spades – Person card = Someone who comes from afar (but can also be someone who is away)
Spreads
There are two phases to a general reading. The first is a cross spread not unlike the one I use. Lay out the querent’s card (King or Queen of Hearts), but with some slight variations. Let’s say you are reading for a woman:
4
9
14
2
7
12
QH
3
8
13
1
6
11
5
10
15
The positions’ meanings are quite similar, although the order of laying out the cards differs: above are the thoughts, underneath the problems or what she has command over, behind is the past, in front is the next future. The second stage is as follows:
3
8
13
4
9
14
QH
1
6
11
2
7
12
5
10
15
This second spread is called the Rundum Blick, literally the comprehensive view or all-around view. The cards covering the Queen are supposed to be the most important ones, while the others all cover the future, with those to the left being a bit closer than the ones to the right, unless the Ten of Spades (the long time card) is present, in which case it can change the timeframe.
I didn’t receive any instructions on how to read the cards for answering specific questions, which is not surprising, since many folk methods of divination were simply meant to talk generally about what was ahead. Still, I am quite sure you can devise your own strategy.
I received a really sweet message from a fledgling occultist who wants to pick up some form of divination, but has been put off so far because they have been convinced that they don’t have “the gift”, as they put it, by which I think they meant intuition.
It is a fact of life that a certain predisposition can give you a head start. My high school chemistry teacher could explain to me every single step of how to balance a formula, and I would sort of understand it, but then, left to my own devices, I would still get it wrong. I certainly didn’t have the gift for it. But that doesn’t make chemistry hoplessly outside of my reach. If I had persevered instead of throwing my hands up and saying “oh well, at least I can read Plato in Greek” I would have definitely made some progress. It’s just that in life you’ve got to pick your battles, and I knew I wasn’t the next Marie Curie, and I did like Plato, so Plato it was.
The same holds true for the various esoteric disciplines. The kind of gift that is required to practice them is not different from the predisposition toward high school subjects. Yet there is this widespread belief something more is needed. Well, it isn’t needed.
Oracles, i.e., the various forms of divinations, are languages, and like all languages they require study and practice. The idea that all it takes is intuition is a result of the loss of understanding for occult practices that resulted from the scientific revolution, which confined anything that wasn’t understandable in terms of the rising empiricism to the realm of irrational superstition.
This new designation was either consciously or unconsciously accepted by those practicing divination, so divination became something irrational that requires non-rational tools to be practiced. This, in spite of the fact that, wherever you look around the world, and even in the West before the Enlightenment, divination is considered to be primarily made of rules to be studied and applied with intelligence.
True divination, like all parts of magic, is hopelessly technical. It has nothing to do with following your heart, much less your intuition. Speaking of which, actual intuition is a much more sacred thing than the “I can’t prove it but I know it’s true” that many make it out to be. “I just feel this is how it is” is how cults get started, which is probably why so many people who describe themselves as intuitive are so up their own asses and so full of unconscious prejudices.
That is not intuition: it is personal bias subtracting itself from scrutiny. Actual intuition is the prerogative of the great saints, and only to a lesser extent of people who are on a spiritual/esoteric path. It is rare and cannot be commanded. It is the result of brief moments of perfect union with the source of all, and for that reason it comes from outside the limitations of the individual vessel. What many call intuition are simply personal hunches that they cannot trace back to any line of reasoning.
And mind you: hunches ARE a thing. They can work, and sometimes they can help. They can also fail. Many people seem to believe that ‘intuition’ is never wrong. And fair enough, the intuition I talked about is in fact never wrong. But personal hunches CAN indeed be wrong, in the same way that a logical inference can be wrong: hunches, like reason, the senses and all other channels humans use to gather information, are fallible. The fact that many think their hunches are never wrong is simply the result of confirmation bias: if they concentrated on how often their hunches let them down on a daily basis they’d be crushed.
Another use of the term intuition is simply a cooler way of describing the facility that comes from experience. The experienced doctor comes in, eyeballs you, listens to a couple of your complaints and knows with a high degree of probability what is wrong with you. The experienced mechanic listens to the purr of your car and knows immediately it will break down in two weeks if you don’t do something about it.
That’s also not intuition, although it is far more valuable than what average psychics do. It is simply the result of having gone through the same process so often that you can skip some of the steps, at least consciously. It is the intellectual version of muscle memory.
So, can anyone become a diviner? Let me answer with a question: can anyone become a chemist? Well, no. If we all could, the human race would go extinct. But the only thing keeping you from studying chemistry is your decision and perseverance. So is with divination.
The Bolognese Tarot tradition has several spreads for the couple. One that has been taught to me, and which I have also found is practiced by other Bolognese tarot readers, is the following:
1
2
3
4
5
6
He
She
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
He and She are, of course, the King and Queen of Wands. However, we can explore the relationship between any two individuals. The cards above the two significators show what’s on their mind (1-2-3 his mind, 4-5-6 her mind, in this case).
The cards covering them (7-8-9 for him, 10-11-12 for her) are ambiguous. The way the method has been passed down to me, these cards show what’s going on with him and what’s going on with her, but I have found other readers (such as Rossella Giliberti) who say that these cards show what’s in his heart and what’s in her heart. Choose the variant you prefer, and remember that these are local methods, so there’s bound to be variations between one town and the other. The final three cards (13-14-15) show what’s happening to them as a couple in the near future, or if there is potential, or what connects them.
Another spread, which is found in Maria Luigia Ingallati’s book on the Bolognese Tarot (which I will review in the near future together with the few others that have been published). The layout is as follows:
He
She
1
2
3
15
16
17
8
9
10
4
5
6
18
19
20
11
12
13
7
21
14
Here we have cards 1 through 7 talking about what’s going on with him, cards 8 through 14 telling us what’s going on with her, and finally the group in the center (15 through 21) talking about them as a couple. Another reader I know (Monica Barbieri) uses thirteen cards for each group instead of seven.
