Check out the Crowley and Waite Victorian Tarot Deck by Garin Horner.
If you are a deck collector it might be of interest to you. It is a photorealistic tarot, “historical” not because old but because it pays homage to some of the most important figures in Victorian occultism. Personally, I find the Star card especially lovely
MQS
In another post, I detailed the main meanings of the 50-card method, which is the one my teacher uses. Here I am going to talk about the other main method for using the Bolognese tarot using 45 cards. I have this from a contact of mine, who gave me permission to explore it and talk about it. The two methods are equally powerful: the absence of 5 cards does not reduce the ability to predict, because the meanings, though similar to the 50-card method, are distributed slightly differently across the cards. Supposedly, the 45-card method is slightly older.
Note that 1) there are some books (in Italian) that discuss the 45-card method, but each gives its own version, and the method I know is also partially different. This is normal: every village and city has its own folk tradition, especially in a country as culturally decentralized as Italy 2) again, the meanings are eminently practical 3) as with the 50-card method, I arranged the majors in the usual order, even though it is different from the Bolognese order of the trumps
The Fool. Strangeness, Instability, Creativity
The Juggler. A Child, A pet, Immaturity, Something New
Love. Love, Feelings, Affection, Passion, Harmony
Chariot. The bed card, Sickness, Static Situations (because the horses seem to rest)
Justice. Justice, The Law, Fairness, Equilibrium
The Hermit. Obstacle, Blockage, Small ailments
The Wheel. Fortune, Chance
Strength. Energy, Power, Fortitude, Good Health, Active stance
The Hanged Man. Betrayal,1 Upending
Death. Loss, Mortification, Change, Yes to a yes-or-no question
Temperance. Time, Patience, Waiting
Devil. Being bedeviled, Anger, Jealousy
The Tower. Prison, Hospital, Sacrifice, Being impeded or limited
The Star. “Stuff”, Objects, Material things, Your work life, Business
The Moon. By Night, Darkness, Sadness, Falsehood, Negativity
The Sun. By Day, Light, Happiness, Positivity
The Angel. Help, Friendship, Peace, Protection, Solution
The World. Travel, Journey (literal or metaphorical), Around the world
Ace. The Home, The House, The Family
Seven. The City, The Surroundings, Also the family, Protection
Ten. Blooming, Flourishing, Celebrating, Fun, Happiness
Page. A young woman, sometimes a female rival, Comfort, Help
Knight. Adjustment, Agreement, Positive development
Queen. A mother, A woman in your family, A motherly figure
King. A father, A man in your family, A fatherly figure
Ace. Victory, Union, Sex, Ability to succeed
Eight. A road, A path, Taking Steps
Page. The thoughts of the female querent
Knight. The thoughts of the male querent
Queen. The female querent, An important woman
King. The male querent, An important man
Ace. Big Money, Abundance, Satisfaction, The table
Seven. Tears, Sadness, Melancholy
Ten. Small money card, Small satisfactions, Tranquillity
Page. Discussions, Talks, Communications
Knight. News (especially good news, but news in general), Sometimes a young man
Queen. The Truth, Truthfulness, Wisdom, Knowledge, A blonde woman
King. An important man, A doctor, A graduate, A professional, “Important” in general
Ace. Something knocking at the door, About to happen, Contract, Relationship, Being bound, Hands tied
Eight. Suffering, A thorn in the heart
The Moor.2 A priest, A person in uniform, A surprise, Unexpectedness
Page. Letter, Message, Post, Contacts
Knight. Fighting, Ill-disposition, Cutting, Problems
Queen. A dark-haired woman, A problematic woman, Affliction in general
King. A dark-haired man, A young man, A problematic man, Immaturity in general
MQS
(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 first decanate of Leo encompasses the time period from July 23 to August 1. It is ruled doubly by the Sun, so that the Sun and its attributions have a marked influence on the meanings of this Key.
