Category Archives: Vera Sibilla

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

Vera Sibilla Reading Example – Don’t Fixate on Combinations

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The Vera Sibilla tradition is steeped in combinations that are handed down in specific order. These combinations are important, but to understand them, you need to keep in mind that, in the olden days, at least in Italy, you would simply sit in front of the fortune teller and he or she would tell you your general future, sometimes covering your whole life. In this context, the traditional combinations are highly effective. Divination is not about numbers, but if I had to put a number to it, I would say that, in a questionless reading, classic combos are around 70 – 80% accurate.

Combinations are also an extremely valid learning tool, as you let your brain wrap itself around the deck and its language, just as it’s useful when you are very little and your parents teach you specific turns of phrases that tend to have always the same meaning. Over the years, however, you learn to create variations on the theme and you develop a more plastic language that is also more adaptable to all circumstances.

Let’s take this recent reading example. A friend of ours told his parents that he won’t be able to visit for Christmas (they live in Scheswig-Holstein, in Northern Germany, while we live in Rheinland-Pfalz, in the South-West). His mother sounded cheerful on the telephone, but he asked how she had taken the news. These cards came up:

Vera Sibilla Oracle Card Reading Example

If you were to interpret these cards according to traditional combinations, you would say something to the effect of: you need to stay away from your mother (Person card reversed next to the Three of Hearts reversed) because she is a scheming bitch (Seven of Hearts reversed)

But let us take a deeper look at the cards. The Balcony card, when upright, represents the arrival of someone or something. When reversed, often it shows waiting in vain. This implies that the mother was expecting her son to visit.

Next to the mother we have the Scholar reversed. In addition to plotting and scheming, this card also shows plans that don’t come to fruition, so we can say she was planning the Christmas together. But there is more. It is also the card of illusion and a sense of futility and sterility. To choose the appropriate meaning, let us look at the central card, the Queen of Hearts reversed.

The mother could have safely come up as the Queen of Diamonds, the Wife or Married Woman. It is crucial to understand, though, that the Queen of Diamonds is essentially attached to her roles in life, rather than to feelings. This doesn’t mean she is evil or a bad mother, only that she fulfills her role primarily because it’s her role.

The Queen of Hearts, the Girlfriend, on the other hand, is essentially a loving person, one who follows her heart and who has love to give. Coming up reversed, she finds herself frustrated in this aspect.

Knowing this, let us go back to the Scholar. In this case, it must represent futility as well all the other stuff. She feels sterile and futile as a mother.

We also need to consider that we have three out of three Heart cards, all three reversed. This shows that clearly she longs for a connection she doesn’t have. Probably not the most stable person, emotionally speaking, but not the dangerous, scheming woman that you would see in the cards according to usual combinations.

MQS

Creativity, Divination, Enneagram, Personal Journal, Playing Cards, Tarot, Vera Sibilla, Visuals

Future Projects + Thank You

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As of today, I have officially doubled the amount of single visitors that reached my blog compared to last year and almost tripled the amount of page views, and for this I thank you wholeheartedly!

Fun facts: 1) despite my Sibilla section being older and therefore better indexed online, my playing cards section has been visited more. I am not surprised, as playing cards are more popular, but I am surprised that it happened so quickly. 2) I officially have visitors from all inhabited continents! 3) The US have by far overtaken Italy as the country that visits my blog the most 4) The UK, Brazil, Greece, Peru, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia also have a strong presence 5) In total 84 countries have visited! 6) I have no statistics for this, but I have also interacted with a lot more people through private messages. It’s always fun to exchange opinions and experiences

Future Projects

This year I have been active as never before. I started branching off in various directions that interest me, and I have plans for more. In addition to adding to the sections I have already opened, I plan to start talking more about Tarot, as well as a new interest of mine, the I Ching.

I also want to open a section on magic and occultism, as well as expanding the section on spirituality. I’ve been thinking about it a lot–I usually prefer to heed the old advice to keep silent about occult endeavors, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong.

A section on philosophy is also probably going to come, as I find it hard to separate serious occultism from philosophy, but it’s unlikely to come next year (though never say never). The thing is, my PhD in philosophy makes me rather anal when it comes to philosophical topics.

As I started dabbling in video editing, a small youtube channel may be coming at some point, but I don’t want to put myself under too much stress, so that’s just a thought at the moment.

Also, in my spare time I have started editing old manuscripts on various occult topics, which I plan to make available on amazon. In one case I simply updated the English, but I am also translating a couple of books from Italian, French and Latin.

Finally, I’ve been thinking of moving the blog from wordpress.com to wordpress.org, but I’m still undecided on the matter. One thing’s for sure: I want to get rid of the ads.

MQS

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

Vera Sibilla Reading – Beware of Some Magical Societies

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Here’s a quick one. A friend of mine asked me if it was a good thing for her to join a certain rather well-known magical order. The order shall remain unnamed, as in case of a defamation lawsuit it wouldn’t be a good sight if I just waved a picture of a card spread under the judge’s nose as evidence.

Should I enter the magical order? A cartomancy spread with the Vera Sibilla oracle

The most obvious thing that caught my eye is the reversed Three of Spades (the Widower). This card represents secret sects, and it never describes them in a positive light. To be clear, a secret group is not in itself a bad thing. Nor is a magical order a bad thing in itself – I have been part of a couple and still am in one. But if the group you are enquiring about is represented by the Widower reversed it is NOT good.

