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

Vera Sibilla | Eight of Hearts – Hope (Speranza)

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Name: Hope
Italian Name: Speranza
Playing Card: 8♥
Polarity when Upright: Positive
Core Meanings: Hope, Expectation | Optimism, Faith | Ease | Situations clearing up
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Pessimism, Depression, Sadness | Frivolity | Situations going up in smoke

Card Description: a young, bare-chested woman holding on to an anchor and looking confidently into the distance, symbolized by the ocean.

Suit and Number: All eights in the Vera Sibilla deal with balance and the path toward balance. The Eight of Hearts, signifies a positive situation which is balanced in that it corresponds, in reality, to what our dreams are within ourselves, and is also the realization of hopes, and therefore development toward a more balanced situation.

UPRIGHT 8♥

General: Extremely positive in itself, but also rather easily influenced by negative cards coming after it. When it ends a combination, however, it shows that no matter how difficult it seems, it will turn out well, things will clear up.

Love and Relationships: in the main, the card shows positive relationships, where there ease and mutual feelings. It signals smooth interpersonal relationships. It can also signify the realization of romantic hopes. That being said, the Eight of Hearts is also the card of flirts, therefore it shows situations that, while positive, still need a bit of time to develop further. They will, if there are positive cards. Otherwise it shows a flash in the pan, a summertime romance that leads to nothing further (even if it’s winter). This comes from the notion of ease attached to the card, for relationships that are easy tends to be also rather weak.

Work and Money: again, the Hope card is connected to the realization of hopes, to positive developments and to the end of difficult periods. It’s connected to jobs done near or on the water, to jobs to do with faith or psychic skills and to your dream job in general. As far as money is concerned, it shows a relaxed situation, repaid loans and not worrying too much. It is also one of the dignificator cards of investments and liquid assets, because investments need time to develop and yield the hoped for results, and because liquid assets are connected with water.

Other: psychologically it’s a card of optimism. It can show the end of a depression, or, followed by negative cards, the beginning of it due to crushed hopes. Spiritually it’s the card of faith and belief and is also connected to the astral plane of dreams and astral forms. As said, it signifies the water and water places, and is also a card of distance, and may even signify “abroad”.

Important Combinations:
8♥ + 10♣ = a flirt, nothing serious
4♥ + 8♥ = romantic hopes realized
8♥ + 6♥ = positive investment, or getting back loaned money
8♥ + 9♣ = can be having fun on the waterfront, a trip on the beach, etc.
8♥ + 7♠ or 5♠ = disruption of hopes

REVERSED 8♥R

General: Negative. It is, for the most part, the opposite of the upright, or the same as the upright when negative cards surround it. If, when upright, it showed situations clearing up, reversed it shows situations going up in smoke.

Love and Relationships: many traditional combinations allude to this card heralding engagements being called off and the like. This is true, but more broadly the card, when it describes personal relationships, it qualifies them as frivolous in the utmost. It’s also the card of promiscuity and just downright being a slut (regardless of sex). It can also point to dates being called off, being stood up, or hopes of romantic fulfillment being remaining just that, hopes.

Work and Money: plans, contracts, offers, all goes up in smoke. Colleagues are not trustworthy, and investments will probably not yield dividends.

Other: psychologically it’s a card of sadness, pessimism and being down, but in itself it can be a passing thing unless with other cards of similar meaning. Spiritually it shows loss of faith, atheism or satanism (not in the Uncle Setnakt’s sense. Actual satanism). It can point to danger through water.

Important Combinations:
5♦ + 8♥R = depression, deep sadness
8♣ + 8♥R = date or reconciliation going up in smoke
7♥ + 8♥R = contract going up in smoke
8♥R + 2♣ + 5♣ = unhoped for recovery
6♥ + 8♥R = investments down the drain

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Eights

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

Vera Sibilla | Seven of Spades – Disaster (Disgrazia)

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Name: Disaster
Italian Name: Disgrazia
Playing Card: 7♠
Polarity when Upright: Negative
Core Meanings: Disruption, Breakup, Turbulence, Accidents | All that from the outside disrupts our plans | Aggession, Aggressiveness, Anger, Wrath | Suddenness
Polarity when Reversed: Very Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Complete Ruin or Downfall | Oppression, Enslavement, Utter Helplessness Slowness, Hesitation, Lack of development, Promising things that don’t grow | Tantrums, Childishness | Gullibility again | Being off to a bad start

Card Description: a building being devastated by a sudden fire or explosion.

Suit and Number: The Sevens in the Sibilla deal with plans and projects. The Seven of Spades represents either the ruination of projects, their disruption from unforeseen events, or it represents aggressive stances, a destructive attitude as opposed to the constructive one of the Seven of Hearts.

UPRIGHT 7♠

General: Almost universally negative, the Disaster card is connected with disruption in all its forms. It represents irrational forces destroying our carefully crafted plans or hopes, or at least forcing us to reconsider some aspects of them. It heralds sudden disturbances in all fields and it is connected with anger. When it comes up with positive cards, especially at the beginning of a row of cards, it show that the positive event will strike us soon and when we least expect it.

Love and Relationships: In the aforementioned case of the card falling with positive cards, it often signifies love at first sight, which completely disrupt the person’s lives or, if the querent is already with someone, sudden positive events for the couple (which will be described by the cards). This is just about the only positive meaning of the card. Otherwise it heralds separations, arguments and much anger. Note that when it falls after a significator card, it shows the person to be easily angered, either in general or within the context of the question, showing them to become potentially violent or abusive. When the card heralds a breakup, it is not always definitive. If cards of reconciliation follow, then the argument will be followed by making up. If it falls with other negative cards, though, it shows the end of the relationship, and the presence of other positive cards will usually show a positive future with someone else.

