Sometimes the cards speak like directors of a theater piece, ordering characters around in a way that makes almost intuitive sense and gives a visual representation of the issue. This is not always the case (some readings are super hard to decipher) but when it is it becomes almost impossible to doubt that divination truly works.
Here’s an example. A friend of my husband asked me why her boyfriend was acting strange. These were the cards (the reading started out as a three card reading, but I kept adding cards until I was satisfied):
Vera Sibilla Reading: Why is he acting strange
Look how the characters seem to relate to one another like characters in a play. We have Juliette, the Queen of Hearts. Behind her is the Five of Diamonds, Melancholy. She is dissatisfied. Then we have the Jack of Hearts, Romeo. Between them is a card. This can either represent an action or a state of affairs. Because the Melancholy card describes a state of affair, it seems more likely that the reversed Ace of Hearts also represent their current state of affairs, one of miscommunication, instability and a general sense of incompleteness.
Following is the Queen of Clubs. This can be another character, but sometimes she acts as a “pointer”: wherever she points her finger is where the problem lies. In this case, because she is reversed, she points to her right (otherwise it would be to her left). Then we have the card of secrets (the Soldier, reversed) and that of homosexuality (the Love card, reversed) and a male figure. The answer is obvious.
A couple of months after the reading a gay friend of hers saw her boyfriend on an app, who then came out as bi, validating the spread. This is not the first time I’ve encountered this kind of issue. I may even have posted a spread about it before (I can’t remember).
One of my dreams is of writing a book about divination, not explaining any particular kind of divination, but exploring divination as a topic, its foundations and its place in the world. And this kind of spreads has me convinced that life is a drama, and divination is a tool capable of unveiling the script.
Here’s a recent reading I did. The querent is a man in his early 40s
A work-related tarot reading
The most obvious thing that caught my attention is the Emperor next to the Lovers and Justice. The Lovers is also the center of the whole spread. It can show a meeting but also being in talks for something, and next to Justice it can indicate a partnership.
On the first line we have three bad cards in a row: the Tower, the Hermit and the Hanged Man (the Hermit is not necessarily bad, but it’s sandwiched between difficult cards, so they create a negative cluster together). There seems to have been a long period either of unemployment or of serious difficulties. The Empress could indicate the person’s money but upon asking him he told me that he’s gone through a rough patch in his work life which led his girlfriend to leave him.
Then we have the Popess and the Pope, which usually show an older couple. So I ask him if he’s going into a partnership with such people, and he said these are his aunt and uncle, who are offering him to go into business together. The Sun in the end shows it will be a good move.
I don’t believe I ever showed this spread. This is an example of a question by a woman who asked if she would get pregnant.
A Pyramid Spread with Playing Cards on a pregnancy
The first thing I notice is the Queen of Clubs, the querent, falling as the central card in the spread. She is in charge of the spread, and the spread describes her and her life. I also notice that she is mirrored by the Jack of Hearts as the point of the pyramid. This is encouraging, of course. Let’s dig deeper.
She is surrounded by the Ace of Diamonds, which can indicate conception, but it is also the card of news, and the Ten of Diamonds, which is a card of success, especially the success of a long effort.
The first row has the Five of Hearts in it, which is an important card in pregnancy readings. It is surrounded by the Six of Spades and the King of Spades: the doctor. I asked her if she’s been having trouble conceiving, and she responds in the affirmative.
The whole is prefaced by the Seven of Hearts, which can be negative when surrounded by negative cards, and the King of Spades tends to be negative. However, if we take the sequence K♠ 5♥ 6♠ not as something negative, but as a factual description, the Seven of Hearts shows a solution.
I feel suddenly inspired to ask the querent if she’s tried alternative methods of conception, and she nods. So suddenly everything makes sense. I tell her she will have success in conceiving. This supported by the fact that the triangle (7♥ 6♠ J♥) ends with a positive card.
But what about the 3♣ and J♦? Frankly? I don’t know. It is possible the cards were adding details I’m not capable of deciphering (for instance, they may repeat the idea that she would receive the news that ‘it took’). It is also possible the cards were talking about something else and I needed to open the spread to understand it. It is also possible the cards were just filling the spread with ‘filler’ cards, since the other cards gave the clear yes answer. It doesn’t really matter.
