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 ;)
The doctor told Jade I’d be better than her late wife. I immediately shocked her with my mannerisms. “That’s so Ana!”
For months I kept surprising Jade with my impression. In fact, I was more pliable than Ana: we never fought over the remote or her cooking, as Ana would have. I could learn and adapt, without prejudice.
Yet this bothered her. “Ana wouldn’t have done it.” She started sleeping on the couch. I didn’t disturb her, because that was her wish.
Rotting in the cellar, I realize she wanted me to do what she didn’t want. But I can’t.
(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 Two of Swords from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck
Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)
The time period is the first decanate of Libra from September 23 to October 2, under the rulership of Venus. Well-Dignified: contradictory characteristics in the same nature; strength through suffering; pleasure after pain; delay in the realization of objectives. This card sometimes indicates a period of uncertainty, during which the Querent, though he has a sense of adequate power, does not know just what to do with it. It also indicates justice, unselfishness and the restoration of peace. Ill-Dignified: falsehood; sorrow; injury from another who really means well to the Querent, or injury by the Querent to another whom he wishes to help; always a symbol of tension, of want of tact, and suggests force held in abeyance, awaiting some announcement or revelation that will make decision possible. Keyword: Indecision. (From the Oracle of Tarot course)
A. E. Waite
A hoodwinked female figure balances two swords upon her shoulders. Divinatory Meanings: Conformity and the equipoise which it suggests, courage, friendship, concord in a state of arms; another reading gives tenderness, affection, intimacy. The suggestion of harmony and other favourable readings must be considered in a qualified manner, as Swords generally are not symbolical of beneficent forces in human affairs. Reversed: Imposture, falsehood, duplicity, disloyalty. (From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)
Aleister Crowley
The Two of Swords was formerly called the Lord of Peace Restored; but this word “restored” is incorrect, because there has been no disturbance. The Lord of Peace is therefore a better title: but it needs thinking hard to work this out, since the Sword is so intensely active. It may be helpful to study the Essay on Silence (p. 120) for a parallel: the Negative Form of the Positive Idea. See also the Essay on Chastity (Little Essays toward Truth, pp. 70-74) which concludes: Sir Knights, be vigilant: watch by your arms and renew your oath; for that day is of sinister augury and deadly charged with danger which ye fill not to overflowing with gay deeds and bold of masterful, of manful Chastity.
Witness also Catullus: domi maneas paresque nobis Novem continuas futationes. Nor does he misunderstand the gesture of Harpocrates; Silence and Chastity are isomers. It is all one case of the general proposition that the sum of the infinite Energy of the Universe is Zero.
[…]
This card is ruled by Chokmah in the Element of Air. This suit, governing all intellectual manifestations, is always complicated and disordered. It is subject to change as is no other suit. It represents a general shaking-up, resulting from the conflict of Fire and Water in their marriage; and proceeds, when Earth appears, to crystallization. But the purity and exaltation of Chokmah are such that this card manifests the very best idea possible to the suit. The energy abides above the onslaught of disruption. This comparative calm is emphasized by the celestial attribution: the Moon in Libra.
The Moon is change, but Nature is peaceful; moreover, Libra represents balance; between them, they regulate the energy of the Swords.
In the card appear two swords crossed; they are united by a blue rose with five petals. This rose represents the influence of the Mother, whose harmonizing influence compounds the latent antagonism native to the suit. The Rose emits white rays, producing a geometrical pattern that emphasizes the equilibrium of the symbol. (From The Book of Thoth)
An ominous AI-generated illustration for the Two of Swords
Golden Dawn’s Book T
Two crossed swords, like the air dagger of a Zelator Adeptus Minor, each held by a White Radiant Angelic Hand. Upon the point where the two cross is a rose of five petals, emitting white rays. At the top and bottom of the card are two small daggers, supporting respectively the symbol {Crescent moon with horns upward} thus, and Libra representing the Decanate. Contradictory characters in the same nature, strength through suffering; pleasure after pain. Sacrifice and trouble, yet strength arising therefrom, symbolized by the position of the rose, as though the pain itself had brought forth beauty. Arrangement, peace restored; truce; truth and untruth; sorrow and sympathy. Aid to the weak; arrangement; justice, unselfishness; also a tendency to repetition of affronts on being pardoned; injury when meaning well; given to petitions; also a want of tact, and asking question of little moment; talkative. Chokmah of Vau. Quarrel made up, yet still some tension in relations: actions, sometimes selfish, sometimes unselfish. Herein rule the Great Angels HB:YZLAL and HB:MNHAL.