Work and Money: Needless to say, the Seven of Spades brings bad luck into the life of the querent. It is a card of loss, and represents the failure of projects. Career-wise it can stand for being terminated, especially without notice or without expecting it. It also represents all those things that we must deal with financially that force us to reconsider our plans, such as taxation (which clearly the Sibilla doesn’t see in a very positive light). If you are making plans of any nature, but especially financial plans, you will probably need to consider them carefully before acting them out, because there is a risk of making mistakes that will cause the plan to fail. Careers signified by this card tend to be in connection with taxes, fire, explosives, electricity and danger.

Other: Psychologically, the Seven of Spades is a card of anger, and it represents the inability to step out of your immediate reactions and feelings, but acting rather impulsively on them without stopping to consider, usually with negative or unbalanced results. It is also a card of accidents, but be careful. It is not enough to have the Seven of Spades with a card of travel to represent an accident, especially a serious one. If the other cards in the spread don’t support the interpretation, look for another one (a sudden removal, perhaps?) Because the Disaster card signifies sudden disruption and cuts, it is also the card of surgery. Spiritually it shows negative forces, the punishment of errors or, with positive cards, the end of delusion (usually in a somewhat traumatic fashion).

Important Combinations:

10♣ + 7♠ = carelessness leading to accident
K♠ + 7♠ = loss of a lawsuit, among other things
4♥ + 7♠ = argument, breakup (in itself not necessarily definitive)
7♠ + 2♦ or J♦ = a message that arrives quickly
3♦ + 7♠ = can be the breaking of an object

REVERSED 7♠R

General: brace yourselves, because the reversed Seven of Spades is THE worst card in the deck. There is absolutely nothing positive to be said about it. If, when upright, it signifies the disruption of plans and life by external forces, when reversed it shows the utter victory of those forces on the person. It’s a card of ruination, despotism, slavery, oppression. It’s everything the querent is impotent against.

Love and Relationships: When a breakup is shown by this card, you don’t need any other negative cards in the spread. The relationship is over. Period. Often it shows interpersonal dynamics where one person crushes the other, enslaves them as it were, either literally or figuratively. This varies in degree depending on the other cards, and can range from someone who is somewhat despotic to a literal torturer depending on the situation. If more than a face card shows up near the reversed Disaster card, usually the reversed face cards are the victims, or, alternatively, those closest to cards showing suffering.

Work and Money: Working conditions are likely to be insatisfactory to the utmost degree, and will usually go beyond simple pressure from your superiors. The card stands from unpaid slave work, tyrannical superiors or coworkers and an utterly nasty work environment. All projects fail without any hope under this card, and termination is also likely.

Other: The card signifies one who is completely at the mercy of a despotic power, be it traumas, addictions or other people. Psychologically it shows someone who is unable to get back to their feet. With cards of evil, it shows someone with a very dark soul. Spiritually it shows the triumph of evil forces, and it can signify possessions and dark magic.

Important Combinations:

7♠R + J♣ + 9♦ or 9♣R = a young man slave to an addiction
7♠R + K♦R + 5♦R = work bordering on slave labor
7♠R + Q♦ or K♣ = a tyrannical mother or father
J♥ or Q♥ + 7♠R + 8♠ = a boyfriend or girlfriend who are overbearing due to jealousy

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Sevens

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

Vera Sibilla | Seven of Diamonds – Child (Bambino)

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Name: Child
Italian Name: Bambino
Playing Card: 7♦
Polarity when Upright: Positive
Core Meanings: A child | A pet | Newness, New things, New ideas, New outlook, New project | Smallness | Gullibility, Simple-mindedness
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Problems with a child or pet | Slowness, Hesitation, Lack of development, Promising things that don’t grow | Tantrums, Childishness | Gullibility again | Being off to a bad start

Card Description: a newly born child sleeping in its cradle.

Suit and Number: Sevens have to do with ideas, projects and such things. In the suit of Diamonds this notion is interpreted to mean new ideas, new projects and new ways of looking at the world. All other meanings derive from this and from the image of the child.

UPRIGHT 7♦R

General: It can be a significator card for a child or a pet, i.e., a “small soul”. More often than not, as few readings revolve around children and animals, it represents newness in all its forms. It is something that has just begun (or will be beginning) and has a future ahead of it (the future completion is represented by the Seven of Clubs, Gratification).

Love and Relationships: Often, the Seven of Diamonds represents new relationships which haven’t yet settled into a routine. This is true for all kinds of personal relationships, including friendships. It goes without saying that it represents a child, usually a boy unless attended by feminine face cards. It is not a good card when the querent asks about a possible reconciliation, as it normally shows new relationships, i.e., relationships with people not from the past. However, if this card is surrounded by cards representing a reconciliation, it can show that the relationship will resume on new, and probably more positive foundations. This is, of course, a rare instance.

Work and Money: Normally it refers to new ventures and new jobs or projects. It is a card of strong creativity, so the querent usually has no problem coming up with new ideas, and has the ability to bring in new perspectives. It shows works connected with children or with pets (not with animals in general, though). With negative cards it often shows inexperience. It can also signify internships, propationary periods and being the new recruit in general.

Other: Psychologically it can stand for simplicity, both in a positive and in a negative sense, according to the surrounding cards. A person signified by the Seven of Diamonds usually dislike artificial things and overly elaborate things, preferring the genuine joy found in small things. Speaking of which, the card can signify something small, although it is an uncommon meaning. When with negative cards it can imply that the querent should stop being naive, because he is likely to be led on or, more simply, to make mistakes based on inexperience. It does, however, show purity of heart, both psychologically and spiritually.