A couple of days ago I wrote that a user had pointed out some of my links were broken. It took me a significant amount of time to correct the issue, so this was definitely a significant part of my day.
As I have probably already mentioned, sometimes I draw three cards for the day to see how it’s going. For that day I had:
J ♣ – 7♣ – 2♣
I forgot all about the reading until evening, but then it made sense: the help (the Jack) in taking steps (Two of Clubs) on an issue (Seven of Clubs).
Furthermore, it is not uncommon for daily readings to cover more than one happening in your life. That day I fell on the street (Seven of Clubs on Two of Clubs) and people helped me get up and gathering my groceries.
This may sound silly, but our life is made up of these little things, and the cards can reflect them. It is not always that clear, but sometimes it is possible to see the immediate connection between cards and life.
My husband and I are the typical Millennials: if we don’t have an appointment with you, don’t come knocking at our door, because we won’t open it. Someone has been knocking quite persistently at our door for a couple of day, more or less at 12.30/13. I pulled some cards to see who that could be (because that’s more sensible than just opening the door)
2♥ – 2♦ – 2♠
The obvious thing here is that the Two of Hearts represents the door knockers. The Two of Spades shows that it’s some kind of nuisance, while the Two of Diamonds can represent letters and exchanges. Before discovering the truth, I thought it must be someone who needed to deliver some letter they’d gotten by mistake, although it felt odd, because they could have just put it in our mailbox.
Today I finally opened the door and it was two (note the three twos) salesmen trying to peddle some scam. Note that the reality of the situation fits the meanings of the cards much better than my half-assed guess. One of the topics I’ve been thinking extensively about is how sometimes what limits our ability to predict is that our fantasy is limited. I don’t mean ‘fantasy’ as in pulling stuff out of our ass, but as in being capable of following the cards precisely in picturing a possible future. If you can’t picture it, you can’t predict it. Definitely gonna write more about it.
The cross spread I use is often used to get a general picture of the querent before them asking questions. It is useful because people don’t always know what’s really important in their life: they may come to you with a pressing issue which ends up being of no consequence: you can’t find a job, but the cards say it doesn’t even matter because you’ll inherit from an unknown uncle tomorrow. The bottom line is: our perspective on our own life is always limited. The chief use of divination is to give us a wider bird-eye view of our life.
This is a spread I did for a friend of mine I hadn’t seen in a while (note that it is possible to take out the significator of the person, as I did here, but it is not necessary)
General card reading with the cross spread
The first thing I noticed, which ended up not having anything to do with the rest of the reading, is the past position, with the Ten of Clubs, the Ten of Hearts and the Two of Hearts. Upon asking if she’d traveled with family (the Two of Hearts) she said she’d been to Japan with her brother. Clearly this was a journey she’d wanted to go on for a while because the Ten of Hearts is a card of great fulfillment.
The cards over the head and those under the feet are often to be connected (though this isn’t a hard rule). In this case she’s thinking about a woman from her family (Queen of Hearts with Ace of Hearts) in a surprising way. This is not very easy to interpret, so we look under her feet and we find the Three of Spades, the Nine of Clubs and the Nine of Hearts. She’s not happy (Nine of Hearts below) about their interaction, she feels like taking some distance from her.
Upon asking my friend, she said she’s been very disappointed in realizing her mother is starting to have occasional senile moments, which she has reacted to by cutting off contact, not because she doesn’t love her, but because she doesn’t know how to deal with the stress of her realization. I explained to her that the cards in her head still show a great deal of love (three heart cards) so the best course of action is to talk openly about it.
As I was saying this to her, the cards in the center or heart position suddenly made sense to me (I had skipped over them initially because I didn’t know how to interpret them). Contact (Two of Diamonds, Four of Clubs) is going to resume (Six of Hearts) quickly (it’s in the center)
As for the two futurepositions, they talk about financial/work issues. The right fan (what’s coming to the querent) shows something that should be given to her by an authority figure but there are issues. Looking at the other fan I ventured a guess that it’s money. My friend said she’s waiting for a loan to be approved to refurbish the store she owns. This will be hard and long and she’s probably going to have to jump through absurd hoops (Nine of Spades, Jack of Spades) but the money should come (Seven of Diamonds closing).