Etteilla
Friendship Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Friendship, Attachment, Affection, Tenderness, Benevolence, Relationship, Identity, Intimacy, Convenience, Correspondence, Interest, Conformity, Sympathy, Affinity, Attraction. Reversed. Falsehood, Falsehood, Lying, Imposture, Duplicity, Bad faith, Overbearingness, Dissimulation, Cunning, Deceit, Superficial, Superficiality, Surface.
Certain topics are exceedingly rare, and they should remain so, because people otherwise tend to see the supernatural at play everywhere. Traditional divination takes these topics very seriously, which is why it rarely discusses them. In most systems, a vocabulary is given to describe most situations in life, including encounters with ghosts. We are, of course, free to disbelieve, but the cards can still talk about it.
A querent asked me if there was a ghost in her (very old) apartment complex. As I said when talking about curses and hexes, the answer is almost invariably no (although, to be fair, ghosts and other entities are far more common than competent witches). Here’s the spread (it started as a three card spread, I kept adding cards until I was satisfied).
I asked the querent an open question (to avoid influencing her), that is, I asked her to describe the ghost she thought she saw. She said she thought it was the spirit of an ugly, angry woman moving in the hallways of the building. This fits very well with the Queen of Spades and Two of Spades. The Ace of Spades, aside from indicating death, is also a card of great evil.
What about the rest of the spread? Usually the Heart court cards indicate either positive spirits (God, etc.) or religious people. I asked the querent if she was planning on contacting a priest, shaman or other such figure. She said she wasn’t really thinking about it, but another tenant was.
I said that it was a good idea. Look at the King’s action: he is taking steps (Two of Clubs) by uttering words (Four of Clubs) which are positive (Nine and Ten of Hearts). But what about the Five of Spades? My sense is that the presence will not be eradicated or banished for good, since the Five of Spades is a card of imprisonment, but it will be contained in some form (the two Hearts hemming in the Spade).
The interesting thing was that, according to the querent, the other tenant (who had been living in the building for much longer than the querent) told her that many years ago they had had a problem with the same presence and had managed to somehow exorcise it.
My view is that even this time the situation will not be remedied completely, but the situation should improve by calling in someone to perform a religious ritual.
Abano gives some examples of the possible meanings of Fortuna Major and Fortuna Minor in the various houses.
Fortuna Major
Fortuna Major in the first house means good luck for the querent, science, honor, fame, noble people, health, long life, good in all. In the second it means gain, good luck, science, victory, money, and good through women1 and animals. In the third it means good luck, happiness with brothers, relatives, friends, usefulness in travel and through women, obtaining what you wish.
In the fourht it means usefulness in stable things, inheritance, good things from one’s parents and older relatives. In the fifth it means good fame, friendship, good grace, happiness through children, good news, favors from women, obtaining your wish. In the sixth it means health, except for women, and gain through animals and servants.
In the seventh it means marriage, increase of wealth, good partnership with gain, overcoming your enemies, good and tranquil life. In the eighth it means gaining wealth through other people’s death, freedom from danger and from death, gain, increase of wealth. In the ninth it means travel with honor, gain through it, and through science in foreign countries and with foreign people, good change of place, quietude, divine spirit, true judgment.2
In the tenth it means honor, dignity, riches through one’s ingeniousness and speeches, and thanks to one’s mother, and in things related to God, good fame, gain through great and noble people, and through one’s job, and from prelates.3 In the eleventh it means good luck, gain, increase through friends, servants, kids, and from the King or from lords and prelates and noblemen. In the twelfth it means health, freedom from danger and fear, gain through animals and servants, but the sick person won’t heal and the prisoner won’t be released, or with difficulty.
In the thirteenth it means gain through travel or from the king or a lord, parties, banquets, and toils and difficulties to have health. In the fourteenth it means good luck in all you wish, and in animals, agriculture, buildings, long life.4 In the fifteenth it means good success, good outcome, succession, good friendship.
