Category Archives: Tarot

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

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Six of Wands

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Six of Wands from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) Tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The second decanate of Leo, related to this Key, is the time period of August 2 to August 12, ruled by Jupiter. In Tarot divination, the Six of Wands partakes of a meaning similar to the conjunction of the Sun and Jupiter, combined with the influence of Leo and its natural fifth house.
Well-Dignified: success, happiness, gain; gain through love affairs or by the opposite sex; pleasure in labor; gain after a period of uncertainty and competition.
lll-Dignified: loss through the same things; waste in pleasure; trouble through pride of riches or through insolence based on success.
Keyword: Victory
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

A laurelled horseman bears one staff adorned with a laurel crown; footmen with staves are at his side. Divinatory Meanings: The card has been so designed that it can cover several significations; on the surface, it is a victor triumphing, but it is also great news, such as might be carried in state by the King’s courier; it is expectation crowned with its own desire, the crown of hope, and so forth. Reversed: Apprehension, fear, as of a victorious enemy at the gate; treachery, disloyalty, as of gates being opened to the enemy; also indefinite delay.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

The Six of Wands is called Victory. The outburst of energy in the Five of Wands, which was so sudden and violent that it even gave the idea of strife, has now completely won success. The rule, or lordship, in the suit of Wands is not quite as stable as it might have been if there had been less energy displayed. So, from this point, as soon as the current leaves the middle pillar, the inherent weakness in the element of Fire (which is this: that, for all its purity, it is not completely balanced) leads to very undesirable developments.

[…]

This card represents Tiphareth of the suit of Fire. This shows Energy in completely balanced manifestation. The Five has broken up the closed forces of the Four with revolutionary ardour, but a marriage has taken place between them; and the result is the Son, and the Sun.

The reference is also to Jupiter and Leo, which seems to imply a benediction on the harmony and beauty of this arrangement. It Will be seen that the Three Wands of the Three Adepts are now orderly arranged; and the flames themselves, instead of shooting out in all directions, burn steadily as in lamps. They are nine in number, in reference to Yesod and the Moon. This shows the stabilization of the Energy, and its reception and reflection by the Feminine.

There is no circle to enclose the system. It is self-supporting, like the Sun.
(From The Book of Thoth)

Rather prosaic AI-generated illustration for the Six of Wands

Golden Dawn’s Book T

TWO hands in grip as the last, holding six wands crossed three and three. Flames issue from the point of junction. Above and below are short wands with flames issuing, surmounted respectively by the symbols of Jupiter and Leo, representing the Decan.

Victory after strife: Love: pleasure gained by labour: carefulness, sociability and avoiding of strife, yet victory therein: also insolence, and pride of riches and success, etc. The whole dependent on the dignity.

Tiphareth of HB:Y (Gain).

Hereunto are allotted the great Angels HB:SYTAL and HB:a’aLMYH of the Schemhamphorash.

Etteilla

Servant
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Housekeeper, Servant, Valet, Lackey, Slave, Mercenary, Inferior. – Courier, Commissary, Factor. – Interior of the house, Ménage, Family, Complex of the servants of the house.
Reversed. Expectation, Expectation, Hope, Relying on, Grounding, Trusting, Promise. – Confidence, Foresight. – Fear, Apprehension.

MQS

Card Reading, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot, Uncategorized

The Great Spreads with the Bologna Tarot – The Staircase

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Following up on my previous post about the “bed sheet” spread with the Bologna tarot, I wanted to cover another full-deck spread: la scala, i.e., the staircase spread. You could also call it a pyramid spread, but I’ve never heard it being referred to as ‘pyramid’, possibly because pyramids were quite outside of the daily experience of the old ladies of Bologna. Here is the layout:

The staircase spread (la scala) with the Bologna Tarot

Note that this spread is intended for a 45-card deck. If you use a 50-card deck you’ll have five cards left over that you can put to the side as describing something imminent or something that is outside of the querent’s life (your choice).

The principles for interpreting this spread are the same as with the previous one: we look at the angles, then we locate the significator (Queen of Wands for a woman, King of Wands for a man). Generally speaking, anything above or before the significator shows the past, and anything after or under it shows the future, but we need to be flexible: sometimes we can just read the full column or row of the significator as a single sentence.

