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Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Everyday Oracle, Fortune-telling, Occultism and Esoterism, Sibilla della Zingara, Vera Sibilla

Vera Sibilla Cards That Indicate Spirituality and Occultism

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Pretty much every card in the Vera Sibilla has some connection with spirituality and occultism, especially when that’s the topic of the question. However, some cards are more pronounced in the kind of indications they give. The unfortunate thing about this sort of topics is that people tend to use them as a substitute for real life. So, for instance, once someone wrote that the Queen of Clubs can indicate a psychic vampire, and then everyone started reading that card primarily as that for a while (becuase, of course, you are such a wonderful person that everyone wants to leech off of your energy). In reality, unless the question is about spiritual or occult topics, such interpretations are best kept rare, and even then, the surrounding cards need to be kept in mind.

Ace of Hearts – The Conversation (Conversazione)

This is not an especially esoteric or spiritual card, but I’ll talk about it to show how easy it can be to expand a card’s regular meaning to cover those topics. The Conversation card is about words and people meeting or living together. In a spiritual or esoteric reading it can therefore indicate prayers (communion with the divine), exorcisms or spells (the spiritual or esoteric use of words). It can also indicate a group of people operating a ritual or praying together.

Four of Hearts – Love (Amore)

Again, not an especially esoteric card, but it is one of the possible cards indicating the soul (winged, heart-related). It can also indicate that one has the otherworldly tendency to attract certain types of happenings into their life. This has nothing to do with the law of attraction, but merely a statement of the fact that certain people simply tend to end up in specific situations.

Seven of Hearts – The Scholar (Letterato)

The Scholar is connected with the constructive use of the mind. It can therefore indicate plans, including esoteric plans, mostly tending to be good ones. It can also show the divine plan, providence etc.

Eight of Hearts – Hope (Speranza)

The Hope card is the main significator of faith, though not necessarily religious faith. It is heavily indicative of our psychic connection with the divine. It is also involved in those situations where the person has prophetic dreams, psychic powers and all those abilities witches on WitchTok pretend to have but really don’t. Reversed, it can indicate atheism (lack of hope in the divine) or, with very evil cards, it can indicate negative faith systems, such as satanism (we’re talking O9A, not the coastal post-crowleyan, occult-flavored performance art that passes itself off as satansim).

Nine of Hearts – Faithfulness (Fedeltà)

The Faithfulness card is one of great protection and support, whether from worldly friends or from otherworldly ones. As such, it can indicate angels (the Messenger is another possible card for angels, but in a more neutral sense). More commonly, it can indicate devotion to a belief system.

King of Hearts – The Gentleman (Gran Signore)

Obviously, God is the esoteric and spiritual gentleman par excellence, and this is usually what this card can represent. It indicates great protection from the divine (the female counterpart would be the Maiden for the Virgin Mary, or the Girlfriend for a female saint or goddess).

Two of Clubs – The Peacock (Pavone)

The Peacock is one of the cards we look for in sequences about magic and spirituality. When upright, it represents the god-power which unfolds at its own pace, like the peacock’s tail, creating opportunity for marvel and salvation. Esoterically, it shows magic in a neutral to positive sense. It represents oaths and religious vows. Reversed, it is the card of the devil (the one who was doomed by his pride), demons and dark magic.

Three of Clubs Reversed – The Journey (Viaggio)

When reversed, the Journey has a specific connection with white magic in its ability to interrupt any negative trend, harmonizing us with our path in life.

Five of Clubs – Fortune (Fortuna)

In itself the Five of Clubs is the card of destiny, of one’s path through life, whether good or bad. It can represent protection, though not necessarily divine, from magical forces. It can be present when a magical attack is aimed at modifying a person’s natural destiny.

Four of Diamonds – Falsehood (Falsità)

The Falsehood card is the card of negativity in all contexts. Esoterically, it shows negativity in the person’s aura and/or the evil eye, but it usually doesn’t represent heavy black magic.

Six of Diamonds – Thought (Pensiero)

Our thought is where past, present and future coincide and gather in the form of memories, plans and inclinations. It can give us hint as to the person’s inner life, their religious beliefs, their inner and esoteric talent, etc. Reversed, in addition to indicating negative thoughts, it can have a connection with subonsciousness and the powers that are buried within it, or with thought-forms and spirits.