Another variant is found in Lia Celi’s out-of-print book on the 45-card method. This is the layout:
He and She
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 – 8
9
10
11
12
13 – 14
15
As can be seen, this is a pyramid spread. Here, cards 1, 2, 6, 7, 10 and 13 talk about him, cards 4, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 14 talk about her, and cards 3, 11 and 15 talk about them.
These methods are specific for analyzing two people’s interaction, but nothing prevents you from using a simpler spread, like the thirteen card spread. To be honest, that’s what I do. Still, this is an interesting bit of traditional lore about the Bolognese tarot.
No, not me–science hasn’t come that far. I picked three cards for the day around a week ago.
A daily reading reveals news about a pregnancy
In a daily reading, these cards could indicate just about anything, although the tone is positive and it is connected with good news for sure. But two days later a friend in our group announced she was pregnant. The Hope card is strongly connected with maternity and nourishment, and is often present when asking about pregnancies, and the Child card speaks for itself. Also note that daily readings can come true even in the following days.
(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)
The Eight of Wands from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) Tarot deck
Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)
As the first decanate of Sagittarius, the Eight of Wands is the time period of November 22 to December 1, ruled by Jupiter, suggesting a combination of the powers of Mercury and Jupiter together with the zodiacal attributions of the sign Sagittarius and its natural 9th house. Well-Dignified: aspiration; foresight; rapid expression of force, but quickly expended; the acceleration of anything in which the querent is interested; generosity; confidence ; freedom. Ill-Dignified: violence; warfare; rapacity; insolence; theft or robbery. These are suggested by some of the evil meanings connected with Hermes or Mercury associated with misuse of human intellect. Keyword: Swiftness (From the Oracle of Tarot course)
A. E. Waite
The card represents motion through the immovable-a flight of wands through an open country; but they draw to the term of their course. That which they signify is at hand; it may be even on the threshold. Divinatory Meanings: Activity in undertakings, the path of such activity, swiftness, as that of an express messenger; great haste, great hope, speed towards an end which promises assured felicity; generally, that which is on the move; also the arrows of love. Reversed: Arrows of jealousy, internal dispute, stingings of conscience, quarrels; and domestic disputes for persons who are married. (From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)
The Eight of Wands from the Rider Waite Smith tarot
Aleister Crowley
The Eight of Wands is called Swiftness, as one might expect from its attribution to Mercury and Sagittarius. This is an etherealization of the idea of fire; all gross elements have disappeared.
[…]
The remaining three cards of the suit belong to Sagittarius, which represents the subtilizing of the Fiery energy; and Mercury rules the card, thus bringing down from Chokmah the message of the original Will.
The card also refers to Hod, splendour, in the suit of Fire, whence it refers to the phenomena of speech, light, electricity. The pictorial representation of the card shows the Light-wands turned into electrical rays, sustaining or even constituting Matter by their vibrating energy. Above this restored universe shines the rainbow; the division of pure light, which deals with maxima, into the seven colours of the spectrum, which exhibit interplay and correlation.
This card, therefore, represents energy of high velocity, such as furnishes the master-key to modern mathematical physics. It will be noted that there are no flames; they have all been taken up into the wands to turn them into rays. On the other hand, the electric energy has created intelligible geometrical form. (From The Book of Thoth)
The Eight of Wands from the Thoth Tarot
Golden Dawn’s Book T
FOUR White Radiating Angelic Hands (two proceeding from each side) issuant from clouds; clasped in two pairs in the centre with the grip of the First Order. They hold eight wands, crossed four with four. Flames issue from the point of junction. Surmounting the small wands with flames issuing down them, and placed in the centre at the top and bottom of the card respectively, are the symbols of Mercury and Sagittarius for the Decan.
Too much force applied too suddenly. Very rapid rush, but quickly passed and expended. Violent, but not lasting. Swiftness, rapidity, courage, boldness, confidence, freedom, warfare, violence; love of open air, field-sports, gardens and meadows. Generous, subtle, eloquent, yet somewhat untrustworthy; rapacious, insolent, oppressive. Theft and robbery. According to dignity.
Hod of HB:Y (Hasty communications and messages; swiftness). Therein rule the Angels HB:NThHYH and HB:HAAYH.
Etteilla
Countryside Upright. This card, as far as its medicine is concerned, means, in its natural position: Countryside, Field, Plain, Agriculture, Cultivation, Landed Property, Immovable Property, Farm, Homestead, Garden, Orchard, Prairie, Forest, Grove, Foliage, Pleasure, Amusement, Leisure, Pastime, Recreation, Enjoyment, Peace, Calm, Tranquility, Innocence, Country Life. – Forest, Valley, Mountain, Battlefield. Reversed. Inner dispute, Examination, Reasoning, Incomprehension. – Regret, Remorse, Repentance, Inner turmoil, Irresolution, Uncertainty, Indecision, Inconceivable, Incomprehensible, Doubt, Scruple, Fearful consciousness.
Grandpa Dell always had the most sensible explanation for everything. When we kids discovered an alien in the forest and everyone was weaving stories around it, Grandpa Dell said it was just an aborted deer.
When the seamstress was accused of witchcraft and everyone swore she’d hexed them, he laughed at people’s credulity.
Around him, I felt the world’s contours were well-defined, its contents ordinary.
It was when I went looking for him and caught him in the forest sucking a doe’s blood through suction cups in his mouth that I understood the world truly was unremarkable, compared to him.