Important Combinations:

7♦ + 4♥ = a new love or the first love
7♦ + 5♥ = traditionally it represents cuddling and kissing (sweet, innocent engagement with the other) but it can mean many other things
7♦ + 4♦ = mistakes caused by inexperience
7♦ + 10♣ = naivety (if 7♦R it’s worse)
7♣ + 7♦ + 8♥ = can be the realization of your childhood dreams, among other things

REVERSED 7♦R

General: when it acts as a significator it points to issues with children or pets. Otherwise, it heralds hesitation, situations that do not develop inspite of the initial promise, and can point to the negative character traits typical of children, even in people who should have grown up by now.

Love and Relationships: Often the card brings slowness to the spread, so in relationship issues it normally signifies that the bond is not developing beyond the initial stage, or that a person is taking forever to make a move. It points to immaturite partners (or querents, of course) who are not ready for a commitment, or a childish crush that leads to nothing further. Children and pets could behave badly or be sick.

Work and Money: Any plans made under the rulership of this card is usually either cursed from the beginning or, if positive cards follow, that it will take much longer than anticipated to bear fruit. Same goes with investments and other money matters, such as getting back loaned money. A person card next to the reversed Child card is unreliable and immature and should not be trusted with your money, not necessarily because they are bad, but they simply haven’t grown up. This is also true for colleagues

Other: the card shows childishness, tantrums, and all other signs of immaturity. Like its upright counterpart, it can still point to gullibility, but in a much more deeply rooted form.

Important Combinations:

7♦R + 2♦ = a delay in the arrival of correspondence
A♥ + 7♦R = hesitancy in opening up | can mean stuttering
7♦R + 5♦ = can signify a childish tantrum among other things
7♦R + 6♠ = very long delay
7♦R + 4♠ = can be a sick child or pet

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Sevens

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

Vera Sibilla | Six of Spades – Sighs (Sospiri)

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Name: Sighs
Italian Name: Sospiri
Playing Card: 6♠
Polarity when Upright: Negative
Core Meanings: Time stretching out | Waiting | Torment, Anxiety
Polarity when Reversed: Neutral
Reversed Core Meanings: Instability | The end of desire and sighs, Letting go | Resolve | the need to listen to reason

Card Description: a young woman sighing as a ship departs, possibly with her lover.

Suit and Number: Sixes have to do with time, and the suit of Spades interpret the idea as delays and spasmodic expectations.

UPRIGHT 6♠

General: Negative but not tragic. Also relatively simple. It is mainly a card of delay, of waiting before something finally happens. Usually, if a combination comes before the Six of Spades (that is, if the Woman is looking at it) then the thing depicted by the cards is the source of the querent’s worry (but it doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen). If the combination comes after the card, then the thing will happen, but after much delay. Also, if a Face card falls after the Sighs, the sighs belong to the person.

Love and Relationships: an uncertain card that tells of great apprehension and worries concerning a relationship of any kind. It can mean that the person has great, possibly unrealistic expectations. It can also mean that the person is waiting desperately for something to happen, e.g. that someone will come to them. If confirmed by other cards, it could show feelings that are not mutual, and therefore cause the person sorrow. In a couple it may show that one of the two is almost maniacal about what they expect, and therefore fail to see what they have. It can also show worry over a long distance relationship, with other cards.

Work and Money: the Six of Spades comes up when plans and speculations are taking much too long to mature. It also shows that the person does not have the mental lucidity to make decisions because they are too attached to something (for instance, a businessman failing to see that it’s time to move on from a venture). More broadly it signifies lack of initiative and pessimism in the area.

Other: like the Eight of Hearts, the card is connected to Water, but in a more negative sense. It is also connected with large means of transport. Psychologically it points to anxiety, excessive worry and attachments, the inability to see a bright future.

Important Combinations:
6♠ + 5♠ = what you are waiting for won’t happen
6♠ + 7♠ = what you are waiting for will cause trouble
6♣ + 6♠ = the desire to get everything now
8♥ + 6♠ = mood fluctuations, hope and despair
2♦ + 6♠ = anxiously waiting for a communication

REVERSED 6♠R

General: A mixed bag. It is a card of uncertainty and fluctuation. More specifically though, it is a card clarity, of understanding and of moving on from something or someone. It is best understood as “no sighs”. If the card falls between cards of opposite meanings, it signifies ups and downs between those extremes.

Love and Relationships: often this card shows the realization that a love is over, or that a person is not interested. There is a sense of acceptance of what is. With positive cards it can show that the couple is finally capable of addressing an issue that’s been weighing on the people involved. The reversed Six of Spades can also show that the partner will finally be honest with the querent (or vice versa). Explanation will be given to unburden the conscience. It signifies announcements and making things public.

Work and Money: often it shows moving on from a plan or project after toiling and sighing and worrying without much to show for it. Because of its connection with the idea of making things public, the card signifies writing, publishing and communication.  It can also imply that the person realizes a certain line of work is not for them.

Other: we said that the reversed Sighs signifies lack of sighs, not worrying anymore. With negative cards that point to evil deeds, it can show that these are committed without sighing too much, i.e. remorselessly. Both psychologically and spiritually it can point to profound inner strength in working through like, the ability to renounce and move on. It can shoe the ability to be honest with yourself. It is good for kicking addictions. The card invites to listen to reason, therefore when near cards that show professional help it signifies that the querent cannot count on his strength alone and needs someone to help him.

Important Combinations:
7♠ + 5♦ + 6♠R + positive cards = moving on from a breakup
5♠ + 3♠ + 5♦ + 6♠R = moving on from a period of bereavement
9♦ or 9♣R + 9♠ + 6♠R = realizing you have a problem
6♠R + A♥ or A♦ = unburdening yourself
6♥ + 6♠R + 8♦R = economic ups and downs

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Sixes

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

Vera Sibilla | Six of Diamonds – Thought (Pensiero)

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Name: Thought
Italian Name: Pensiero
Playing Card: 6♦
Polarity when Upright: Neutral
Core Meanings: Consciensce, the Inner Side, Character | Reflection, Planning, Study
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Negative thoughts or plans | Illusion | Lack of talent | Subconsciousness

Card Description: a man carefully meditating a plan before writing it down on a piece of parchment.