Three of Spades – The Widower (Vedovo)

The Widower is one of the primary culprits we look for when discussing rituals, whether religious or magical. This is especially true when the card is reversed. It is also the card of graveyards and graveyard magic, and it can indicate sects (mostly in a negative sense).

Five of Spades – Death (Morte)

The Death card is always very incisive. It can talk about the person’s aura being out of wack, and it is one of the possible cards representing the summoning of dark forces, especially when reversed.

Eight of Spades – Desperation and Jealousy (Disperato per Gelosia)

The Eight of Spades is strongly connected with magical attacks, whether upright or reversed. It is indicative of demonic presences or dealing with dark forces in a negative sence. Being the card of envy, it can indicate the ill will of the dark magician. Spiritually, it can herald a crisis of faith or beliefs, either leading to loss of faith or to conversion.

Nine of Spades – The Prison (Prigione)

On a positive note, it can indicate the taking of religious vows (which bind us). More commonly it indicates feelings of guilt or feeling limited. Magically it represents the creation of magical bonds.

Ten of Spades – The Soldier (Militare)

Another strongly esoteric card, the Soldier is the card of the night, and therefore of the occult (which means that which is hidden). Because it is the card of attacks, esoterically it can show the tackling of the problem, or more commonly the psychic attack.

King of Spades – The Priest (Sacerdote)

Just like the two Enemies, the Priest can represent a magician. However, it usually signifies the magus in a more neutral and high sense, unless the card is reversed. Spiritually it can indicate spiritual institutions and religions, but also divine justice.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Playing Cards, Tarot, Vera Sibilla

The Door Knockers – A Deep Dive into Italian Cartomancy

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In almost all cartomancy systems, Italian or otherwise, the Ace of Hearts/Cups is the house. Here the Sibilla is an exception, since it relegates the House to the Two of Hearts, although the Ace of Hearts still has connections to the idea of family and people living together. In the second most widespread Sibilla deck in Italy, which is the Sibilla Regionale, which uses the suits of the Neapolitan cards, the Ace of Cups is once again the house.

One thing I have so far never found in non-Italian systems, which on the contrary is very widespread in Italy, is the concept of the door knockers, also known as ‘close to home’. This is a meaning that is found in many regional Italian cartomancy systems, and keep in mind that almost everything in Italy is regional, since regions have a much older history as separate states than Italy itself, if we discount the Roman Empire.

When I was taught to read playing cards, my teacher told me that the Two of Hearts is “al martel di porta”, knocking at the door. This refers to the way old house doors are made in many European countries, including Italy, where door knockers were used back when you couldn’t ring at the door. At least in Italy door knockers are still very much en vogue, though mostly as a decorative element.

The idea of the Two of Hearts as “the door knockers” is a reference to the fact that door knockers usually come in twos and to the fact that the Two of Hearts comes right after the Ace, which is the house, so that the Two is quite literally close to the home.

This meaning is also found in many systems for reading Piacentine cards, where the Two of Cups takes on that meaning (in some other systems this meaning is given to the Two of Wands) as well as in the Bolognese Tarot, where it’s the Ace of Swords that depicts it, due to the odd shape of the picture.

In some systems I am aware of, there are two distinct cards: the door knockers and the roof of the house. This is true for some systems employing Piacentine cards, where the Two of Cups is the door knockers and the Four of Wands is the roof.

This distinction is also found in the Bolognese tarot, where the Ace of Swords depicts the door knockers and the Seven of Cups the roof of the house. In the oldest surviving system for reading the Bolognese tarot, which dates back to before the French revolution (I talk about it here), the Knight of Wands indicated the door knockers and the Ten of Cups the roof of the house. Clearly, therefore, this symbolism is deeply ingrained in Italian cartomancy.

According to the person who taught me the 45-card system of Bolognese tarot, the Ace of Swords, the door knockers, tends to show something close to home in a temporal sense (about to happen) whereas the Seven of Cups, the roof, is more connected to everyday life, to our close environment and to the protection of people surrounding us, as well as to the family in a more extended sense. Germana Tartari, who initiated me to the 50-card system, which she was taught by her grandmother and by some of her grandmother’s friends, uses the Nine of Cups as ‘the staircase to the house‘, again mostly in a temporal sense as something about to happen.

On the other hand, in the system for reading playing cards that I was taught, the Two of Hearts covers both possibilities: it indicates something about to knock at the door or it can show family situations, people who are close to us etc.