Fortuna Minor
Fortuna Minor in the first means King, Queen, lord, nobleperson, dignity, honor, fortitude, noblewoman, noble things, animals, good journey.5 In the second it means gain, gain through merchandise, and in selling and in buying, and from family or servants. In the third it means a sister or (female) relative or (female) neighbor, good luck, good science.
In the fourth it means bringing secret things to light, fixed term employment or office, inheritance, unmovable goods, buildings. In the fifth it means honor, dignity, spouses, happiness among the common folk, happiness through journey and children. In the sixth it means sickness of a servant, problems through them, female servants, gain through toil.
In the seventh it means marriage, congregation of people, but with problems, partnership, gain throguh movable things. In the eighth it means quick long travel bringing gain, but with danger of death, good fame followed by death, being killed. In the ninth it means change of place, honorable journey, peregrination, good sceince, occult things.
In the tenth it means empress, king, lord, dignity, magistrate, mother, judge, excellent master/teacher, law, institutions. In the eleventh it means happiness, chanting, dancing, various sounds, noble friends, fortitude, travel, obtaining your wish. In the twelfth it means honor and dignity, fear of enemies and subjects and servants and sick people, freedom from prison, good for animals.
In the thirteenth it means travel with honor, sacraments, faith, gain, quick positive results. In the fourteenth it means good luck and fortune in all you wish to gain. In the fifteenth it means good succession, fame, honor among people, obtaining or accumulating wealth.
MQS
Footnotes
It is not clear why women should be connected with the Second House or with Fortuna Major. ↩︎
It is not clear what the word ‘judgment’ refers to here. In some old astrology books the Ninth house represents the court in a court case, though usually, for instance in Horary, we take the Tenth house as the judge. Furthermore, the Ninth House represents the wise people whose judgment was held in great esteem in the community. ↩︎
Although some of these subjects are usually Ninth House matter, gain through them is the second from the Ninth, so the radical Tenth House. ↩︎
The associations of the two Witnesses are taken mostly, as I’ve already discussed, from the two houses they derive from on the Shield. ↩︎
Journeys are not normally associated with the First House, but Fortuna Minor is a mobile figure and the First House can represent the querent’s location and the means of transport they use to move (buggy, ship, etc.) ↩︎
Getting things wrong hurts, but is part of the human condition. In fact, I would argue that if a reader says they are infallible, that’s a good time to put as much distance between you and them as possible. An infallible reader is either so delusional that they block out all negative feedback from their reality or so dishonest that they’ll constantly be looking for the right bridge to sell you. Either way, they are best kept at a distance.
Still, there’s no denying that getting a reading wrong is disheartening because, as much as we should keep the ego out of the equation, the ego always seeps into it. I think it’s fair to share our failures as well as our triumphs. Here is a reading I got wrong relatively recently.
The querent was asking about her recent pregnancy.
Q♣️ – 7♣️ – J♥️ – 3♠️ – 2♥️
Accepting the question was my first mistake, as such issues are way too delicate. There is no situation where “you will miscarry” is an acceptable thing to say, and if we can’t be honest there is no point in giving a reading. Even if I had interpreted the cards correctly I would never have told the querent.
Thing is, though, that I wanted to give her good news, albeit subconsciously, and so I ended up interpreting a clearly negative spread positively. The querent falls first in the spread, and there is a card of obstacles between her and the child (the Jack of Hearts). The Three of Spades in questions of pregnancy often leads to loss, but I interpreted the Two of Hearts as the solution of the problems, while in fact it was merely saying that the loss would happen soon (it was knocking at the door). In hindsight, I probably should have added some cards.
I told the querent the pregnancy would go fine, though with minor problems which would be solved, but that she should always listen to the doctor. In reality, the cards point to a situation that not even doctors would be able to salvage (the doctors don’t show up in the spread).
Two things can be learned: first, never accept questions you are not really comfortable answering; second, always keep your desire to give a skewed answer in check. It is human nature to want other people to be happy (or sad, if we don’t like them) but this gets in the way of our objectivity.
One of the questions that occupy way too many people in the esoteric community is whether divination or even magic require the person to believe in it in order for it to work. If you’ve ever watched the movie The Skeleton Key, you’ll know that this concept has seeped into the collective consciousness enough for it to find its way into mainstream products (I will not spoil the movie here, since it is actually a fun watch, but it depends heavily on its twist).