Suit and Number: Sixes have to do with the flow of time. In this suit, we take a look at the consciousness of the querent, which reflects on the past and plans for the future. Like the Six of Clubs, it tends to be a card of the present, but more in the sense of what’s present to the person’s mind.

UPRIGHT 6♦

General: A neutral card representing the inner side of the querent’s life. Here we find out about their character, their intentions, their attitudes, their plans, their vocations, etc. One thing to always keep in mind is that what is planned is not necessarily what is done. This is a static card. If cards showing movement or action follow, then the plan will be executed. The Ten of Hearts, being a card of concreteness and certainty, allows the plan to be carried out. Note: usually this card shows the Querent’s thoughts. However, if a Face card comes up right before it, then it’s that person’s thoughts.

Love and Relationships: This card can come up in relationship readings for a variety of reasons.  By itself the card shows that there is a meeting of the minds, that two people see eye to eye. However if there are negative cards it can show anger or a desire to break up the relationship, or to cheat. With cards of blockage it can show that one of the two is chickening out or having misgivings about their commitment. Needless to say, the card can also show a couple’s or group’s plans for the future.

Work and Money: again, the Six of Diamonds signifies the Querent’s thoughts and plans or attitudes. It can also show whether he or she has an affinity for the job, or if he has or lacks talent, though talent is more properly shown by the Seven of Hearts. Financially it can point to schemes and speculations, in a neutral sense, and it denotes that one puts a great deal of thought into a project and they are probably attached to it. Jobs signified by this card tend to be intellectual in nature, or at least not mindless.

Other: because it represents the inner side of the person, the Six of Diamonds is a card that can show little attachment to material things and possessions, and shows someone who looks for deeper meaning. It is also an important card in spiritual readings, as it can stand for the person’s inner development or their attitude toward the subject.

Important Combinations:
6♦ + 7♣ = ambition
6♦ + 10♣ = carelessness
6♦ + 7♦ = simplemindedness | wanting a child
6♦ + 9♥ = true fidelity | a person is as he or she appears
6♦ + 10♠U/R = hidden or unrevealed plans

REVERSED 6♦R

General: In the main it’s a negative card. It signifies negative plans, illusions, negative attitudes and the desire to do something bad. It can also signify subconsciousness and paranormal phenomena to do with spirits or psychological “gifts”, but this is VERY rare.

Love and Relationships: almost always negative, it points to incompatibility of character, and often to not liking someone, or growing to resent them. It can show the desire to break up a romance or that a promise is made without really meaning it. Sometimes it can show that the person harbors illusions about someone else.

Work and Money: plans born under this card are either wrong or evil, so any speculation is likely to prove disastrous. It can also represent that the querent isn’t doing anything to come out of a financially difficult situation, because, again, the Thought card is static. With cards signifying dubious moral qualities it points to swindles and scams. More often, it shows wrong plans.

Other: it points to lack of insight, delusions and lack of talent, either generally or in one area. Spiritually it is connected with sending or receiving bad vibes or, with positive cards, to the presence of psychic gifts. Psychologically it signifies subconsciousness.
It is a card of premeditation, so all that is done is done with the intent to harm.

Important Combinations:
6♦R + 4♦ = negative intentions
6♦R + 8♥ = it can signify prophetic dreams (but only in the right context)
6♦R + 7♥R = utter lack of talent | plotting and scheming
6♦R + 9♦ = traditionally ghosts, but many other interpretations are possible (unrealistic plans, morbid delusions, Baby Jane style)
6♦R + 7♠ + 10♠ + 5♠ = a plan to hurt or even worse

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Sixes

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

Vera Sibilla | Six of Clubs – Surprise (Consolante Sorpresa)

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Name: Surprise
Italian Name: Consolante Sorpresa (lit. Consoling Surprise)
Playing Card: 6♣
Polarity when Upright: Positive
Core Meanings: the Present, Quickly, Shortly | Money | Luck, Surprise | Receiving, Getting, Picking up, Harvesting
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Not getting, Not receiving | the need for great effort to reap small results | Downfall, Ruin of a project due to miscalculation

Card Description: a young fisherman pulls up the net he has cast, only to be pleasantly surprised by a bag full of money.

Suit and Number: all sixes have to do with time, and the Club suit interpets this by showing the present. It is a quick card. From here most other meanings derive.

UPRIGHT 6♣

General: as said, it relates to the present and tends to shorten the timeframe of the spread. From here we have meanings connected with suddenness and surprise and, because we are in a positive suit, of receiving good things. There is a general sense of flourishing to this card, and of reaping more than you have sown. The Six of Clubs represents a difference between what you expect to get and what you do get, usually in the sense that you expect less than you actually get. It therefore shows results that exceed expectations.

Love and Relationships: the concept of surprise is the one that applies more often to this topic. Often the card shows unexpected turns of events, mostly of a positive nature, such as receiving unexpected messages from the ex you’ve been waiting for or from a loved one. It also shows the flourishing of a relationship, and that not much work needs to be put into it to make it work because. This in turn tends to imply that two people see eye to eye and have common interests, which makes it easy for them to bond. It shows ease around people, and being in a good environment.

Work and Money: definitely positive in this regard. It shows receiving money, income, etc. Unless strong positive cards come up, it does not represent huge amounts, but it does show relative ease in obtaining it. More broadly it is a card of flourishing, positive outcomes, unexpectedly good turns of events, etc. When follow by cards of blockage, though, it shows difficulties receiving money, or even unemployment. The Six of Clubs can signify quick money, investments that yield dividends, etc.