Furthermore, while the angles are important, we must not forcefully insert them into the reading: if they seem meaningful we can look at them, if they don’t, we can ignore them. Sometimes their significance becomes clear as the reading progresses.

Finally, we can look at the cards forming the outer diagonal side of the triangle as giving us one or more predictions concerning the future. In this case, the cards are read from the bottom to the top, walking up the stairs as it were.

In this case, let us suppose we are reading for a man. The angles of the spread are formed by Temperance, the Moor and the World. The cards are not especially clear. Let us move on for now. The King of Wands is found in the fourth column and third row. The row is quite negative: Justice is in the dark (Moon) causing suffering (Eight of Swords) at home (Ace of Cups) and confusion (Fool) that requires an expert (King of Coins). This could relate to something legal or bureaucratic.

In his column we find that there are messages and talks (Page of Swords, Page of Coins) with a woman who is close to him (Queen of Cups) and these communications are sad (Seven of Coins) but will be required to clarify some things (Queen of Coins).

Note that not everything we read in this spread must necessarily be connected to everything else, since this spread is supposed to be general. However, in this case we find that the querent’s card is close to the house card and the conversations happen with a family woman, so we can guess that the two things are related. Looking back at the angles, they cound indicate that this situation is requiring unexpected journeys.

Now let us look at the diagonal: the World and the Juggler could indicate a small trip or, considering the Ace of Wands is next to the Juggler, it might refer to hearing about a pregnancy. The Love card would confirm the joyful occasion. If we connect these cards, together with the Queen of Coins and the Strength card, to the issues we’ve seen relating the family, it could show the solution coming after a bit of uncertainty.

Considering the final cards on the stair, namely the King of Coins and the Chariot with the Moor, it could indicate an unexpected need to see a doctor (Chariot = sick bed, King of Coins = important man).

MQS

Card Reading, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot, Uncategorized

The Great Spreads With the Bologna Tarot – The Bed Sheet

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The Bologna Tarot is typically read in large spreads. This is because each card has very simple meanings, so one cannot spend their time musing on them at length as often happens in contemporary tarot practice. The Bologna Tarot is closer to the Sibilla or to playing cards or Lenormand in this sense (or even to how regular tarot readings used to be).

Many general spreads done to tell a broad fortune use the whole deck. This is the case of the Lezuolata, or bed sheet spread. It is a 5×9 spread similar to the Lenormand or Kipper Grand Tableau (this is for the 45-card deck. If you use the 50-card deck just add a tenth row). Here is an example:

The Bed Sheet spread (Lenzuolata) with the Bologna tarot

This spread is typically used to “locate” the querent’s card (either the King or the Queen of Wands) and see how their general circumstances are. It is typical to start the reading by having a look at the four cards in the angles. In this case we have the Tower, the Hermit, the Ace of Coins and the Page of Cups. This could indicate money trouble relating to a young woman (maybe a daughter). If we interpret the Page figuratively, then it shows that the querent has no (bad cards) monetary (Ace of Coins) satisfaction (Page).

Let us suppose we are reading for a woman. The Queen of Wands is located in the second-to-last row and in the second-to-last column. She looks at the Moon, behind which there is the Ace of Cups (the house) and the Ace of Swords (relationships, or something close). Behind her is the King of Swords, a young man, and underneath her is the Juggler, which is a kid. So possibly she has kids (remember the Page of Cups), and she is worried about her financial situation at home.

Let’s look at the column where she appears. Broadly, this is a positive column, with a King and Queen of Cups possibly indicating figures in the family. Right above the Queen is the Chariot, which in this tradition indicates the sick bed, again reinforcing the idea of suffering (not necessarily physical). But the two figures of the Queen and King bring her the Ten of Cups, flourishing, and some minor good luck thanks to the Wheel.

Above the Wheel we find the Page of Wands, her thoughts, and the Seven of Cups, which also relates to the family, especially protection from the family. Possibly, therefore, the Queen is worried about having money for her kids, but her parents or another couple from her family are helping her.

As can be seen, this spread is not meant to let you talk at length, but it does give you a snapshot of the querent’s life at that moment.

MQS

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

Bolognese Tarot – Connecting the Cards

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I’ve recently talked about understanding the order of the cards when using the Vera Sibilla and playing cards. The Bolognese tarot, being a traditional fortune-telling system, follows similar rules, and as such it is important to understand whether the cards add their meanings together or contradict each other. Example:

Page of Coins + Queen of Coins

The Page indicates words, while the Queen represents the truth. Therefore, in this case, we get “true words”, “trustworthy words”, and similar combinations.