Thus the Five of Wands is a combination of the powers of Mars, active in Geburah and the powers of the Sun in Leo, together with the meanings of the number five and the pentagram. Key ideas associated with the Five of Wands are power and pleasure in exercising it. This is the combined influence of the strength resident in Geburah together with the pleasure associated with Leo and its natural fifth house in astrology.
The Martian influence gives a spirit of adventure and speculation, together with some uncertainty in carrying out plans. The Leo influence, a fixed fire sign, intimates strong attachments, either to family or in love affairs.
Well-Dignified: boldness, command and generosity.
lll-Dignified: cruelty, violence, lust, prodigality. –
Keyword: Competition.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)
A posse of youths, who are brandishing staves, as if in sport or strife. It is mimic warfare, and hereto correspond the Divinatory Meanings: Imitation, as, for example, sham fight, but also the strenuous competition and struggle of the search after riches and fortune. In this sense it connects with the battle of life. Hence some attributions say that it is a card of gold, gain, opulence. Reversed: Litigation, disputes, trickery, contradiction.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)
This card is referred to Geburah of the suit of Fire. Geburah itself being fiery, it is a purely active ,force. It is ruled also by Saturn and Leo. Leo shows the element of Fire at its strongest and most balanced. Saturn tends to weigh it down and to embitter it. There is no limit to the scope of this volcanic energy.
The symbol represents the wand of the Chief Adept, showing that the authority is derived from the superiors; were it not so, this card would be thoroughly disastrous. Moreover, there are also two wands of the Second, or Major Adept. They have the head of the Phoenix, which gives the idea of destruction (or rather purgation) through fire, and the resurrection of the energy from its ashes.
There is also a pair of wands of the Third, or Minor, Adept, which are daughters, so to speak, of the wands in the Three of Wands. In this card there is the mitigating influence of the Mother. One of the most difficult doctrines with regard to Geburah is that, while it represents all this tameless irrational energy and disturbance, yet it derives from the benign and gentle influence of the feminine.
The Egyptians understood this doctrine perfectly. Their Lion goddess, Pasht, was hailed as “saeva” and “ferox”, was even called “red in tooth and claw” by those fanatical devotees who wished to identify her with Nature. The idea of sexual cruelty is often inherent in the highest divine nature; compare Bhavani and Kali in the Hindu system, and observe the Shiva-Sakti coition portrayed on many Tibetan banners. See also Liber 418,4th, 3rd, and 2nd Aethyrs; and the description supra of Atu XI.
(From The Book of Thoth)
TWO White Radiant Angelic Hands issuant per nubes dexter and sinister. They are clasped together in the grip of the First Order, “i.e.” the four fingers of each right hand crooked into each other, the thumbs meeting above; and they hold, at the same time, by their centres, five wands or torches which are similar unto the wands of a Zelator Adeptus Minor. One wand is upright in the middle; the others cross each other. Flames leap from the point of junction. Above the middle wand is the sign Saturn, and below is that of Leo: thus representing the Decante.
Violent strife and boldness, rashness, cruelty, violence, lust, desire, prodigality and generosity; depending on whether the card is well or ill dignified.
Geburah of HB:Y (Quarrelling and fighting).
This Decan hath its beginning from the Royal Star of Leo: and unto it are allotted
the two great Angels of the Schemhamphorash HB:VHVYH and HB:YLYAL.
Gold
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Gold, Wealth, Opulence, Magnificence, Sumptuousness, Splendor, Luxury, Abundance, Good. – Physical, philosophical and moral sunshine.
Reversed. Trial, Arguing, Differences, Altercations, Disputes, Disputes, Instance, Investigation, Judicial proceedings. – Contradictions, Arguments, Brig, Harassment. – Contradiction, Inconsistency.
MQS
Following my introductory article about the Bolognese Tarot, I want to introduce some quick meanings for the cards. No current method of reading the Bolognese Tarot employs all 62 cards. Instead, two main variants exist: the 45-card method and the 50-card method. I learned the 50-card method from my current teacher (whose book on the Bolognese tarot I reviewed some time ago). I have the 45-card method from another source, and I’ll talk about it separately.