Other: it shows someone with a positive mindset, possibly one who knows on a subconscious level how to be in the right place at the right time in order to thrive. Spiritually it can show reaping the rewards of your actions, mostly in a positive sense. The card is strongly connected to the concept of getting, harversting, receiving, picking up, etc. In this sense it is neutral. The Surprise card is also connected to hobbies, things done “just so”, simply because you like them, things that you do not expect to make a living at (but you may be surprised).

Important Combinations:
6♣ + 9♠ = unemployment (lack of income) or not receiving something
6♣ + 2♦ = an unexpected message
10♥ + 6♣ = reaping the rewards of your effort

REVERSED 6♣R

General: much more negative. When upright, the Surprise card shows all situations where you get more than you expected to get, where the difference between your effort and your reward goes to your advantage. When reversed, it’s the opposite: a lot of work will need to be put into something.

Love and Relationships: it shows a situation where two people need to put an excessive amount of effort to keep the relationship going, a sign that they have grown apart due to lack of common interests. Together with other negative cards it therefore shows a breakup due to it. If a person is waiting for Mr. or Mrs. Right or a message from someone, they won’t arrive, or not without considerable delay or effort. Because it shows a situation of lack of common interests, this card usually represents that two people won’t be together, or if they do, it’s not due to love.

Work and Money: it stands for unsatisfactory situations where one needs to work a lot for little to no reward. If positive cards attend, though, it just shows delays and a need for effort. Remember that a core concept of the Surprise card is that it represents a difference between what you expect and what you get, and that the reversal makes you get less than you expect. Therefore the card can show unrealistic expectations, and if negative cards follow, the downfall of a project or venture due biting off more than you can chew.

Other: psychologically it represents ambition, usually baseless. It also speaks of someone who misses opportunities or is in the wrong environment or place at the wrong time.

Important Combinations:
6♦ + 10♣ + 6♣R = recklessness leading to downfall
A♥ + 6♣R = not getting along | a disappointing talk
4♥ + 6♣R + 5♠ = the end of love due to growing apart
7♥ + 6♣R = miscalculations | lack of talent for something (with positive cards, you make up for it by working hard)
9♣ + 6♣R = it can signify growing apart with your friends, or counting your chicken before they’ve hatched

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Sixes

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

Vera Sibilla | Six of Hearts – The Safe (Denaro)

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Name: Money or the Safe
Italian Name: Denaro (Money)
Playing Card: 6♥
Polarity when Upright: Positive to Neutral
Core Meanings: Money, Assets | the Past
Polarity when Reversed: Neutral
Reversed Core Meanings: the Future | Money trouble | Avarice

Card Description: a large safe containing old documents and sachets full of money.

Suit and Number: Sixes are connected with the notion of time, and Hearts interpret the concept by connecting to the idea of past and future (depending on whether the card is upright or reversed).

UPRIGHT 6♥

General: A neutral to positive card, depending on the context. It is mainly advantageous in material affairs, while being neutral in love affairs. Also, because it is in the Heart suit, it can represent the mixing of love and money for good or ill.

Love and Relationships: the traditional interpretation is someone marrying for money, especially women. Keep in mind that this deck was created in the 1800s, when young women were considered inveterate old spinsters if they hadn’t married by their early twenties, and that money was considered a legitimate reason to marry–it created wealth for the family. I have found this interpretation to be relatively irrelevant nowadays, unless confirmed by other cards that go in that direction. The Safe card does indicate a wealthy union, though.
Another common meaning is that of past. Usually, all the cards before the Six of Hearts are the past, those following it are the future or present. If a face card falls next to it, it represents someone you already know.

Work and Money: the notion of wealthy union applies to money as well, as this card can represent positive business ventures. It can also be a significator card for the querent’s assets, in which case the presence of positive or negative cards around it will tell you how they will develop. Needless to say, the concept of past can also apply to material matters. For instance, it can represent work experience, in which case, finding the Six of Hearts with cards showing smallness or wrongness may signify the querent doesn’t qualify for a job. Or it may show a job you have already done. Much depend on how and where the card falls in the spread.

Other: sometimes this card represents those people whose wealth blind them to the problems of the common people, but this needs to be supported by other cards. It can also stand for good advice given by someone with experience. It is connected with age.  Psychologically it can show one who mixes love and money or someone who has a somewhat materialistic mindset.

Important Combinations:
6♥ + A♠ = a difficult past
6♥ + Any Queen = traditionally a woman who has married money, but more often it’s a woman from the past (if a male face card, a man from the past, if ♠, the person caused trouble)
6♥ + 2♦ = a check, a financial document or a message about money
6♦ + 6♥ = can be financial speculation
6♥ + 3♦ = prosperity | a rich gift | a good financial offer

REVERSED 6♥R

General: it becomes a card of the future, usually not a near one. The idea of future includes that of something not experienced before, and can therefore signify suddenness, especially if the card opens a row of cards. Because it is the reverse of a card of money it can herald money difficulties. A special function of the reversed Six of Hearts is that it strengthens the meaning of the combinations surrounding it, so that they last longer, for good or ill.

Love and Relationships: in general, the reversed Six of Hearts is not much connected with love, though it can still signify that material interests hide behind a union, or even behind a crisis in a union. It can signify, near a significator, that the person in question is not yet known by the querent (or only by sight).

Work and Money: usually not a positive card. It can signify hardships and difficulties making money. Lack of abundance is one way to put it. If surrounded by positive cards, though, it can show a long-lasting period of prosperity. It is also connected with avarice, and therefore to money not given or not received, depending on the question.

Other: a dearth mentality is shown by this card when reversed. It can also imply that something good, shown by the surrounding cards, will take longer to manifest.