Queen of Coins + Moon

The Queen of Coins is the truth, but it is followed by the Moon, which indicates negativity, falseness, secrets. Therefore the combination talks about hidden truths, and thus of potential lies to cover the truth.

Moon + Sun

In the Bolognese tarot, the Moon is the card of negativity, while the Sun is the card of positivity. Traditionally, the Sun and Moon together are called “the two red cards” (due to the color of the two celestial bodies in the card) or the sorrow combination. Since here the Moon comes first and is followed by the Sun, the sorrow is passing, the problem will be solved.

Sun + Moon

In this case, the Moon more decisively blocks the Sun, so the sorrow doesn’t stop, or at least will last longer.

Tower + Justice

The tower can represent a large building one would rather avoid. Justice represents the law. Together, the two cards can represent a courthouse (but they can also indicate that justice or fairness is impeded, if the reading is not about a trial).

Justice + Sun

The Sun affirms the positivity of something. Together with Justice, it shows justice, fairness, equilibrium, etc

Justice + Moon

This is the opposite. The Moon negates justice.

Justice + King of Coins

The King of Coins is an important person, usually one with a degree. With Justice, he becomes an attorney, a notary, someone who is competent in some area of law or bureaucracy.

Love + Hanged Man

The Love card indicates, of course, love. In the Bolognese Tarot, the Hanged Man represents betrayal (being hanged upside down was the punishment for traitors). Together, they can indicate some kind of dishonesty connected to love (with the figure of a third party, it would become a triangle).

Love + Ten of Cups

The Ten of Cups brings feasting and jollity, so this combination would describe a happy-go-lucky love that is blooming, and if we add the Fool, that’s obviously a very fun love with not much commitment.

Love + King of Coins + Justice + Tower

We’ve seen that the King of Coins with Justice indicates a lawyer, and Justice and the Tower indicate a court of law. Connected with Love, this combination could show a divorce.

World + Eight of Wands

The World card means “around the world” or journey. The Eight of Wands indicates a road or path. Clearly, the two cards together strengthen the idea of a literal journey.

World + Page of Cups

The Page of Cups can indicate a younger woman, while the World shows “from afar” or “from around the world”. So this young woman probably isn’t part of the querent’ life: she’s a stranger.

All in all, combining the cards of the Bolognese tarot is a relatively intuitive process, although there are some traditional combinations that we’ll need to talk about in a future post.

MQS

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

Understanding the Order of the Cards

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One thing that I often receive messages about is how to understand the order in which the cards fall. Whether it’s the Vera Sibilla or playing card, there is one fundamental rule that applies in the majority of cases: later cards modify those that fall before.

Keep in mind that divination with cards is like the reading of a book, so the cards build the equivalent of sentences with their own grammatical structure. This is why I prefer to read the cards together rather than in isolation, as would happen in many contemporary positional spreads, where to each position corresponds one card.

In the tradition I come from, there can be positions, but there are always at least three cards, and sometimes five, covering one position. When we have two or more cards together, it becomes possible to “agglutinate” their meanings.

“Boy” and “run” becomes “the boy is running.” “Boy” and “friend” becomes “the boy is with a friend” or “the boy is a friend.” “Boy” and “Australian” becomes “the boy is Australian.”

Similarly, if we put two playing cards together such as the Three of Clubs (Union, marriage) and the Ten of Hearts (Happiness) they say: the marriage is happy. In the Sibilla, if we put the Ace of Club (Marriage) and the Four of Hearts (Love) together, it becomes “a loving marriage” or “a marriage of love.”

These are the first steps only. There are many more nunaces. However, the basic thing we must ask ourselves when interpreting two or more cards together is whether they add to each other or they contradict each other.

When they add to each other, the sequence in which they fall doesn’t matter that much (though it may add shades of meaning). “A beautiful girl” is roughly the same as “A girl who is beautiful.” But if we have “War” and “Peace”, saying “Peace and then war” is very different from saying “War and then peace”.

In the Sibilla, Fortune + Death is the end of fortune (literally, “the fortune meets its end”), whereas Death + Fortune is an end that brings fortune. Generally speaking, the cards falling after have the power to modify those that fall before.