My teacher’s hypothesis as to why traditional fortune-tellers seem to only use a reduced deck is that the cards were all employed in some older method, but the oral transmition of the tradition caused some meanings to go lost. I incline more toward the idea that the fortune-tellers of Bologna simply wanted a slimmer deck that could be used in large spreads (we will see in a future article that most spreads using this tarot deck employ many cards, some even the whole deck).
What follows is a quick summary of the main meanings. Note that: 1) the meanings are quick, concrete and to the point. Yet, in divination, it is possible to use the cards to write whole sentences 2) The major trumps are arranged according to our current system, but in reality the Bolognese tarot follows a different numbering tradition1
The Fool. Foolishness, Originality, Confusion
The Juggler. A child, naive, uncertain, unreliable. A beginning
Love. Love, Good feelings, Joy
The Chariot. Moving toward something, but also the bed card (because in the picture the chariot seems to be static, with the horses resting)
Justice. Justice, Fairness, the law
The Hermit. Blockage, Obstacle, Small health issues
The Wheel. Upright (king with crown ascending): Good luck, positive development; Reversed (page without crown ascending): Instability, need for effort
Strength. Strength, Power, Energy, Effort, Health
The Hanged Man. Betrayal,2 Cheating, Feeling betrayed or cheated, Sudden reversal
Death. A sharp ending, The confirmation of something3
Temperance. Time, the passage of time, the need to wait, stability over time
The Devil. Wrath, Anger, Being bedeviled, Passion, Jealousy, Magic
The Tower. A large building (usually, but not always, with a negative connotation), A prison, A hosipital. Obstruction, being imprisoned or limited (imagine being trapped in a burning building)
The Star. Objects, Gifts, Merchandise, Commerce, Work4, A positive card
The Moon. By night, Darkness, Sadness, Negativity, Secret
The Sun. By day, Light, Happiness, Positivity, Clarity
The Angel. Goodness, Friendship, Peace, Solution, Spirituality
The World. Around the world, From afar, Journey, Movement
Moor with three Arrows. Intrigue, Danger, Something that is difficult and requires to be disentangled or clarified
Moor with a Turban. A doctor, someone wearing a uniform, sickness, melancholy. A priest
Moor with one Spear. Surprise, something unexpected for good or ill, Bump on the road
Ace. The Home, the Family
Nine. Close to home, Something on its way to us or something/someone close
Ten. Flourishing, Blooming, Feasting, Partying, Blood, Wine
Page. A young(er) woman, a small opportunity or consolation
Knight. Solution, Agreement, Reconciliation, Making peace or making your peace
Queen. A woman close to us or who loves us, archatypally a mother
King. A man close to us or who loves us, archetypally a father
Ace. Sex, Pleasure, Triumph, Personal success
Six. A road, a path (literal or figurative), an opening
Page. The female querent’s thoughts
Knight. The male querent’s thoughts
Queen. The female querent
King. The male querent
Ace. A document or letter, test results, contracts, etc. The table (sitting at the table, etc.)
Six. Tears, sadness
Nine. Money, assets
Ten. Well-being, lots of money
Page. Words, talks, communications
Knight. News (usually good)
Queen. The truth, wisdom, knowledge, trustworthy. Sometimes a woman embodying these traits
King. An important man, a gentleman, a lawyer or doctor, wise, with a degree
Ace. The door knockers, something about to happen.5 Also something binding, a union, a prison sentence, a contract (notice they look like rings or handcuffs)
Six. Within a three (three hours, three days, three weeks, three months)
Nine. Destiny. It highlights the other cards.
Ten. A gate, end of the road, something closing down, Suffering
Page. A letter, a message, interpersonal relationships
Knights. Cuts, Stitches, Arguments, Attacks, Fractures (real or metaphorical)
Queen. A strict woman. Affliction.
King. A younger or strict man. Childishness
MQS
(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 time period is the third decanate of Capricorn, under the rulership of Mercury, January 10 to 19.