I have never found this symbolism in other non-Italian systems. If you did, feel free to drop me a line, as it would be very interesting. Manuel Arcuri, an American reader who was taught to read playing cards by his Italian grandmother, says somewhere that his grandmother called the Two of Hearts “l’attesa”, which means waiting or expectation, as of something about to happen. He doesn’t mention door knockers though.

Furthermore, many card reading systems I have read about assign the meaning of “within two weeks” to the Two of Hearts, which once again gives us the idea of something about to knock at the door. Interestingly, Regina Russell‘s playing card system uses the Two of Hearts to indicate excitement for something that is about to happen, expectation and even pregnancy (expecting a child).

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Seven of Pentacles or Coins

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(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 Seven of Pentacles from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the third decanate of Taurus, under the rulership of Saturn, May 11 to 20. Meanings:
Well-Dignified: slight gains, but of small account; much labor for small returns.
Ill-Dignified: something promising turns out badly; loss in speculation and unprofitable employment; financial restriction; unrealized hopes and
wishes.
Keyword: Loss
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

A young man, leaning on his staff, looks intently at seven pentacles attached to a clump of greenery on his right; one would say that these were his treasures and that his heart was there. Divinatory Meanings: These are exceedingly contradictory; in the main, it is a card of money, business, barter; but one reading gives altercation, quarrels–and another innocence, ingenuity, purgation. Reversed: Cause for anxiety regarding money which it may be proposed to lend.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

The Seven of Pentacles from the Rider Waite Smith tarot

Aleister Crowley

The Seven of Disks is called Failure. This suit gives the extreme of passivity; there is no positive virtue in it below the Abyss. This card is ruled by Saturn. Compare it with the three other Sevens; there is no effort here; not even dream; the stake has been thrown down, and it is lost. That is all. Labour itself is abandoned; every thing is sunk in sloth.

[…]

The number Seven, Netzach, has its customary enfeebling effect, and this is made worse by the influence of Saturn in Taurus. The disks are arranged in the shape of the geomantic figure Rubeus, the most ugly and menacing of the Sixteen. (See Five of Cups.) The atmosphere of the card is that of Blight. On the background, which represents vegetation and cultivation, everything is spoiled. The four colours of Netzach appear, but they are blotched with angry indigo and reddish orange. The disks themselves are the leaden disks of Saturn. They suggest bad money.
(From The Book of Thoth)

The Seven of Disks from the Thoth Tarot

Golden Dawn’s Book T

A WHITE Radiating Angelic Hand issuing from a cloud, and holding a white rose branch. Seven Pentacles arranged like the geomantic figure Rubeus. There are only five buds, which overhang, but do not touch the five uppermost Pentacles. Above and below are the Decan symbols, Saturn and Taurus respectively.

Promises of success unfulfilled. (Shewn, as it were, by the fact that the rosebuds do not come to anything.) Loss of apparently promising fortune. Hopes deceived and crushed. Disappointment, misery, slavery, necessity and baseness. A cultivator of land, and yet a loser thereby. Sometimes it denotes slight and isolated gains with no fruits resulting therefrom, and of no further account, though seeming to promise well.

Netzach of HB:H (Unprofitable speculations and employments; little gain for much labour).
Therein HB:HRChAL and HB:MTzRAL are ruling Angels.

Etteilla

Money
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Money, Wealth, Sum, Coin. – Silver. – Whiteness, Purity, Candor, Innocence, Naiveté, Moon. – Purgation, Purification.
Reversed. Restlessness, Torment of spirit, Impatience, Affliction, Remorse, Concern, Solicitude, Care, Attention, Diligence, Application. – Apprehension, Fear, Distrust, Misgiving, Suspicion.