That being said, divination is an art more than a science: we should never apply our rules so rigidly that we stop thinking about what the cards are saying. In most cases, in the Sibilla, Thief + Marriage has a similar meaning as Marriage + Thief: someone or something is interfering with the marriage.

Ultimately, each spread is a world in itself and the specific key to it must be found by following the clues that the cards leave behind.

MQS

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

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Five of Pentacles or Coins

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Five of Pentacles from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the first decanate of Taurus, under the rulership of Venus, April 20 to 29. Meanings:
Well-Dignified: labor, toil, the cultivation of the land; building, and plans concerning it; some anxiety over money.
lll-Dignified: toil unrewarded; loss of money; poverty; trouble for the Querent through lack of imagination and foresight.
Keyword: Uncertainty; material trouble.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

Two mendicants in a snow-storm pass a lighted casement. Divinatory Meanings: The card foretells material trouble above all, whether in the form illustrated–that is, destitution–or otherwise. For some cartomancists, it is a card of love and lovers-wife, husband, friend, mistress; also concordance, affinities. These alternatives cannot be harmonized. Reversed: Disorder, chaos, ruin, discord, profligacy.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

The Five of Disks is in equally evil case. The soft quiet of the Four has been completely overthrown; the card is called Worry. [See Skeat, Etymological Dictionary. The idea is of strangling, as dogs worry sheep. Note the identity with Sphinx.] The economic system has broken down; there is no more balance between the social orders. Disks being as they are, stolid and obstinate, as compared with the other weapons, for their revolution serves t9 stabilize them, there is no action, at least not in its own ambit, that can affect the issue.

[…]

The Number Five, Geburah, in the suit of Earth, shows the disruption of the Elements, just as in the other suits. This is emphasized by the rule of Mercury in Taurus, types of energy which are opposed. It needs a very powerful Mercury to upset Taurus; so the natural meaning is Intelligence applied to Labour.

The symbol represents five disks in the form of the inverted Pentagram, instability in the very foundations of Matter. The effect is that of an earthquake. They are, however, representative of the five Tatvas; these hold together, on a very low plane, an organism which would otherwise disrupt completely. The background is an angry, ugly red with yellow markings. The general effect is one of intense strain; yet the symbol implies long-continued inaction.
(From The Book of Thoth)

A peasantly mystical AI-generated illustration for the Five of Pentacles

Golden Dawn’s Book T

A WHITE Radiant Angelic Hand issuing from clouds, and holding a branch of the white rose tree, but from which the roses are falling, and leaving no buds behind.
Five Pentacles similar to the Ace. Above and below are Mercury and Taurus.

Loss of money or position. Trouble about material things. Labour, toil, land cultivation; building, knowledge and acuteness of earthly things, poverty, carefulness, kindness; sometimes money regained after severe toil and labour.
Unimaginative, harsh, stern, determined, obstinate.
Geburah of HB:H (Loss of profession, loss of money, monetary anxiety).
Herein the angels HB:MBHYH and HB:PNYAL rule.

Etteilla

Lover
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Lover [man], Lover [woman], In love, Gallant man, Gallant woman, Husband, Wife, Groom, Bride, Friend, Friend. – Lover. – Loving, Lovingly, Adoring. – Harmony, Agreement, Convenience, Concordance, Good manners.
Reversed. Disorderly, Contrary to order. – Debauchery, Disorder, Turmoil, Confusion, Chaos. – Damage, Devastation, Ruin. – Dissipation, Consumption. – Unruliness, Libertinism. – Discord, Disharmony, Discordance.

MQS

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

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Five of Swords

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Five of Swords from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the first decanate of Aquarius, from January 20 to 29, under the rulers hip of Saturn and Uranus.
Well-Dignified: the decision is adve rse to the Querent in any matter of a material nature. In spiritual affairs this card portends apparent troubles which work out ultimately to good result. Thus this Key is one of trouble and anxiety, but rightly comprehended can be the turning point for positive good .
Ill-Dignified: the troubles are intensified and are probably due to the Querent’s own lack of understanding of the true nature of the situation. If the question is one of speculation, the Querent is likely to be disappointed due to his own desire to get something for nothing, to over-reach somebody else,
or to get rich quick.
Keyword: Defeat.
(From the Oracle of Tarot Course)