Important Combinations:
6♥R + Face card = someone new, not yet known
6♥R + J♠ + K♣R = a loan shark (if Q♠, a woman)
6♥R + K♠U/R = a loan will be refused, or the querent won’t receive the government’s money
6♥R + 8♠ = financial crisis
6♥R + A♣ + 4♥ + 10♥ = a marriage will be delayed but will take place

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Sixes

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

Vera Sibilla | Five of Spades – Death (Morte)

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Name: Death
Italian Name: Morte
Playing Card: 5♠
Polarity when Upright: Neutral but actually negative (see explanation)
Core Meanings: Sharp change | Loss | An imbalance of some kind
Polarity when Reversed: Negative with some exceptions
Reversed Core Meanings: Deep sorrow, Inner devastation

Card Description: an ominous coffin is propped up on two chairs. A long white candle burns, spreading its dim light.

Suit and Number: All fives have to do with transition in some form or another. Spades are THE negative suit, therefore the notion of death is attached to the Five of Spades.

UPRIGHT 5♠R

General: Technically a neutral card. It merely represents change, usually sharp and, at least to some degree, painful. It is never minor change. When it is followed by positive cards, it indicates a transition toward better times, but because it’s the 5♠, it is implied that some suffering will attend the change. On the other hand, when negative cards follow, it shows that the querent is entering a dark tunnel of pain. Also, this card, similarly to the 3♠, can cut whatever the previous card shows off from our life, for better or worse.

Love and Relationships: the most immediate meaning of the Death card in this field of life is that of breakup. This is especially the case if cards of union and love come before it. It is also part of some combinations showing bereavement. However, the Five of Spades can also signify imbalance, and therefore that one partner loves more than the other, or that the relationship is irremediably broken. A partner showing up in the spread with this card next to him or her and cards representing psychological issues or violence is best kept at arm’s length.

Work and Money: a difficult card in all circumstances. In points to loss of employment, regrets over career choice, and situations that are iffy at best, total ripoffs at worse. When attended by positive cards, it shows positive changes which, however, will take a toll on the querent in some way. Rarely this card signifies jobs to do with the dead or with poisons

Other: psychologically this card points to bitterness, regret and lack of inner balance. Therefore it can hint at self-harm and practices that cause self-damage. It is also a card of atheism and of very dark beliefs. It is one of the cards signifying dark magic and especially necromancy and working with the dead (or with dead bodies).

Important Combinations:
5♠ + 7♠ = nope | radical, irremediable ending
5♠ + 7♠ + 3♠U/R (but more reversed) = death (with skull and crossbones)
8♦ + 5♠ = traditionally the end of bereavement or a difficult period
5♠ + 4♥ + 4♠ = a sick, imbalanced love life
8♥ + 2♦ + 5♠ = the communication you were hoping for won’t arrive

REVERSED 5♠R

General: in general, when reversed this card expresses its meaning on a more psychological level, indicating grief, sorrow, upset. If followed by positive cards, though, it can signify that the querent is resistant and, even though the situation may be somewhat taxing, he will get through it thanks to his inner resolve. If it’s preceded by negative cards and followed by positive cards, it can mean that the querent is going to turn their life around. The inner death, in this case, is symbolic of a deep change in one’s attitude.

Love and Relationships: in general, the reversed Death card stands for deep upset due to a relationship not going how one wants. Look around for the reason. A breakup may be indicated, or the discovery of someone’s infidelity. In general, there is a sense of inability to accept how things have become or what we have discovered, for it is too upsetting.

Work and Money: the same apply here. Something deeply upset the querent, making them die inside somehow. The card hits heavy, so look for signs of mobbing or hard situations in general. If positive cards follow the reversed Five of Spades, then the situation will turn for the better.

Other: psychologically this is a card of profoundly negative emotions. It can signify depression with other cards, implying that a light has gone out inside of the person. With positive cards, the difficulties are still present but resilience is shown. Spiritually, the light that has gone out is that of faith.

Important Combinations:
A♦R + 5♠R = upset due to an unpleasant revelation
5♠R + 8♣ + 7♠ = sorrow due to a breakup
7♦ + 7♠ + 3♠ + 5♠R = devastated by the loss of a child
8♥R + 5♠R = it can mean loss of faith
5♠R + 5♣ or 2♣ + 10♥ = personal renewal

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Fives

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

Vera Sibilla | Three of Spades – The Widower (Vedovo)

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Name: The Widower
Italian Name: Vedovo
Playing Card: 3♠
Polarity when Upright: Negative
Core Meanings: Removal, Abandonment | Loss, Lack, Deprivation | Loneliness, Aloneness, Oneness | An elderly man
Polarity when Reversed: Extremely Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Bereavement, Grief | Trauma, Traumatic loss | Mental alienation, folly, aberrant conduct | A ritual or rite of some kind

Card Description: in a cemetery, an elderly man prays by his late wife’s tomb.

Suit and Number: all threes are connected to the idea of movement. Since Spades are a negative suit, the concept of movement is interpreted as a removal, and by extension the losing of something.

UPRIGHT 3♠

General: a mostly negative card with only one neutral meaning, when it is a significator. In that instance, it is the male counterpart to the Old Lady, representing an elderly man, not necessarily a bad one. Experience, however, shows that it is somewhat more common for the Two of Spades to act as a significator for an old woman than it is for the Three of Spades to act as a significator for an old man.
Otherwise, this is a negative card, whose primary significations are connected to (usually unwanted) removals and to loss. A particular function of this card is that it can deprive us of whatever the card preceding it signifies, but usually only in a negative sense.