MQS

Card Meanings, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot, Uncategorized

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Seven of Swords

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(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 Seven of Swords from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the third decanate of Aquarius, February 9 to 18, under the rulership of Venus.
Well-Dignified: partial success; the Querent is too easy-going or does not draw sufficiently on his reserve force; he has good opportunities but may not make the most of them; he is likely to compromise too easily.
Ill-Dignified: love of ease and display cause loss; the Querent suffers from the insolence of others and may be insolent himself; there is danger that his own confidence may be betrayed, or that he may be led into betraying the confidence of others.
Keyword: Instability.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

A man in the act of carrying away five swords rapidly; the two others of the card remain stuck in the ground. A camp is close at hand. Divinatory Meanings: Design, attempt, wish, hope, confidence; also quarrelling, a plan that may fail, annoyance. The design is uncertain in its import, because the significations are widely at variance with each other. Reversed: Good advice, counsel, instruction, slander, babbling.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

The Seven of Swords from the Rider Waite Smith tarot

Aleister Crowley

The Seven of Swords is called Futility. This is a yet weaker card than the Seven of Wands. It has a passive sign instead of an active one, a passive planet instead of an active one. It is like a rheumatic boxer trying to “come back” after being out of the ring for years. Its ruler is the Moon. The little energy that it possesses is no more than dream-work; it is quite incapable of the sustained labour which alone, bar miracles, can bring any endeavour to fruition. The comparison with the Seven of Wands is most instructive.

[…]

Netzach, in the suit of Swords, does not represent such catastrophe as in the other suits, for Netzach, the Sephira of Venus, means victory. There is, therefore, a modifying influence; and this is accentuated by the celestial rule of the Moon in Aquarius.

The intellectual wreckage of the card is thus not so vehement as in the Five. There is vacillation, a wish to compromise, a certain toleration. But, in certain circumstances, the results may be more disastrous than ever. This naturally depends upon the success of the policy. This is always in doubt as long as there exist violent, uncompromising forces which take it as a natural prey.

This card, like the Four, suggests the policy of appeasement. The symbol shows six Swords with their hilts in crescent formation. Their points meet below the centre of the card, impinging upon a blade of a much larger up-thrusting sword, as if there were a contest between the many feeble and the one strong. He strives in vain.
(From the Book of Thoth)

The Seven of Swords from the Thoth tarot deck

Golden Dawn’s Book T

TWO Angelic Radiating Hands as before, each holding three swords. A third hand holds up a single sword in the centre. The points of all the swords “just touch” each other, the central sword not altogether dividing them.
The Rose of the previous symbols of this suit is held up by the same hand which holds the central sword: as if the victory were at its disposal. Symbols of Moon and Aquarius.

Partial success. Yielding when victory is within grasp, as if the last reserves of strength were used up. Inclination to lose when on the point of gaining, through not continuing the effort. Love of abundance, fascinated by display, given to compliments, affronts and insolences, and to spy upon others. Inclined to betray confidences, not always intentionally. Rather vacillatory and unreliable.
Netzach of HB:V (Journey by land: in character untrustworthy).
Herein rule the Great Angels HB:HHHAL and HB:Ma’aKAL.

Etteilla

Hope
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Hope, Expectation, Expectation, Pretending, Founding, Overestimating, Founding, Designing, Willing, Wanting, Wishing, Vowing, Wanting, Taste, Fantasy.
Reversed. Wise opinion, Good advice, Salutary warnings, Instruction, Lesson. – Observation, Reflection, Note, Caution, Thoughtfulness. – Reprehension, Reprimand. – News, Announcement, Posting. – Consultation, Admonition.

MQS

Card Meanings, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Seven of Cups

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(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 Seven of Cups from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the third decanate of Scorpio, November 11 to November 20, under the subrulership of the Moon.
Well-Dignified: possible victory, but the person to whom the card applies may be too indolent to take advantage of his opportunities for commanding circumstance. Success may be gained, but not followed up; necessity for choosing only the highest objectives.
lll-Dignified: illusionary success; lying and deceit; drunkenness; violence, even lust.
Keyword: Illusion
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

Strange chalices of vision, but the images are more especially those of the fantastic spirit. Divinatory Meanings: Fairy favours, images of reflection, sentiment, imagination, things seen in the glass of contemplation; some attainment in these degrees, but nothing permanent or substantial is suggested. Reversed: Desire, will, determination, project.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

The Seven of Cups from the Rider Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Aleister Crowley

The Seven of Cups is called Debauch. This is one of the worst ideas that one can have; its mode is poison, its goal madness. It represents the delusion of Delirium Tremens and drug addiction; it represents the sinking into the mire of false pleasure. There is something almost suicidal in this card. It is particularly bad because there is nothing whatever to balance it-no strong planet to hold it up. Venus goes after Venus, and Earth is churned into the scorpion morass.