A. E. Waite

A disdainful man looks after two retreating and dejected figures. Their swords lie upon the ground. He carries two others on his left shoulder, and a third sword is in his right hand, point to earth. He is the master in possession of the field. Divinatory Meanings: Degradation, destruction, revocation, infamy, dishonour, loss, with the variants and analogues of these. Reversed: The same; burial and obsequies.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

The Five of Swords is similarly [to the other fives] troublesome; the card is called Defeat. There has been insufficient power to maintain the armed peace of the Four. The quarrel has actually broken out. This must mean defeat, for the original idea of the Sword was a manifestation of the result of the love between the Wand and the Cup. It is because the birth had to express itself in the duality of the Sword and the Disk that the nature of each appears so imperfect.

[…]

Geburah, as always, produces disruption; but as Venus here rules Aquarius, weakness rather than excess of strength seems the cause of disaster. The intellect has been enfeebled by sentiment. The defeat is due to pacifism. Treachery also may be implied.

The hilts of the swords form the inverted pentagram, always a symbol of somewhat sinister tendency. Here matters are even worse; none of the hilts resembles any of the others, and their blades are crooked or broken. They give the impression of drooping; only the lowest of the swords points upwards, and this is the least effective of the weapons. The rose of the previous card has been altogether disintegrated.

The historian is happy to observe two perfect illustrations of the mode of this card and the last in the birth of the Aeon of (1) Osiris, (2) Horus. He will note the decay of such Virtue as characterized Sparta and Rome, ending in the establishment of the Pax Romana. As Virtue declined, corruption disintegrated the Empire from within. Epicene cults, such as those of Dionysus (in its degraded form), of Attis, of Adonis, of Cybele, the false Demeter and the prostituted Isis, replaced the sterner rites of the true Solar-Phallic gods; until finally (the masters having lost the respect, and so the control, of the plebs, native and alien) the lowest of all the slave-cults, dressed up in the fables of the vilest of the parasitic races, swept over the known world, and drenched it in foul darkness for five hundred years. He will delight to draw close parallels with the cognate phenomena displayed before the present generation.
(From The Book of Thoth)

AI-generated illustration for the Five of Swords

Golden Dawn’s Book T

TWO Rayed Angelic Hands each holding two swords nearly upright, but falling apart of each other, right and left of the card. A third hand holds a sword upright in the centre as though it had disunited them. The petals of the rose, which in the four had been reinstated in the centre, are torn asunder and falling. Above and below are Venus and Aquarius for Decan.

Contest finished and decided against the person; failure, defeat, anxiety, trouble, poverty, avarice, grieving after gain, laborious, unresting; loss and vileness of nature; malicious, slanderous, lying, spiteful and tale-bearing. A busybody and separator of friends, hating to see peace and love between others. Cruel, yet cowardly, thankless and unreliable. Clever and quick in thought and speech.
Feelings of pity easily roused, but unenduring.

Geburah of HB:V (Defeat, loss, malice, spite, slander, evil-speaking).
Herein the Angels HB:ANYAL and HB:Cha’aMYH bear rule.

Etteilla

Loss
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Loss, Alteration, Discredit, Degradation, Perdition, Decay, Destruction, Deterioration, Deterioration, Diminution, Depression, Diminution, Damage, Failure, Prejudice, Blemish, Torts, Avarice, Decline of business, Failure, Disadvantage, Devastation, Dilapidation, Dissipation, Injury, Disgrace, Reversal, Reversal of fortune, Ruin. – Defeat – Debauchery, Disgrace, Dishonor, Infamy, Ignominy, Affront, Ugliness, Difformity, Humiliation. – Theft, Thievery, Rape, Plagiarism, Abduction, Filthy, Horrible. – Infamy, Corruption, Profligacy, Seduction, Libertinism.
Reversed. Mourning, Abasement, Affliction, Sadness, Grief, Pain of spirit, Funeral pump, Burial, Funeral, Inhumation, Burial.

MQS

astrology, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy, I Ching / Yi Jing, Playing Cards, Tarot, Uncategorized, Vera Sibilla

Handling Bad News

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No matter what kind of divination we practice: if it’s worth its salt and is not just some feelgood angel therapy oracle, it has the potential to deliver bad news. How we handle bad news is a mark of how helpful we are capable of being as diviners.