Love and Relationships: The Widower is connected to the idea of loneliness and abandonment. It refers to solitude, usually unwanted, unless other cards contradict it. It  often signifies strong interpersonal difficulties and an inability to reach out to people. Often, this card heralds separation and abandonment, or moving away from the family, with all the typical feelings associated with it, from sadness to regretregret to suffering. By analogy with the concept of removal, the 3♠ can signify feelings of hatred, repulsion, disgust, rancour, incompatibility, estrangement, depending on the supporting cards.
The Widower is connected with the idea of oneness, aloneness, etc. There is only one case in which this is positive, and that’s when it is surrounded by the Four and Nine of Hearts, in which case it represents the one true love. Further, when the Three of Spades is surrounded by cards signifying merry-making and jollity, it can show someone who is alone but has fun.
More usually, though, this card stands for lack of support and being left out in the cold. If the other cards show a long-distance relationship, the Widower can show that every inch of distance between the two lovers is like a fresh wound.
Like the Old Lady, this card can signify the ex, in this case the ex man, but it can also happen that an old situation be signified by the Old Lady regardless of gender. Be flexible.

Work and Money: naturally, this card is connected to financial loss and lack of means and resources. It often signifies loss of employment or being forced to abandon a project, but it can also come up to show a relocation, again usually an unwanted one. Occasionally, with positive cards, it can imply that the person works alone and independently, for instance they man have their own business. This, however, is rare.
Due to its connotation of lack and absence, the Widower can show practices that fall outside the confines of the law (they are without the law or lawless). This is especially true if cards like the Priest come up before it, so that the Widower acts as a negation.

Other: psychologically, the Widower is connected to loneliness, helplessness and a marked inability to reach out to people or to express oneself (it is one of the cards that can identify autism). Most of the times, the card shows a psychologically difficult situation.
Due to its connection with removals, it can show the concept of abroad, but usually with a tinge of negativity.
In spiritual readings, great care should go into the analysis of the surrounding cards, as the Widower can say very different things. It can show an intense need to be alone and contemplate life or meditate (it is connected with hermitages and similar places). However, it can also show someone who is godless or someone who feels abandoned by god.
This is one of the cards that if show up in sequences of bereavement, although this signification is highlighted more when the card is reversed.

Important Combinations:
6♥ + 3♠ = loss of money
K♦ + 3♠ = work-related removal or working alone | with other negative cards, loss of job
A♥U/R or 8♣U/R + 3♠ = isolation, difficulty interacting with people
7♦ + 3♠ = sterility (in all areas of life)
K♠ + 3♠ = illegal, unauthorized, against regulation (literally, “without the law” or “lawless”)
4♥ + 3♠ + 9♥ = the one true love

REVERSED 3♠R

General: one of the worst cards in the deck, although it does have a neutral meaning, when it represents rituals and rites of all kinds and of all religions. Otherwise, this is the card of traumatic loss and of scarring situations. Upright, the Widower symbolizes removal and abandonment, a movement away from something. Reversed, it becomes a symbol of mental aberration and wrong conduct, the idea of straying away from normalcy, whether mental or moral.

Love and Relationships: oftentimes, the reversed Widower signals traumas surrounding relationships, whether past or future. The specifics, of course, must be read from the surrounding cards, but a rather typical scenario is when one of the two is unable to move on from the break and sinks into a depression.
This card can also show that one of the two is abusive toward the other and behaves in an irrational way. In the best case, it can show someone with horrible and morbid fetishes, but the connotation is still very negative. Whoever is described by this card, whether it be a partner, a mother or father, they were normally incapable of normal behavior and the querent should put as much distance between them as possible.
The 3♠R is another card that may show a negative group of people (from the fact that it’s a Spade and it’s the reversed of the upright Widower, which signifies loneliness). In the most harmless sense, the negative group may be a group gathering for a religious function of some kind, like a funeral (but with positive cards it can be a wedding or a christening). With negative cards, it can show gangs or cults.

Work and Money: like its upright counterpart, the reversed Widower points to losses. This time, however, they are much heavier and they are more likely to be the result of the querent having completely lost touch with reality. Needless to say, it can point to money wasted on alcohol. It can also show groups of people pressing the querent for money. The same applies to work, where it may signify criminal activities, abuse at work and horrible miscalculations that end up costing the querent dearly. It can also show a traumatic experience at work. Career-wise, it is connected (like its upright counterpart, but more strongly) to working with corpses and organized religion, as well as to all places and things that are likely to elicit a disgusted or anxious reaction, like loos, sewers, pits in the ground, graves, insects, feces, etc. It is also connected with mental illness.

Other: psychologically, the card is connected to traumas and to mental alienation. This is a heavy-hitting card, and it rarely shows only mild distress. When it shows moral aberration, it signifies that the person has lost any sense of morality and has now strayed on the wrong path.
Spiritually it is connected to rites and rituals of all kinds and of all religions. As anticipated, this is a neutral meaning.
This card can also signify a magic ritual, so it is important when it shows up in questions connected to hexes. Because it represents rituals, this is more than just the accidental projection of negative vibes to people we hate or envy (the evil eye, “malocchio” in Italian).

Important Combinations:
6♥ + 3♠R = a traumatic past
6♦ + 3♠R = processing a trauma | mental aberration | planning to do something wrong, wrong conduct
7♥R + 3♠R = derangement | intelligence bent to negative ends
4♥ + 7♠ + 3♠R = being profoundly scarred by a breakup
3♠R + K♠ + 8♣ = a religious rite of some kind

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Threes

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

Vera Sibilla | Three of Diamonds – The Gift (Presente di Pietre Preziose)

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Name: Gift
Italian Name: Presente di Pietre Preziose
Playing Card: 3♦*
Polarity when Upright: Neutral to Positive
Core Meanings: Movement of goods, Parcels, Objects in General | Offers, Gifts | Opulence, Wealth
Polarity when Reversed: Positive
Reversed Core Meanings: Gradual resolution of difficult situations

Card Description: on a table a small jewel box lies open, revealing its rich contents.