Well-Dignified: opportunities for public service; an acute, sharp, penetrating, tactful temperament; economy in the arrangement of material affairs; activity in money matters.
Ill-Dignified: dangers to reputation; troubles through changes not carefully considered; desire for money, but unwisdom in its management; the Querent will meet with sharp criticism.
Keyword: Management.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)
A crowned figure, having a pentacle over his crown, clasps another with hands and arms; two pentacles are under his feet. He holds to that which he has. Divinatory Meanings: The surety of possessions, cleaving to that which one has, gift, legacy, inheritance. Reversed: Suspense, delay, opposition.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)
As to the Disks, the heaviness of the symbol rather outweighs any considerations of its weakness. The card is called Power. It is the power which dominates and stabilizes everything, but manages its affairs more by negotiation, by pacific methods, than by any assertion of itself. It is Law, the Constitution, with no aggressive element.
[…]
The Four, Chesed, shows the establishment of the Universe in three dimensions, that is, below the Abyss. The generating idea is exhibited in its full material sense. The card is ruled by the Sun in Capricornus, the Sign in which he is reborn. The disks are very large and solid; the suggestion of the card is that of a fortress. This represents Law and Order, maintained by constant authority and vigilance. The disks themselves are square; revolution is very opposite to the card; and they contain the signs of the Four Elements. For all that, they revolve; defence is valid only when violently active. So far as it appears stationary, it is the “dead centre” of the engineer; and Capricornus is the point at which the Sun “turns again Northward”. The background is of deep azure, flecked yellow, suggesting a moat; but beyond this is a pattern of green and indigo to represent the guarded fields whose security is assured by the fortress.
In the Yi King, Sol in Capricornus is represented by the Second Hexagram, Khwan, which is the Female Principle. Compare the English word Queen, Anglo-Saxon Cwen, old Mercian Kwoen. Cognate are Icelandic Kvan, Gothic Kwens, woman. The Indo-Germanic type is g (w)eni and the Sanskrit root GwEN. Note also Cwm, coombe, and agnate words, meaning an enclosed valley, usually with water running from it. Womb—possibly a softened form?
Compare also the innumerable words, derived from the root Gas, Which imply an enclosed and fortified space. Case, castle, chest, cyst, chaste, incest and so on.
The primary radicle in all this class of words is the guttural. Observe the Hebrew attributions: Gimel, the moon; Cheth, Cancer, the house of the moon; Kaph, the Wheel; Qoph, the Moon, XVIII, Guttur, the throat. Sounds so made suggest the other throat; one is the channel of respiration and nutrition, the other of reproduction and elimination.
(From The Book of Thoth)
A HAND holding a branch of a rose tree, but without flowers or buds, save that in the centre is one fully blown white rose. Pentacles are disposed as on the points of a square; a rose in its centre. Symbols Sun and Capricorn above and below to represent the Decan.
Assured material gain: success, rank, dominion, earthy power, completed but leading to nothing beyond. Prejudicial, covetous, suspicious, careful and orderly, but discontented. Little enterprise or originality. According to dignity as usual.
Chesed of HB:H (Gain of money or influence: a present).
Herein do HB:KVQYH and HB:MNDAL bear rule
Benefit
Upright. This blade, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Present, Gift, Generosity, Beneficence, Liberality, Strenna, Grace, Offering, Giving, Gratification, Service. – White color, Lunar medicine, Stone to white.
Reversed. Enclosure, Circuit, Circumvolution, Circumscription, Circumference, Circle, Circulation. – Intercept, Obstruction, Engorgement, Hoarding, Cloister, Monastery, Convent. – Stop, Fixed, Determined, Definite, Extremity, Boundaries, Limits, Terms, End, Barrier, Dividing wall, Wall, Hedge, Wall. – Obstacles, Bars, Impediment, Suspension, Delay, Opposition.
MQS
(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 time period is the last decanate of Libra, October 13 to October 23, under the rulership of Mercury.