People can come to us for a variety of reason. They may need reassurance, hope, advice or just a quick look ahead. They may even come to us for fun or curiosity, and as long as they are not disrespectful, there is nothing wrong in indulging them.

The principle of respect for our querent stems from seeing them as a whole person rather than a sack of meat endowed with more than its fair share of doubts. We, as diviners and as handlers of odd devices (decks, charts, counters of various kinds) hold a degree of power over them. It is symbolic power, for sure, but reality itself is symbolic (that’s how magic works), therefore symbolic power is real power, and must not be misused.

Finding the right balance between informing the querent and respecting them can be difficult. It’s all well and good as long as the cards talk about pleasant trips and job interviews. But occasionally we recognize messages that we know are going to deeply upset our querent.

Causing unnecessary anguish is a no-no, and there are things that cannot be said without causing unnecessary anguish (“You’ll die soon”, “You’ll lose the baby). Even less serious topics (at least, less serious than death), such as marital infidelity must be treated with caution. We cannot just destroy whole families willy-nilly simply because our cards seem to hint at untoward dealings.

We must also distinguish whether a querent directly asks for something or something unpleasant simply shows up in the cards. Usually, if the querent asks for something, we can be more forthcoming, if we can speak with tact. If they ask “Will I get the job?”, they need to be able to accept “I’m not infallible, but it seems they appear more inclined to go with someone else.”

If they ask “Is my spouse faithful?” and the cards show clear signs of interference, an answer like “Remember that I could be wrong, but there does seem to be someone who’s trying whisk them away from you. Maybe it’s time to have an honest talk and try to solve the issue.”

Incredibly enough, even some taboo topics may occasionally be addressed in this guise. For instance, there are plenty of non-morbid reasons querents might want to know about death: “Do you think my elderly father going to survive long? I want to be able to visit him one last time but the situation at home is just crazy.”

While we must not delude the querent, we have no right to rob them of all hope. Aside from the mantra “Remember I’m a fallible human being”, and even aside from potential advice we might sometime give the querent to soften the blows of bad luck, there are occasionally ways of preparing the querent for a difficult situation without hurting them.

“Is the pregnancy going to go alright?” This is a question I am become more and more skeptical of answering as time goes by, because there is no way of saying anything other than “yes” and still be able to look at myself in the mirror. If we do find ourselves somehow coerced into answering it and the cards are less than positive, the only thing we may say is something to the effect of “Yes, but remember to take it easy, and the cards are saying you should pay extra attention to the doctor’s orders.”

Where all else fails, human empathy is our last line of defense. Helping the querent even for just some minutes by sharing their burden is part of what we may have to sign up for when we choose the path of divination.

MQS

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

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Five of Cups

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Five of Cups from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The Five of Cups is the first decanate of Scorpio, ruled by Mars, time period October 22 to October 31.
Well-Dignified: strength, power to do; ability to introduce needed changes and let go of relationships, prejudices and false ideas that are hindering spiritual progress.
lll-Dignified: loss in pleasure, vain regret, disappointment, sorrow and loss of those things which have been much desired; treachery, deceit; unexpected troubles and anxieties; disappointments in love, broken engagements, broken friendships.
(Note: These sorrows and disappointments, as indicated by the Five of Cups, lll Dignified, are often the necessary destruction before the beginning of a new and greater expansion and growth in the life of the Querent, depending on his basic understanding and evolutionary level.)
Keyword: Defeated desire.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

A dark, cloaked figure, looking sideways at three prone cups two others stand upright behind him; a bridge is in the background, leading to a small keep or holding. Divanatory Meanings: It is a card of loss, but something remains over; three have been taken, but two are left; it is a card of inheritance, patrimony, transmission, but not corresponding to expectations; with some interpreters it is a card of marriage, but not without bitterness or frustration. Reversed: News, alliances, affinity, consanguinity, ancestry, return, false projects.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

 […] the Five of Cups is called Disappointment, as is only natural, because Fire delights in superabundant energy, whereas the water of Pleasure is naturally placid, and any disturbance of ease can only be regarded as misfortune.

This card is ruled by Geburah in the suit of Water. Geburah being fiery, there is a natural antipathy. Hence arises the idea of disturbance, just when least expected, in a time of ease.