Suit and Number: threes are connected to the idea of movement, while Diamonds are cards connected with money and everyday life. The Three of Diamonds is the card that represents movement of goods and parcels arriving. It represents gifts and proposals in general, and has a connection with wealth and the freedom to do what you want and go where you go.

UPRIGHT 3♦

General: on the whole a positive card, but it has some neutral connotations. It is mainly the card of goods coming and going and, by similitude, of gifts or proposals coming and going. It also represents wealth and being materially free from worry, and it is the significator card for most objects (the exception being means of transport (3♣, 6♠) and books and letters (2♦).

Love and Relationships: this is not a card that speaks of feelings. In the main, it represents people who are wealthy or who makes us gifts or proposals, and in that sense it is positive. However, the validity of the gift must be ascertained by looking at the cards nearby. Metaphorically, it can represents that a person is of great value to the querent, although this usually signified by other cards (such as the Handmaid). It can, however, signify that someone gives us advice, and whether this advice is good, or whether we will follow it or not, will be disclosed by the other cards in the spread.
Because this card has a connection to people’s character (see the section “Other”), with positive cards it can represent a couple getting along fine (it can also represent an engagement ring and therefore signal the consolidation of the couple) while with negative cards it signifies the potential for a breakup due to being too different. Just a month or so ago I pulled some cards for myself and the spread was 10♥ + 3♣ + 5♥ + 2♠R + 3♦ + 8♣ + 9♥. The cards showed a journey to my hometown to visit relatives where there would be some tension due to differing character traits, but in the end things would turn out fine. That’s exactly what happened last week.

Work and Money: an excellent card for financial and career readings. The Gift is the card of jewelry, finery, opulence, etc. It is connected to the idea of freedom from financial worry. It indicates good business sense and good business advice. It is the card of exclusive markets and and social progress. The concept of gift or proposal or opportunity that the Three of Diamonds embodies must be understood as anything that arrives toward the querent that will allow him or her to get where he or she wants. This is often the case with job proposals or being short-listed for a promotion. It can also signify someone’s patronage or being taken under a powerful person’s wing, if near a significator in the right context. Because of the concept of gift, the card can take on the meaning of being gifted at what we do. It represents people who make spectacular career choices, and it represents working with (usually precious) objects.

Other: as we have seen, the Gift card represents the movement of goods. It also represents, therefore, parcels and packages, and any object in general, regardless of it being precious.
The card does have a psychological meaning, signifying one’s gifts and talents, and more in general what someone brings to the table in terms of outlook, and can therefore signify the person’s values and character. This is usally a shade of meaning, as this card tends to be more on the material side most of the times, but as shown by the example above, it is a shade of meaning that can come up in a reading.
Artistically this is a card of talent or fame, and also represents (obviously) artifacts (usually not books, but be flexible). The cards surrounding it may show whether we are using our talent or not, whether our artifacts have a public or not, etc.
Spiritually, other than religious paraphernalia, the card can show someone with high values, someone who has a noble soul, but this is pretty rare. With negative cards it can signify materialism and someone who is not in touch with reality as they only have first world problems.

Important Combinations:
3♦ + J♦ = a parcel | news concerning an offer
3♦ + K♠ = a loan or help from the authority
3♦ + 2♣ = opulence, a great gift
3♦ + 10♣ = a trinket | a misplaced item
3♦ + K♦ = a job offer or a rich job

REVERSED 3♦R

General: there is no rational reason why this card should be positive when reversed. At least, none that I could find. And yet it is positive. Very positive. 90% of the times, its meaning is that of difficult situations slowly sorting themselves out. Everything else is just a minor shade of meaning that rarely comes into play. However, unlike the Two of Clubs and the Five of Clubs, this card is not very strong, meaning that if surrounded by negative cards it will fail to solve all problems.

Love and Relationships: this is a very material card, and does not in the least talk about feelings. Usually, the difficulties that it solves are of a practical or material nature. If the couple has material problems, this card normally heralds a resolution, for instance if they are waiting for an adoption procedure to go through.
With negative cards, or if the question is pertinent, this card can behave, on rare occasion, like its upright counterpart does when surrounded by difficult cards, namely, it points to differences in values and someone who is wrong for you (though not necessarily a bad person). With cards of enmity and shady situations, it can rarely show the presence of a powerful negative person influencing the situation.

Work and Money: excellent card on the whole, as it points to the sorting out of difficult situations. Often, it represents difficult material conditions that slowly lose their grip on the querent. Similarly, if the querent is waiting for a deal to go through or for some bureaucratic red tape to clear, this card is an encouraging sign. With negative cards it shows problems that are only partially or superficially solved. Alternatively, it can point (but rarely) to cheap gifts or cheap proposals, and in general something that has no great value. This include cheap tips and cheap pieces of advice, or even advice given to hurt. Again, though, this is rare.

Other: there are other layers of meaning of this card that come out, albeit seldom, when it is with negative cards. It represents not making full use of your talent (basically, the opposite of the upright card) or even wasting your life. Artistically it can represent damaged objects or lack of talent (or not having developed a latent talent). Psychologically, in addition to someone who is wasting their life, it can signify someone who is cheap and superficial.

Important Combinations:
K♣ + 3♦R = a therapy that slowly cures you of your ailment | in general, a good solution
5♦ + 3♦R = melancholy and dejection slowly coming to an end
4♣R + 3♦R = a recommendation or help that solves the issue
K♥ + 3♦R = a protector or benefactor helping you (Q♦ for a woman, 2♠ for an older woman)
2♦ + J♣ + 6♦ + 7♣ + 3♦R = graduation

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Threes

* in some recent versions of the deck, the 3♦ and 8♦ are swapped. I don’t know why this was done, but I’m guessing it was a mistake, especially considering the graphic similarity between the numbers 3 and 8 in the decks where the swap was made. In the 1850s version, the card is the three.