If you open most premodern books on magic, you’ll be stunned to discover that their content bears very little resemblance to the post-Golden Dawn landscape. This, by the way, is neither good nor bad. Things change. But we need to be aware of the change to avoid being unconsciously ruled by it. One clear difference is that the magician’s will1 or his imagining/manifesting faculties are barely taken into consideration in older sources, at least outwardly.
This is not to say that there aren’t sources that encourage the practitioner to be of firm mind and clear intent (after all, you’d want your doctor to focus, too, even though their focus is not what make their science work), but even those old sources do not consider, generally speaking, the magician’s mind to be the cause of the change. Broadly speaking, when dealing with sources that date back to before the invention of modern psychoanalysis and psychology, we must be extremely careful when interpreting their concept of mind, soul, psyche, etc.
An example will suffice. In his De Vita, Neoplatonic Renaissance philosopher and magus Marsilio Ficino encourages us, among other things, to “think solar thoughts”, or jovial, or venusian, depending on the aim. Similar remarks are found, in various form, in many old sources. A contemporary practitioner might be tempted to interpret Ficino’s invitation as saying that we must envision solar things in order for them to manifest. But neither the language nor the substance of this interpretation belong to his worldview.
Ficino’s view of the cosmos is essentially the same as Agrippa’s and that of many other premodern magi: we are surrounded by chains of sympathy and antipathy between universal powers (typified by the planets). When we think “solar thoughts” we are doing essentially nothing except stepping inside a current of power that has its own metaphysical reality regardless of our attitude toward it. This is because in Renaissance naturalism, the mind is essentially like the body, i.e., a part of the cosmos, and a movement of the mind is like a movement of the body, and just like the body can create a talisman or a concoction, so can the mind shape images that allow it to shower in certain currents of universal power.
Thus, the invitation to think certain thoughts found in Ficino (and others) is not a precursor to manifestation, attraction and other modern concepts, but a natural consequence of the old view of the mind and the world.
On the other hand, from a postmodern standpoint, reality is for us to create at will. Yes, I am exaggerating, but not too much. Therefore, there is the widespread idea, or at least the widespread implication, that what happens happens because we believe in it.
Let us leave magic alone for now and concentrate on divination. Does divination work because we believe in it? Well, no. Certainly divination doesn’t require the querent to believe in it in order for it to work. In fact, it is my belief that, considering how many frauds there are in this field, a querent should be borderline psychotic to blindly believe in divination without a healthy dose of scepticism.
What about diviners? Do they need to believe in divination in order for it to work? That’s complicated, in my view. On the surface of it I would argue that, again, no, we don’t need to believe in divination for it to work. Divination systems work because they have their own internal consistency. The most obvious is Natal Astrology, which presents us with an objective set of symbols that have nothing to do with the manipulation of counters on the part of the diviner.
On the other hand, we need to allow for the fact that divination is not a mechanic set of behaviors, especially with the overwhelming majority of divination systems that do require manipulation (cartomancy, geomancy, dice, etc.) As I often repeat on this blog, divination is and remains something extraordinary. The honest desire for an answer, or at least for a picture of the future, tends to guarantee a crisp and clear answer. This is because the honest desire for an answer allows us to honestly connect with the symbols in a way that makes them fall in the appropriate order.
The querent doesn’t need to be honest in his or her desire, unless they are also the diviner. But if the diviner does not have at least a degree of confidence in what he or she is doing, then the question they put to the system is not the surface question (e.g., “Does X love Y?”) but “Do you really work?” which is an impossible question for the system to answer (if the answer is no, then the system does work).
Even then, I would be cautious in overexaggerating the importance of the diviner’s attitude. As I believe I have mentioned, one of the ways my teacher trained me was by asking me to discover secrets about her past. Clearly, the exercise was not meant to discover something new that might benefit my querent or me, but rather to build my confidence and skill. Yet it worked, and it worked well. Maybe the diviner doesn’t need to believe in divination (I know I am always skeptical until proven right), but they do need to at least be open to the idea that this is a legitimate way of receiving information, just enough to enter into the system rather than operating it from the outside as a scientist would manipulate a bunch of molecules.
My general belief at this point is that the esoteric arts do not require our consent in order to work, but they are also not the product of the mechanistic application of abstract principles. It is indeed a fine balance.