(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 Queen of Swords in the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck
Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)
The time period is from the beginning of the third decanate of Capricorn to the end of the second decanate of Aquarius, January 10 to February 8, under the combined rulerships of Mercury in Capricorn, Saturn-Uranus in Aquarius and Mercury in Gemini. Meanings: a woman of some authority, outwardly agreeable and complaisant, but inwardly ambitious and subtle. She has keen perceptions, is a good observer and self-confident. She is accurate in superficial details; is often graceful and fond of dancing. Well-Dignified: she is friendly to the Querent. Ill-Dignified: she can be deceitful, sly, cruel. Usually light brown hair and gray eyes. (From the Oracle of Tarot course)
A. E. Waite
Her right hand raises the weapon vertically and the hilt rests on an arm of her royal chair the left hand is extended, the arm raised her countenance is severe but chastened; it suggests familiarity with sorrow. It does not represent mercy, and, her sword notwithstanding, she is scarcely a symbol of power. Divinatory Meanings: Widowhood, female sadness and embarrassment, absence, sterility, mourning, privation, separation. Reversed: Malice, bigotry, artifice, prudery, bale, deceit. (From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)
Aleister Crowley
The Queen of Swords represents the watery part of Air, the elasticity of that element, and its power of transmission. She rules from the 21St degree of Virgo to the 20th degree of Libra. She is enthroned upon the clouds. The upper part of her body is naked, but she wears a gleaming belt and a sarong. Her helmet is crested by the head of a child, and from it stream sharp rays of light, illuminating her empire of celestial dew. In her right hand, she bears a sword; in her left hand, the newly severed head of a bearded man. She is the clear, conscious perception of Idea, the Liberator of the Mind.
The person symbolized by this card should be intensely perceptive, a keen observer, a subtle interpreter, an intense individualist, swift and accurate at recording ideas; in action confident, in spirit gracious and just. Her movements will be graceful, and her ability in dancing and balancing exceptional.
If ill-dignified, these qualities will all be turned to unworthy purposes. She will be cruel, sly, deceitful and unreliable; in this way, very dangerous, on account of the superficial beauty and attractiveness which distinguish her.
In the Yi King, the watery part of Air is represented by the 28th hexagram, Ta Kwo. The Shape suggests a weak beam.
The character, excellent in itself, cannot support interference. Foresight and prudence, care in preparation of action, are a safeguard (line i.) Advantage is to be won, moreover, by reliance on help from apparently unsuitable comrades (lines 2 and 5). This alien strength often supplies the defeat of inherent weakness, and may even create definite superiority to circumstance (line 4). In such an event, there may be temptation to undertake rash adventures, foredoomed to failure. But even so, no blame is incurred (line 6); the conditions of True Will have been satisfied, and the issue is compensated by the feeling that the right (however unfortunate) course has been adopted.
Such people acquire intense love and devotion from the most unexpected quarters. (From the Book of Thoth)
an alien-looking AI-generated Queen of Swords (without a sword, but it was too cool)
Golden Dawn’s Book T
A GRACEFUL woman with wavy, curling hair, like a Queen seated upon a Throne and crowned. Beneath the Throne are grey cumulus clouds. Her general attire is as that of the Queen of Wands, but she wears as a crest a winged child’s head. A drawn sword in one hand, and in the other a large, bearded, newly severed head of a man. Intensely perceptive, keen observation, subtle, quick and confident: often persevering, accurate in superficial things, graceful, fond of dancing and balancing. If ill dignified, cruel, sly, deceitful, unreliable, though with a good exterior. Rules from 20 Degree Virgo to 20 Degree Libra.
Etteilla
Widowhood Upright: As far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, this card means, in its upright position: Widowhood, Widow, Deprivation, Absence, Famine, Sterility, Indigency, Poverty. – Empty, Vacant, Unemployed, Idle, Free. Reversed: Evil Woman. – Malignity, Malice, Cunning, Craftiness, Machination, Bigotry, Prudery, Hypocrisy.