Well-Dignified: rest from sorrow, yet after and through it; relief from anxiety; rest after illness; quietness; change for the better; success in legal affairs; association with others in Mercurial pursuits; strong mental attraction to a person of the opposite sex; activity in writing or short journeys.
Ill-Dignified: inharmony with partners; unsettled conditions in legal
affairs; disorder and loss through ill-considered writings or needless
short journeys; vexations through petty strife and sarcastic speech.
Keyword: Rest.
(From the Oracle of Tarot Course)
The effigy of a knight in the attitude of prayer, at full length upon his tomb. Divinatory Meanings: Vigilance, retreat, solitude, hermit’s repose, exile, tomb and coffin. It is these last that have suggested the design. Reversed: Wise administration, circumspection, economy, avarice, precaution, testament.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)
The Four of Swords is called Truce. This seems rather on the lines of “the strong man armed, keeping his house in peace”. The masculine nature of air makes it dominant. The card is almost a picture of the formation of the military clan system of society.
[…]
The number Four, Chesed, is here manifested in the realm of the Intellect. Chesed refers to Jupiter who rules in Libra in this decanate. The sum of these symbols is therefore without opposition; hence the card proclaims the idea of authority in the intellectual world. It is the establishment of dogma, and law concerning it. It represents a refuge from mental chaos, chosen in an arbitrary manner. It argues for convention.
The hilts of the four Swords are at the corner of a St. Andrew’s cross. Their shape suggests fixation and rigidity. Their points are sheathed—in a rather large rose of forty-nine petals representing social harmony. Here, too, is compromise.
Minds too indolent or too cowardly to think out their own problems hail joyfully this policy of appeasement. As always, the Four is the term; as in this case there is no true justification for repose, its disturbance by the Five holds no promise of advance; its static shams go pell-mell into the melting-pot; the issue is mere mess, usually signalized by foetid stench. But it has to be done!
(From The Book of Thoth)
TWO White Radiating Angelic Hands, each holding two swords; which four cross in the centre. The rose of five petals with white radiations is reinstated on the point of their intersection. Above and below, on the points of two small daggers, are Jupiter and Libra, representing the Decanate.
Rest from sorrow; yet after and through it. Peace from and after war. Relaxation of anxiety. Quietness, rest, ease and plenty, yet after struggle. Goods of this life; abundance; modified by dignity as is usual.
Chesed of HB:V (Convalescence, recovery from sickness; change for the better).
Herein do HB:LAVYH and HB:KLYAL bear rule.
Solitude
Upright. This card means, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned and in its natural position: Solitude, Desert, Retired place, Hermitage. – Exile, Banishment, Proscription. – Uninhabited, Isolated, Abandoned, Neglected. – Tomb, Burial Ground, Coffin.
Reversed. Economy, Wise Conduct, Wise Administration. – Welfare, Management, Household management, Savings, Avarice. – Order, Arrangement, Relationship, Convenience, Concordance, Agreement, Harmony, Music, Disposition. – Will. – Reservation, Restriction, Exception. – Circumspection, Circumscription, Retention, Wisdom, Sympathy, Regard, Precaution.
MQS
As I’ve mentioned on this blog, I’ve been studying the divination tradition of the Bolognese Tarot (Tarocchino Bolognese, literally the Small Tarot of Bologna) for some months now. I’ve been doing it under the direction of a traditional practitioner of this art, whom I’ve befriended and with whom a wonderful exchange of ideas has started.
I plan on introducing this form of divination in its main lines for a couple of reasons: 1) it is little known outside of Italy and it deserves some love 2) Its reading techniques are markedly different from the current approach and allow for a very concrete, down-to-earth approach 3) I want to discuss some spreads done with it in the future, and I can’t do it without introducing it first 4) it is the oldest tarot-related divination tradition that we know of, and it is therefore cool from a historical standpoint.1
Like the almost totality of very old decks, with a couple of exceptions (the Visconti deck is one) the Bolognese tarot is distinctively unappealing from an esthetic standpoint, largely because, like other popular pre-RWS decks, it was meant to be used by poor people as a playing deck at the local inn.