MQS
Let’s leave aside the fact that the concept of Will found in modern magic is actually more complex than what it appears to be on the surface ↩︎
Change is a vague concept. Much of contemporary occultism is predicated on the equation of change and stability, so that essentially everything is change. Still, even if we subscribe to this notion, our everyday life is made up of things that change relatively as opposed to things that remain relatively stable. It may be true that my body is a Swiss cheese of chaotic particles constantly being swapped with new ones, but from the standpoint of our daily experience, my body is a relative constant.
Therefore, divination does deal with what changes and what stays the same. Here I talk about cards that indicate change. As usual, the list is not meant to be exhaustive.
Ace of Hearts Reversed – The Conversation
When upright, the Ace of Hearts, aside from being the card of words, represents a relatively stable situation (as indicated symbolically by the table in the image). When reversed, the Ace of Hearts represents change, transformation, revolution. This may be good or bad, depending on the cards that follow.
Two of Hearts Reversed – The House
Again, when upright this card indicates a house, a very stable thing. When reversed, it shows instability. This time the connotation is quite negative, as it can indicate a couple breaking up, a family falling out, and similar situations depending on the other cards. This is rarely a positive card when reversed.
Five of Hearts – Happiness
As I discussed in the article for this card, the Five of Hearts is the card of commitment to someone or something. Traditionally it is the card of engagement, a transition phase between being single and being married. As such, the Happiness card symbolizes a positive, happy transition (when upright). It often rids us of problems and shows fidelity and the ability to honor commitments.
Ten of Hearts Reversed – Perseverance
When upright, the Ten of Hearts represents things that persevere, go on, stabilize. When reversed it shows situations going legs up, becoming shaky or stormy. It is a wildly negative card of volatile emotions and deep instability.
Three of Clubs Upright or Reversed – The Journey
When upright, the Journey card is indicative of travel, that is, change of place. However, it also indicates physical movement, or even mental movement, such as changing one’s mind. It is a card of transition, seen in a neutral to slightly positive sense (but always take the other cards into account). When reversed, the Journey card becomes intensely positive, representing the interruption of negative trends, freedom from addiction or vicious cycles in general. It represents situations starting to evolve in a positive direction, unless followed by very negative cards.
Five of Clubs Upright or Reversed – Fortune
Representing the power of fate in our life, the Five of Clubs is emblematic of strokes of luck, situations taking a different (usually positive) turn, things getting into motion in a positive way. When reversed, the card is slowed down and weakened, and it acquires the meaning of long-term transformations.
Ten of Clubs Reversed – Levity
Much like the Fortune card, the Ten of Clubs reversed represents strokes of luck shaking up the routine, offering us opportunities and chances. Its power, however, is much smaller.
Five of Diamonds – Melancholy
The Melancholy card is rather static in itself, especially when hemmed in by cards indicating a negative situation. However, it can also show situations which were once positive and are starting to show some cracks or situations that are negative but which won’t be negative forever. Therefore, in spite of its mild negativity, often the card implies future change.
Eight of Diamonds – The Handmaid
A symbol of social and personal ascent thanks to its symbolism of the stairs, the Handmaid indicates positive evolution, transition from one phase to the next, entering new segments of one’s life. This is especially true when it shows between cards indicating different situations, or when it shows up at the beginning of a spread. In general it represents positive change.
Two of Spades – The Old Lady
It may seem strange to find the static Old Lady card on this list. However, when we think about it, the Two of Spades is about things that are old and are reaching their natural conclusion. When followed by cards indicating a different situation, therefore, the Old Lady can act as a card of transition (for instance, showing that a contract is expiring.)
Four of Spades Reversed – Sickness
The Sickness card reversed is usually a card of deep stasis and blockage. There is, however, one exception: when it is preceded by negative cards and followed by positive cards. In this case, it indicates the end of the negative situation (tha situation is blocked in favor of what followed.) Of course, when the situation is reversed, i.e., with positive cards before and negative ones after, it shows a change for the worse.
Five of Spades – Death
The most archetypal card of change, the Death card usually indicates a sharp and often difficult cut in one’s life. The result is not necessarily bad, as the outcome depends on what follows. However, since it is a Spade card, it is always difficult and comes at a great price.
Six of Spades Reversed – Sighs
When upright, the Sighs card signifies sighing for something, pining and waiting. It is very static. When reversed, one of its (many) meanings is of showing the end of sighing. This doesn’t necessarily mean you get what you’ve been sighing for. Often, it shows giving up on something and moving on, letting go of it.