The more I delve into medieval geomancy manuscripts, the more I realize how different authors tended to put together different bundles of go-to techniques for interpreting the geomantic chart. There is always some overalap, yet not every author mentions every technique. The company of houses is one such technique. The book from Peter of Abano I am currently translating does not mention it: he tends to have a very trimmed down, minimalistic approach. However, the technique is found in other authors, so I’ll discuss it and leave it up to the reader to decide whether to experiment with it or not.
The Technique
The technique is quite simple. We start from the presupposition that the aim of a geomancy chart is to see whether the figure of the querent comes into contact with the figure of the quesited, as already discussed, because such contact, called perfection, signals the querent coming into possession of the thing quesited about (though there are exceptions, when the querent wishes to get rid of something, for instance.)
Usually, if at least one of the four modes of geomantic perfection discussed in my previous article does not show up in the chart, it’s game over. According to some authors, though, we can also see perfection in other ways, and this is where the Company of Houses comes in.
The twelve houses of a chart are said to be paired as follows: the first with the second; the third with the fourth; the fifth with the sixth; the seventh with the eighth; the ninth with the tenth; the eleventh with the twelfth. It is important to note that, although, say, the third house is next to the second, the second and the third house are not in company: only the first with the second and the third with the fourth.
Let us suppose I want to know whether I will meet with my sweetheart. In general, I would want the house of the querent (me, the first house) to perfect geomantically with the house of the quesited (my sweetheart, the seventh house). Let us furthermore suppose that this does not happen. According to the proponents of the Company of Houses, this negative testimony can be overruled.
We look at the house my house is accompanied with, in this case the second, or the house the quesited is accompanied with, i.e., the eighth. Let’s take the second house as an example. The first kind of company is if the figure in the second house is the same figure as that of the first; the second kind of company is if the figure in the second is ruled by the same planet as the figure in the first; the third kind of company is if the figure in the second is opposite the figure in the first; the final kind of company is if the figure in the second shares the same Fire line (e.g., Via and Puella, who both have a single fire line).
This figure is the opposite
Of this figure
Cauda
Caput
Conjunctio
Carcer
Puella
Puer
Acquisitio
Amissio
Albus
Rubeus
Tristitia
Laetitia
Fortuna Minor
Fortuna Major
Populus
Via
Opposite figures
When any of these four conditions is realized, the figure in the second house can act as a co-significator for the querent, and may perfect the chart in his stead.
Do you need this?
Frankly? No. You can do what you please, of course, but this reeks of “Methinks I saw mine lass turn into a dragon”, that is, how people used to come up with stuff to fill books with. Even worse, it reeks of last-ditch effort at wringing a “yes” out of a negative chart.
In some cases, what is called Company of Houses is already covered by the four regular modes of perfection. When it isn’t, it is, as far as I am concerned, at most a very, very, very weak testimony, so much so that I don’t take it into consideration. Of course one may come up with all sorts of philosophical excuses why this technique is important, but if you ask me, it feels like a useless complication of a simple divination system.
As I said in my other article, I had a reading on my real estate adventure ready. I was waiting to publish it to avoid jinxing it. Since today we have signed the papers, I can safely discuss it 🙂
Will we buy the house?
The question was simple. We had seen a nice house in October and I wanted to know if we’d manage to buy it. The first thing that caught my eye was Justice, Tower, Lovers, Wheel. Justice and Tower, in this context, indicates a real estate (Tower) contract (Justice). The Lovers card indicates an agreement and the Wheel, aside from showing the flow of money, indicates the agreement is positive. Next to Justice is the Empress. This can be neither the owner nor the agent because both were men. This is a woman who would help us get the positive deal. And indeed a female friend of ours who knows a lot about this stuff helped us negotiate a lower price.
We come to the first row of cards. I usually interpret the Popess or Pope next to the World card as a married person or a family member. In this case we have two married people in the family. The Hermit shows their distance, but the Strength card indicates that they are somehow active or present. At the time I interpreted this as my parents helping us. It was a good prediction, as my parents gave us some additional money for the down payment. In short, we are home owners!