[…]

This card refers to the Seven, Netzach, in the suit of Water. Here recurs the invariable weakness arising from lack of balance; also, the card is governed by Venus in Scorpio. Her dignity is not good in this Sign; one is reminded that Venus is the planet of Copper, “external splendour and internal corruption”. The Lotuses have become poisonous, looking like tiger-lilies; and, instead of water, green slime issues from them and overflows, making the Sea a malarious morass. Venus redoubles the influence of the number Seven.

The cups are iridescent, carrying out the same idea. They are arranged as two descending triangles interlaced above the lowest cup, which is very much larger than the rest. This card is almost the “evil and averse” image of the Six; it is a wholesome reminder of the fatal ease with which a Sacrament may be profaned and prostituted.

Lose direct touch with Kether, the Highest; diverge never so little from the delicate balance of the Middle Pillar; at once the holiest mysteries of Nature become the obscene and shameful secrets of a guilty conscience.
(From The Book of Thoth)

The Seven of Cups from the Thoth Tarot

Golden Dawn’s Book T

THE seven cups are arranged as two descending triangles above a point: a hand, as usual, holds lotus stems which arise from the central lower cup. The hand is above this cup and below the middle one. With the exception of the central lower cup, each is overhung by a lotus flower, but no water falls from these into any of the cups, which are all quite empty. Above and below are the symbols of the Decanate Venus and Scorpio.

Possible victory, but neutralized by the supineness of the person: illusionary success, deception in the moment of apparent victory. Lying, error, promises unfulfilled. Drunkenness, wrath, vanity. Lust, fornication, violence against women, selfish dissipation, deception in love and friendship. Often success gained, but not followed up. Modified as usual by dignity.

Netzach of HB:H (Lying, promises unfulfilled; illusion, deception, error; slight success at outset, not retained).
Herein the Angels HB:MLHAL and HB:ChHVYH rule.

Etteilla

Thought
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Thought, Soul, Spirit, Intelligence, Idea, Memory, Imagination, Understanding, Conception, Meditation, Contemplation, Reflection, Deliberation, Viewpoint, Opinion, Feeling.
Reversed. Plan, Design, Intention, Desire, Will, Resolution, Determination, Forethought.

MQS

Card Combinations, Card Meanings, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot, Uncategorized

Bolognese Tarot – How to Tackle Combinations

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Life is a recipe, and the art of living consists in large part in detecting the ingredients to know if and how to mix them differently. Divination is a mirror of life, and oracular systems usually have some kind of vocabulary to create descriptions of life.

In traditional divination by cards, each card carries small bits of meaning that must be mixed together to form coherent pictures. If divination mirrors life, then it stands to reason that the recipe for something in real life should be mirrored by a recipe for that same thing in the divinatory language. This is how all card reading systems I know work, and that’s how the Bolognese tarot works, with the exception of a couple of universal combinations with odd meanings (Angel + Devil = Good news or satisfaction; Sun + Moon = sorrow; Angel + Death = yes, confirmed).

Let us make an example. What are the ingredients of an inheritance in real life? I would say the ingredients are: death (no inheritance without someone croaking); family ties (usually we inherit from someone whom we are related to, though not always); the law (inheritances are generally regulated by the law and require a bureaucratic mechanism to be set in motion); material possessions (the things we inherit).

In the language of the Bolognese tarot, these ingredients correspond to the following cards: Death: Death; Family ties: Ace of Cups and/or Seven of Cups; The Law: Justice and/or King of Coins; Material Possessions: The Star and/or a money card.

Do we need all the cards to be present? It much depends on the context. If the question is directly about an inheritance, then we could do without many of these cards, while if it is a general reading then the more cards, the clearer the message. But we might also find other cards to flavor the basic recipe: the Moon is also connected with death (the realm of shadows); tears may sometimes be expected, so the Seven of Coins could come up; the court card of the deceased person could show up, etc.

Let us make another example. Let’s take surgery. What’s the recipe for surgery in real life? I would say: a hospital, a bed, a doctor, a cutting instrument. In the Bolognese tarot these same ingredients are: Hospital: The Tower; Bed: The Chariot; Doctor: King of Coins; Cutting instrument: Knight of Swords.

Again, there can be additions and variations. The doctor or the bed might be absent, while the Ten of Cups (blood) or the Moon (unpleasantness) or the Eight of Swords (suffering) might be present. A King or Queen of Swords may take the doctor’s place to show someone holding the knife. Just like my lasagne recipe might differ from yours, but it would still be recognized as lasagne, so the way the deck mixes the ingredients might vary slightly from time to time, but the broad picture remains the same.