The reason it is called ‘tarocchino’ (small tarot) has to do with its reduced size, probably to enhance its handlability. However, it is not just the size of the cards that is reduced, but also the number of the cards that comprise the deck: all pip cards from Two to Five are removed, leaving only the Ace of each suit plus the cards from Six to Ten and the court cards.
Furthermore, the Pope (Hierophant), Popess (High Priestess) Empress and Emperor are absent from the deck for political reasons, as Bologna was directly under the control of the Church. Instead, the deck includes four ‘Moors‘ (the Moors were Muslim colonizers that had conquered parts of Italy.)
Finally, the Bolognese Tarot has another peculiarity, in that the Major Trumps are out of order compared to our regular system. This may sound surprising to some, but our current ordering of the trumps is a relatively recent development and has nothing mystical about it (the oldest preserved document with the order of the trumps gives a rather different sequence).
The Bolognese Tarot tradition was almost entirely confined to the city of Bologna and the surrounding areas, and was at risk of dying out, until both the card game and the divination tradition were transmitted to a larger public thanks to the power of the Internet.
Interestingly, to this tradition is connected the most ancient set of meanings handed down by old sources. The following list dates back to the pre-Napoleonic period and gives the meanings of a reduced pack of thirty five cards. I’m copying it here for its historical interest, but it does not correspond to the system I have been taught:
As I said, this is not the system that I’ve been taught, and it is very likely that even back then more than one system existed (usually, significant differences are found from quarter to quarter in Bologna and from small village to small village in the surrounding areas). Since this cartomantic tradition predates Etteilla’s by at least a quarter of a century, and probably more, and since Etteilla says he learned to read the tarot from an Italian card reader (though he pretends it was Alexis of Piedmont to add to the mystery), it is not to be excluded that the Bolognese tarot had some influence on him.
But this is speculation. What is clear is that tarot divination, whenever it was born, was brought into the world as a way of addressing concrete issues. This series of articles is dedicated to bringing the tarot back to these roots.
MQS
In a previous article I discussed how the original Golden Dawn spread known as Opening of the Key fits perfectly into the mold of traditional divination by cards, although it adds certain occult layers to it. This is largely due to the absence of one-card-per-position layouts, the presence of peculiar techniques and the tendency to read cards in rows.
To sum up how the spread worked:
As you may have guessed, the Opening of the Key was a cumbersome spread, and while it was used for the solution of practical matters (Crowley famously remarked on this fact), it clearly was meant to be used primarily within a ritual setting, at least in its entirety.
What is also clear, though, is that the Opening of the Key is less a spread in itself than a blueprint for a complete tarot reading made up of five individual spreads, each of which analyzes the issue from a different standpoint, or rather by tapping into a different layer of it. The experienced card reader could simply choose one of the five spreads and use it without resorting to the others, as need dictates.
For the most part, it seems that many Golden Dawn members simply stuck to the first operation, which is consequently the most famous and iconic, where one cuts the pack into four smaller stacks and reads the one with the significator. The possible reason why the other operations were generally discounted is probably that almost all of them required the deck to be dealt out into small stacks, only one of which is read, so that it takes more time to deal the cards than to read them.
Other members, though, were more inventive. In his Oracle of the Tarot booklet, Paul Foster Case offers a simpler alternative to the five-operation extravaganza of the full method (which he nonetheless describes and recommends for more serious or complex questions)1
The divination starts as usual: by finding the stack containing the significator and telling the querent what he or she has come for without them telling us, based on the stack. In the original instructions, if the diviner is wrong in assessing the nature of the question, the divination should be abandoned. In reality, aside from the initial period of training, it seems that the location of the significator was simply used to color the interpretation of the cards.