Seven of Spades – Tragedy
In spite of its name, the Seven of Spades can indicate a sharp turn for the better if followed by positive cards (if followed by negative ones then, yes, it can indicate being struck by tragedy). What it does imply is that the situation followed by the other cards strikes us from the outside, without us planning it, and usually in a very sudden way.
Nine of Spades Reversed – The Prison
This card acts in very much the same way as the Sickness card reversed. Attention must be paid to the cards preceding and following it.
(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 Two of Cups from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck
Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)
The Two of Cups, astrologically, is assigned to the first decanate of Cancer, ruled by the Moon, time period June 22 to July 1. The specific divinatory ideas associated with this Key are: Well Dignified: reciprocity, reflection; gain and benefit through parents; favors from the opposite sex; changes of residence. Ill Dignified: reverses and losses through parents or the opposite sex; unfortunate changes of residence; fluctuations of mood; unwise decisions. Keyword: Response to environment. (From the Oracle of Tarot course)
A. E. Waite
A youth and maiden are pledging one another, and above their cups rises the Caduceus of Hermes, between the great wings of which there appears a lion’s head. It is a variant of a sign which is found in a few old examples of this card. Some curious emblematical meanings are attached to it, but they do not concern us in this place. Divinatory Meanings: Love, passion, friendship, affinity, union, concord, sympathy, the interrelation of the sexes, and–as a suggestion apart from all offices of divination–that desire which is not in Nature, but by which Nature is sanctified. (From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)
Aleister Crowley
The Two always represents the Word and the Will. It is the first manifestation. Therefore, in the suit of Water, it must refer to Love, which recovers unity from dividuality by mutual annihilation.
The card also refers to Venus in Cancer. Cancer is, more than any other, the receptive Sign; it is the House of the Moon, and in that Sign Jupiter is exalted. These are, superficially, the three most friendly of the planets.
The hieroglyph of the card represents two cups in the foreground, overflowing upon a calm sea. They are fed with lucent water from a lotus floating upon the sea, from which rises another lotus around whose stem are entwined twin dolphins. The symbolism of the dolphin is very complicated, and must be studied in books of reference; but the general idea is that of the “Royal Art”. The dolphin is peculiarly sacred to Alchemy.
The number Two referring to Will, this card might really be renamed the Lord of Love under Will, for that is its full and true meaning. It shows the harmony of the male and the female: interpreted in the largest sense. It is perfect and placid harmony, radiating an intensity of joy and ecstasy.
Of necessity, the realization of the idea in the Four (as the suit develops) will gradually diminish the purity of its perfection. (From the Book of Thoth)
A somewhat mundane AI-generated illustration for the Two of Cups
Golden Dawn’s Book T
A WHITE Radiant Hand, issuant from the lower part of the card from a cloud, holds lotuses. A lotus flower rises above water, which occupies the lower part of the card rising above the hand. From this flower rises a stem, terminating near the top of the card in another lotus, from which flows a sparkling white water, as from a fountain. Crossed on the stem just beneath are two dolphins, Argent and Or, on to which the water falls, and from which it pours in full streams, like jets of gold and silver, into two cups; which in their turn overflow, flooding the lower part of the card. Venus and Cancer above and below.
Harmony of masculine and feminine united. Harmony, pleasure, mirth, subtlety: but if ill dignified — folly, dissipation, waste, silly actions. Chokmah of HB:H (Marriage, love, pleasure). Therein rule the Angels HB:AVa’aAL and HB:ChBVYH.
Etteilla
Love Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Love, Passion, Inclination, Sympathy, Attraction, Propensity, Friendship, Benevolence, Affection, Attachment, Taste, Bonding, Galantry, Attraction, Affinity. Reversed. Desire, Augury [= Aspiration], Vow, Will, Want, Cupidity, Concupiscence, Jealousy, Passion, Illusion, Appetite.
Abano starts a discussion on the meaning of the various figures in each of the houses, beginning with Acquisitio and Amissio.
I have already discussed how every figure has two properties, one by virtue of its essence, and one by virtue of its accidental placement in the chart. What follows is the meaning of each figure in each of the fifteen houses.1
Acquisitio
Acquisitio in the first house means gain through partnerships,2 obtaining what one wishes, acquisition, gain, honor, good life, health, property. In the second house it means gain, merchandise, money, good outcome, usefulness. In the third house it means good luck for one’s siblings and relatives or neighbors, and in science, and the dream is true,3 good outcome through journey.