The attribution is also to Mars in Scorpio, which is his own house; and Mars is the manifestation on the lowest plane of Geburah, while Scorpio, in its worst aspect, suggests the putrefying power of Water. Yet the powerful male influences do not show actual decay, only the beginning of destruction; hence, the anticipated pleasure is frustrated. The Lotuses have their petals torn by fiery winds; the sea is arid and stagnant, a dead sea, like a “chott” in North Africa. No water flows into the cups.

Moreover, these cups are arranged in the form of an inverted pentagram, symbolizing the triumph of matter over spirit.

Mars in Scorpio, moreover, is the attribution of the Geomantic figure Rubeus. This is of such evil omen that certain schools of Geomancy destroy the Map, and postpone the question for two hours or more, when Rubeus appears in the Ascendant. Its meaning is to be studied in the “Handbook of Geomancy” (Equinox Vol. I, No.2).
(From The Book of Thoth)

AI-generated illustration for the Five of Cups

Golden Dawn’s Book T

A WHITE Radiating Angelic Hand, holding lotuses or water-lilies, of which the flowers are falling right and left. Leaves only, and no buds, surmount them. These lotus stems ascend between the cups in the manner of a fountain, but no water flows therefrom; neither is there water in any of the cups, which are somewhat of the shape of the magical instrument of the Zelator Adeptus Minor. Above and below are the symbols of Mars and Scorpio for the Decan.

Death, or end of pleasure: disappointment, sorrow and loss in those things from which pleasure is expected. Sadness, treachery, deceit; ill-will, detraction; charity and kindness ill requited; all kinds of anxieties and troubles from unsuspected and unexpected sources.
Geburah of HB:H (Disappointment in love, marriage broken off, unkindness of a
friend; loss of friendship).
Herein rule HB:LVVYH and HB:PHLYH.

Etteilla

Legacy
Upright. This card, in its natural position, means, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned: Inheritance, Succession, Bequest, Gift, Donation, Endowment, Estate, Transmission, Will. – Tradition, Resolution [=Decision]. – Kabbalah.
Reversed. Consanguinity, Blood, Family, Avi, Ancestors, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, Cousin. – Filiation, Extraction, Race, Lineage, Alliance. – Affinity, Attachment, Relationship, Ties.

MQS

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

Which Card Prevails?

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I’m taking inspiration from a question I got asked recently to talk about an important topic in cartomancy. Sometimes (in fact, many times) the cards appear contradictory, with positive and negative cards mixed together. The question I was asked is, which cards prevail in the reading.

Before starting the interpretation, it is usually a good thing to get a general look at the cards to see the ‘tone’. Are they mostly positive? Are there places in the spread that seem difficult? Are there cards that answer the question directly? You don’t need to come up with the interpretation right away, but it’s good to be aware.

However, this general bird-eye view is not enough. Usually, in cartomancy, we read the cards from left to right as if they were a sentence, stringing the meanings together. Therefore, as a general rule, 5♥️ – 4♠️ is worse than 4♠️ – 5♥️. In the former case, the abundance is broken or blocked, while in the latter case the brokenness and blockage are overcome.

In this sense, it is important to pay attention to whether the negative points in the spread come at the beginning, in the middle or at the end, because. Even if there’s two negative cards out of five, if they come up at the end they can obstruct success. If they come at the beginning, it may be a passing problem.

Again, though, let us avoid purely mechanical rules. Suppose a five-card spread is all positive and shows the querent getting what he wants, and then at the end there is one negative card. This card may show not failure, but that the fulfillment of the wish comes with problems. In these cases it is always good to either add cards or do another spread.

Similarly, the cards are entirely negative and show failure, a single positive card at the end doesn’t necessarily show that the querent will get his way. It could be showing that there will be new opportunities. Again, additional cards or a new spread may be warranted.

When we ask a question and a card directly connected to it comes up in the spread, it is always important to look at the cards surrounding it, especially if they are of the same suit, and even more important are the cards following it, because they will show us what will happen to the significator of the question.

For instance, if the question is about a pregnancy, the 5♥️ followed by positive cards is encouraging. If the question is about work, the 8♣️ surrounded by Spades could show serious problems or even unemployment. In a marriage question, the 3♣️ surrounded by Hearts shows a loving union.

These are rules of thumb. Every spread is unique and must be judged on its own merits and in its own structure.

MQS