At this point, Case’s simplified method diverges from the original. Instead of spreading out the stack into a single row or ring of cards and starting the counting technique from the significator, Case says the diviner must shuffle the stack and then deal it out into three smaller stacks, corresponding to the past, present, and future. Each stack is then read sequentially (as you would in playing card, Sibilla or Lenormand divination).
The simplification of the method is due to the fact that, instead of starting the exploration of the issue from the past/present with the first operation and then moving on to the further future with the other operations, one has immediately past, present and future condensed into a single method.
There are other ways of simplifying the Opening of the Key. Paul Hughes Barlow rose to some prominence a couple of years ago for his idiosyncratic way of reading the first of operation without relying on a significator, instead reading all four stacks, something for which he was reproved by some.
Personally, I have found Paul Case’s simplification very effective in my experiments, and I’ll probably post an example reading in the future.
MQS
Not every question is fit for divination, and as diviners who get approached by people, discernment and, if necessary, gate-keeping is among our rights and duties. I say this not because I want to feel part of a superior caste of priests, but because our practice should be informed by two great principles: the well-being of our querents and the honor of our art.
It is perfectly fine to ask questions out of mere curiosity or for fun, but the ultimate decision on whether a question shall be put to the cards rests with us. I, for one, have dodged more questions about controversial politicians in the last couple of weeks than in the last couple of years altogether, largely because the question, when boiled down to its essential meaning, was “Is it true this politician I hate is a spawn of Satan?”
Such questions are unanswerable not merely because they are idle, but because they are ultimately unverifiable: unless you are that politician’s cleaning lady you have few ways of verifying my answer. Furthermore, consider this: if my answer is anything except “yes, you’re absolutely justified in your hatred,” the person is going to be inclined to dismiss my answer as superstitious nonsense. Why, then, whould a positive answer be of any value?
But unanswerable questions are not just those that belong to the “is it true that my particular preferences are absolutely valid and I don’t ever need to question them?” category. Some are more tragic. Recently I got asked something heart-breaking: “Is my life still worth living?”
No matter how we slice it, THIS is an unanswerable question, which doesn’t make it a meaningless string of sounds. On the contrary, it is a clearly formulated cry for help. As someone who has been struggling with depression since my teen years and has gone dangerously close to the edge on more than one occasion, I resonate strongly with it. But the fact remains that divination is not the tool to solve this issue.
I refused to open the cards on this question, obviously, but suppose I had, and suppose that, predictably, the cards had shown me the absolute mess that is this person’s life: does this make their life less worth living?
There is no answer. In this case, not because we cannot verify the details (I could easily point at the cards and say “your career is in shambles and your family life is a museum of red flags”) but because the reality of the situation has no bearing on the answer. Worth is subjective. The exact same set of circumstances that might drive someone to walk into a lake with stones in their pockets would be taken by someone else as life throwing a little challenge their way.
Therefore, in this case the question would translate as “What is your personal opinion on what makes life worth living and do you think I still meet those criteria?” I don’t think anyone would be foolish enough to even consider taking such a responsibility for themselves.1 It is much wiser to talk to the person, encourage them to open up and direct them to an appropriate source of (medical) help.
Again, though, the fact that the question cannot be answered does not imply that there isn’t a deep, real, visceral experience behind it. It is just that divination is not the way to go. It is like asking a pair of scales to measure whether you are pretty.
MQS
(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 specific divinatory meanings are thus based on the attributions of Chesed, the planetary forces of Jupiter and Neptune, the zodiacal influences of Cancer ruled by the Moon, and the astrological fourth house. Jupiter’s sphere of influence is Chesed. It co-rules the third decanate of Cancer besides being exalted in this zodiacal sign. Therefore the Four of Cups has a very strong Jupiterian influence of wealth and expansiveness. The Four of Cups corresponding to the third decanate of Cancer is the time period July 13 to July 22, ruled by Jupiter and Neptune.
In specific Tarot Divination its key meanings are:
Well Dignified: success in material things, but desire for something higher; a period of comparative comfort, yet a little confining, thus suggesting a measure of satiety; it is a symbol of contemplation and of the turning away from pleasure in quest of higher things; it intimates strong psychic influences in the life or environment of the Querent.
lll-Dignified: material gain, but through injustice; sorrows resulting from satisfaction of desire; getting what one has wanted but finding no joy in it.