One last example. Let’s take marriage. In many situations, a marriage requires the following ingredients: a commitment; love (let’s assume the best intentions in this case); a celebrant. The same ingredients are, in the language of the Bolognese tarot: Love: Love; Commitment: Ace of Wands or Ace of Swords; Celebrant: The Stranger. This is the basic recipe. But we might also expect the main significators to show up. A marriage is a celebration, so the Ten of Cups (fun) might be expected; the family life is certainly impacted, so some Cup cards could be there.

Once we start recognizing that life is made up of ingredients mixed together, it becomes easy (or at least easier) to see how the tarot might mix its own ingredients, the cards, to match the recipe. In many cases, while it is useful to reason out the combinations handed down by tradition, it is much easier to understand the basic principles and be flexible in our observations.

Ultimately, divination starts with logic, not with psychic powers, even though psychic abilities may occasionally be of help. The more we immerse ourselves in the logic of divination, the easier it becomes to decode its messages.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Everyday Oracle, Fortune-telling, Sibilla della Zingara, Vera Sibilla

Vera Sibilla Cards That Indicate Protection or Improvement

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Two of Hearts – The House
In most situations, the House card is relatively neutral, as it often indicates the person’s home environment or family, or some other place depending on the combinations. However, in itself the card, when upright, symbolizes a protective environment where the querent feels safe and taken care of. Figuratively, it shows situations that are solid, positive and protective (so you feel at home).

Eight of Hearts – Hope
The Hope card’s main meaning is that of representing the hopes and wishes of the querent, and the cards following it will tell us if they come true or not. However, it also indicates the solution of trouble or compensation for it, as the card says “there is hope”. This is especially the case when the Eight of Hearts comes up after a negative sequence of cards. Sometimes the Hope card’s intervention may not be enough to give us what we want, but it will make sure that we come out of a situation still alive and breathing, and with some kind of hope.

King of Hearts – The Gentleman
The King of Hearts is, in most situation, a neutral person card, indicating a married man or an older man. However, it does indicate someone who has our interest at heart (unless it is reversed or surrounded by cards of dubious moral quality). He is the archetype of the philanthropist who is out to help others. For this reason, in spiritual readings, it represents God or a saint.

Two of Clubs – The Peacock
The best card in the deck, the Two of Clubs represents divine intervention (due to its symbolism of completeness and rebirth). It often shows up to protect us from the worst that could happen, or to increase the quality of something that is already good. It often shows positive undercurrents that do not manifest immediately in all their positive import, but which will save us, protect us or enrich us when they do manifest. For this reason it is known as the talisman card.

Five of Clubs – Fortune
While the Two of Clubs indicates divine intervention, the Five of Clubs represents gifts from heaven in the form of good luck. It often indicates positive turns of events, a turn of the wheel that brings us something we want us, or at least something good. Unlike the Two of Clubs, it retains its positivity when reversed, but it becomes delayed or less blatant, maybe a bit less satisying

Seven of Clubs – Gratification
The Seven of Clubs is a card of satisfaction, but it also represents our ability to reach our aims and ambitions in the real world. It represents the achievement of goals and reaching of landmarks in one’s life (marriage, promotion, property, recognition, etc.) However, the card can also represent “a light at the end of the tunnel” when it falls after negative cards, indicating, as it were, our ability to pick ourselves up.

Ten of Clubs Reversed – Levity
The Butterfly is a symbol of carefreeness, lack of focus and lack of attention. When it is reversed, however, it shows carefulness with one’s finances and, even more importantly, the arrival of good occasions that need to be seized. Although it is not a card of protection per se, it does show us a way out (a new therapy, a new job opportunity, a new meeting, etc.)

Three of Diamonds Reversed – The Gift
Again, not a card of protection, but still a welcome sight. It shows situations that somehow sort themselves out, at least in part. It is a relatively weak card, so the presence of very difficult situations may be mitigated only in part, and often it shows some kind of improvement rather than triumph.

Four of Diamonds Reversed – Falsehood
When upright, the cat brings falseness and negativity in general. Negativity is to be understood broadly as situations that are negative or bad for us (even when there is no direct lying involved). When it is reversed, the same card brings positivity, relief, solution of trouble.

MQS