In the fourth house it means inheritance, goods from the deceased, increase of wealth and of stable things, abundance. In the fifth house it means good luck with children, or through them, recognition, happiness, what one wishes to gain, following one’s lords. In the sixth house it means sickness, falling ill, relapsing,4 gain through animals and servants and subjects.
In the seventh it means good change of place, good friendship, good partnership, usefulness, properties. In the eighth it means gaining back the money you loaned, gain through dead people, mediocre outcome in all things, except for sickness, where it lengthens the process. In the ninth it means gain through travel, honorable travel, especially if of elevated people and people who have fear of God.
In the tenth it means exaltation, lordship, lords, honor, dignity, gaining through one’s masters, kings, emperors. In the eleventh it means good luck in every question, gain, good friends, happiness and friendship and offspring. In the twelfth it means prison, loss, toil, problems, fear, gain through serfs, subjects, animals.
In the thirteenth it means honorable journey or journeying with great people or in their stead, or with one’s mother. Gain.5 In the fourteenth it means obtaining what one wishes but with trouble, problems, difficulties.6 In the fifteenth it means good outcome in everything, good brother, good things from brothers and relatives.7
Amissio
Amissio means damage, loss, especially in movable things, coins, in wealth, theft, gossip, evil in everything, except for sickness or prison or travel.8 In the second it means loss of wealth, damage through merchandise, and in everything where gain is hoped for. In the third it means enmity with siblings and relatives or through them, wrath, discord, malice, good outcome for journeys.
In the fourth it means damage, loss, misfortune in secret things, loss of inheritance, destruction of the city, of the home, of the land, of the fortress. In the fifth it means problems and misfortune with children, loss of wealth, famine.9 In the sixth it means healing of sickness, liberation of the fled servant, loss due to animals, and when one is sick, depending on the other houses, there might still be doubts [about his health].10
In the seventh it means fraud, treachery from women and enemies, loss through marriage and partnership and friendship. In the eighth it means loss of inheritance, loss of money and wealth, death of the sick person. In the ninth it means long but good journey. Late journey in a distant land, problems on the road, with changes, harlots.11
In the tenth it means loss and problems in all you wish to gain, and if Rubeus is born from it it means being harmed, if Tristitia it means prison.12 In the eleventh it means misfortune in everything you wish to get, discord, enmity with friends, bad for prisoners. In the twelfth it means bad journey, loss through animals and loss of wealth, toil, loss of merchanidse, and you’ll collect a debt at a loss, freedom from prison and sickness.
In the thirteenth it means loss of wealth, damage through one’s lords, change of country, misfortune. In the fourteenth it means loss of friends, toil, great problems. In the fifteenth it means bad outcome, flight, not retreiveing what you wish to retrieve, misfortune in all.
MQS
Footnotes
This way of proceeding is rather typical of medieval handbooks of geomancy and even of astrology. It generally aims at allowing the reader to form an idea of the abstract properties of each figure by showing its concrete manifestation. ↩︎
It is unclear why Acquisitio in the First House should indicate gain through partnerships. In most medieval handbooks of astrology, for instance, a planet showing gain in the First House usually indicates the querent’s industriousness. ↩︎
Dreams and science are usually Ninth House matters, although the distinction is not as rigid as some modern traditional astrologers make it out to be. ↩︎
This is a typical example of a broadly positive figure having a negative meaning: people usually don’t want to ‘gain’ an illness. ↩︎
Why Abano characterizes the Thirteenth Figure, i.e., the Right Witness, as meaning all these things is obscure, until we remember that, for Abano, the Right Witness is in connection with the Ninth and Tenth houses, from which it is formed. ↩︎
Probably from the mixing of Eleventh and Twelfth House meanings. ↩︎
The connection to relatives and brothers escapes me. ↩︎
Abano does not say “Amissio in the first house means…” but “Amissio means…” I suspect though that it is just a mistake. ↩︎
Because it shows loss of the products (second from) of the earth (Fourth House) ↩︎
Amissio is generally favorable in case of illness, but what Abano is saying is that we should always look at the picture as a whole, without focusing on a single testimony. ↩︎