Keyword: Surfeit
(From the Oracle of Tarot Course)
A young man is seated under a tree and contemplates three cups set on the grass before him; an arm issuing from a cloud offers him another cup. His expression notwithstanding is one of discontent with his environment. Divinatory Meanings: Weariness, disgust, aversion, imaginary vexations, as if the wine of this world had caused satiety only; another wine, as if a fairy gift, is now offered the wastrel, but he sees no consolation therein. This is also a card of blended pleasure. Reversed: Novelty, presage, new instruction, new relations.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)
The Four of Cups is called Luxury.
The masculine nature of fire permits the Four of Wands to appear as a very positive and clear-cut conception. The weakness in the element of water threatens its purity; it is not quite strong enough to control itself properly; so the Lord of Pleasure is a little unstable. Purity has somehow been lost in the process of satisfaction.
[…]
This card refers to Chesed in the sphere of Water. Here, below the Abyss, the energy of this element, although ordered, balanced and (for the moment) stabilized, has lost the original purity of the conception.
The card refers to the Moon in Cancer, which is her own house; but Cancer itself is so placed that this implies a certain weakness, an abandonment to desire. This tends to introduce the seeds of decay into the fruit of pleasure.
The sea is still shown, but its surface is ruffled, and the four Cups which stand upon it are no longer so stable. The Lotus from which the water Springs has a multiple stem, as if to show that the influence of the Dyad has gathered strength. For although the number Four is the manifestation and consolidation of the dyad, it is also secretly preparing catastrophe by emphasizing individuality.
There is a certain parallelism between this card and the Geomantic figures Via and Populus, which are attributed to the Moon in her decrease and increase respectively. The link is primarily the “Change=Stability” equation, already familiar to readers of this essay. Four is an “awkward” number; alone among the natural numbers, it is impossible to construct a “Magic Square” of four cells. Even in the Naples Arrangement, Four is a dead stop, a blind alley. An idea of a totally different Order is necessary to carry on the series. Note also the refolding-in-upon-itself suggested by the “Magic Number” of Four 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 which is Ten. Four is the number of the Curse of Limitation, of Restriction. It is the blind and barren Cross of equal arms, Tetragrammaton in his fatal aspect of finality, as the Qabalists knew him before the discovery of the Revolving Formula whereby the Daughter, seated upon the Throne of the Mother, “awakens the Eld of the All-Father”.
For the meanings of Via and Populus, refer to the “Handbook of Geomancy” (Equinox Vol. I, No.2).
(From The Book of Thoth)
FOUR cups: the two upper overflowing into the two lower, which do not
overflow. An Angelic Hand grasps a branch of lotus, from which ascends a stem bearing one flower at the top of the card, from which the white water flows into the two upper cups. From the centre two leaves pass right and left, making, as it were, a cross between the four cups. Above and below are the symbols Moon and Cancer for the Decan.
Success or pleasure approaching their end. A stationary period in happiness, which may, or may not, continue. It does not mean love and marriage so much as the previous symbol. It is too passive a symbol to represent perfectly complete happiness. Swiftness, hunting and pursuing. Acquisition by contention: injustice sometimes; some drawbacks to pleasure implied.
Chesed of HB:H (Receiving pleasure or kindness from others, but some
discomfort therewith).
Therein rule the great Angels HB:HYYAL and HB:MVMYH.
Boredom
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Boredom, Displeasure, Discontent, Disgust, Aversion, Enmity, Hatred, Horror, Restlessness, Pain of spirit, Slight sadness, Affliction, Painful, Annoying, Unpleasant. – Saddening, Distressing.
Reversed. New Directive, New Light. – Index, Indication, Conjecture. – Augury, Foreboding. – Presentment, Foreboding, Predilection, Novelty.
MQS