(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 Queen of Pentacles or Coins from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck
Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)
The time period is from the beginning of the last decanate of Aries to the end of the second decanate of Taurus, April 10 to May 10. This period is under the rulerships of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury. Well-Dignified: the ability to detect the workings of Divine Guidance in all aspects of incarnate life. In divination, a generous, somewhat ceremonious, great-hearted woman who is both charming and graceful. She is probably possessed of considerable means and is friendly to the Querent. lll-Dignified: some problem with materialism and ability to express unselfish love. A woman who is ostentatious, loose in morals, capricious, changeable, superficial. Likely to do Querent harm through foolish talk, exposure of his plans, etc. Dark hair and eyes. (From the Oracle of Tarot course)
A. E. Waite
The face suggests that of a dark woman, whose qualities might be summed up in the idea of greatness of soul; she has also the serious cast of intelligence; she contemplates her symbol and may see worlds therein. Divinatory Meanings: Opulence, generosity, magnificence, security, liberty. Reversed: Evil, suspicion, suspense, fear, mistrust. (From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)
Aleister Crowley
The Queen of Disks represents the watery part of Earth, the function of that element as Mother. She rules from the 21st degree of Sagittarius to the 20th degree of Capricornus. She represents passivity, usually in its highest aspect.
The Queen of Disks is throned upon the life of vegetation. She contemplates the background, where a calm river winds through a sandy desert to bring to it fertility. Oases are beginning to shew themselves amid the wastes. Before her stands a goat upon a sphere. There is here a reference to the dogma that the Great Work is fertility. Her armour is composed of small scales or coins, and her helmet is adorned with the great spiral horns of the markhor. In her right hand she bears a sceptre surmounted by a cube, within which is a three-dimensional Hexagram, and in her left arm is curved her proper disk, a sphere of loops and circles interlaced. She thus represents the ambition of matter to take part in the great work of Creation.
Persons signified by this card possess the finest of the quieter qualities. They are ambitious, but only in useful directions. They possess immense funds of affection, kindness, and greatness of heart. They are not intellectual, and not particularly intelligent; but instinct and intuition are more than adequate for their needs. These people are quiet, hard-working, practical, sensible, domesticated, often (in a reticent and unassuming fashion) lustful and even debauched. They are inclined to the abuse of alcohol and of drugs. It is as if they could only realize their essential happiness by getting outside themselves.
If ill dignified, they are dull, servile, foolish; they are drudges rather than workers. Life for them is purely mechanical; and they cannot rise, or even seek to rise, above their appointed lot.
In the Yi King, the watery part of Earth is represented by the 31st hexagram, Hsien. This has the meaning: Influence. The commentary describes the effect of moving various parts of the body, from the toes to the jaws and tongue. This is rather an amplification of what has been said above than an exact correspondence; yet there is no discordance. The general advice is to go forward quietly without overt attack upon existing situations. (From The Book of Thoth)
AI-generated illustration for the Queen of Pentacles or Coins
Golden Dawn’s Book T
A WOMAN of beautiful face with dark hair; seated upon a throne, beneath which is dark sandy earth. One side of her face is light, the other dark; and her symbolism is best represented in profile. Her attire is similar to that of the Queen of Wands: but she bears a winged goat’s head as a crest. A goat is by her side. In one hand she bears a sceptre surmounted by a cube, and in the other an orb of gold. She is impetuous, kind; timid, rather charming; great-hearted; intelligent, melancholy; truthful, yet of many moods. If ill dignified she is undecided, capricious, changeable, foolish. She rules from 20 Degree Sagittarius to 20 Degree Capricorn.
Etteilla
Dark Woman Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Dark Woman, Opulence, Wealth, Lavishness, Luxury, Sumptuousness. – Assurance, Reliability, Trust, Certainty, Confirmation. – Confidence, Boldness, Freedom, Frankness. Reversed. Unsafe, Doubtful, Uncertain, Doubt, Indecision, Uncertainty. – Fear, Fright, Timidity, Apprehension, Vacillation, Hesitation. – Indeterminate, Irresolute, Perplexed, He who is suspended.