That they perform less than positive acts is shown by the reversed Peacock. The Seven of Clubs indicates that they prey on people’s self-esteem and/or by promising honors. I could have added some cards to see if it also showed that they wanted some of her money – but it doesn’t really matter. The spread is clear: the querent has already had contacts with them and has been offered to join, or something else, like a ritual (I haven’t asked) but the querent would do well to stay away. This is not to say that they are charlatans, as the spread does not concentrate on this, but that they are people that are best kept at a distance.

MQS

Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, I Ching / Yi Jing, Occultism and Esoterism, Philosophy, Playing Cards, Spirituality and Psychology, Tarot, Vera Sibilla

Why You Can’t Be a Fatalist

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This post is part of my Notes on Divination series. This gets somewhat philosophical and is rough and not organized, so bear with me.

I already talked about the limitations of free will in divination. Undoubtedly I will need to talk a lot more about it in the future. For now, though, I want to discuss the other side of the coin, namely predestination.

Predesination is the idea that the future is predetermined. This is already vague, because the way in which the future is supposed to be predetermined changes based on the particular view: the way in which a flower necessarily follows from a seed is not the same way as the ending of a movie necessarily follows its beginning. No matter how many times you rewind, Baby Jane always snaps. She cannot do otherwise, for her life has been scripted and it plays out from beginning to end according to the script.

In the case of the seed, although there are contingent factors at play (for instance, the quality of the soil or the amount of water it receives) we are talking about a form of internal necessity. Baby Jane’s life, though, is determined by external factors: she is nothing more than what the author of the book and those of the movie wanted her to be.

The question is: could Baby Jane understand that her life is so predetermined, if someone told her? Let us suppose that the writers had added a scene where she consults a diviner and has her fortunes told to her. The diviner is a good one, and correctly tells her what is going to happen to her, her sister, etc.

Does this change things? The answer, in this case, is no. It doesn’t change anything, because the fortune teller’s scene has also been scripted and plays out for the same reason every other scene in the movie plays out. From an external standpoint, the meeting with the diviner would be no different than any other part of the movie. It would be just another link in the chain.

The Fatalist

But this is not how divination works in real life. In real life, we don’t have the privilege of an external poit of view from which to witness our existence in the same way as when we watch a movie. We can watch a movie because we are not in any meaningful sense part of it.

But we are part of life. We are part of the flow of existence. More specifically, we are that section of existence that is capable of reflecting on existence itself, or, if we want to get trippy, we are the section of existence through which existence reflects on itself: we are existence’s self-consciousness.

This has enormous consequences on our freedom. Let us suppose someone tried to argue that our life is predetermined by a kind of external destiny that uses us like sockpuppets in the same way a character is written by a writer.

The first and most important consequence is that the very fact that they are saying that we are predetermined would itself be predetermined. That is to say, the person does not believe that we are predetermined because it is true that we are predetermined, but because he or she has been written as a fatalist.

Of course, the person in question would like to argue back that they are a fatalist because it is true that we are predetermined. But in defending this view, what they are truly saying is “everything is predetermined, except me when I argue that everything is predetermined.” This is obviously inconsistent: a theory–any theory–must be consistent with its own uttering. But fatalism cannot be truly uttered without incurring self-contradiction. The moment one says “Everything is predetermined,” they place themselves outside of the destiny they try to describe.

This happens for a subtle reason. Consciousness is inherently the place of freedom. It would take me a whole treatise to discuss this (and maybe I will write one at some point) but to be concise, we cannot be conscious of something without placing ourselves outside of it and beyond it. If I am conscious of this pen or this flower, this pen or this flower are the object of my attention, and I am the subject. No matter how strictly connected subject and object are, they are not the same, and when they are, there is no consciousness.*

If you read a few paragraphs back, I said that we are essentially existence’s self-consciousness. This means that through us existence perceives itself as its own object. Furthermore, in being conscious of itself, existence moves beyond necessity, exactly in the same way that any person (even a fatalist) places themselves outside of their own fatalism by being conscious of it.

In the next blog post I will discuss more closely how the ideas I just presented impact divination.

MQS

* I know that mystics like to argue that the subject-object distinction is artificial, but I’ll leave this for another post. My short answer is that without duality, unity is barren, while without unity, duality is inconsistent and inconceivable.

Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, I Ching / Yi Jing, Occultism and Esoterism, Philosophy, Playing Cards, Tarot, Vera Sibilla

Free Will and Prediction (Notes on Divination)

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This post is part of my Notes on Divination series. This gets somewhat philosophical and is rough and not organized, so bear with me.

I have been playing with the idea of writing a book on the philosophy of divination. In fact, I have been playing with ideas for a lot of books on occultism, but I need to start somewhere. This is the first in a series of articles on such topics. Don’t take the following as an organized treatise–it is more like a random gathering of thoughts.

It’s impossible to be self-aware diviners without sooner or later stumbling upon the question of free will, the two most simplistic options being that we have complete free will and therefore divination is not about the future or that we have no free will at all and everything is predestined. I will argue in another article that both options actually prevent meaningful prediction.

Often people talk about “compatibilism” that is, the idea that prediction and free will can be seen as compatible. This is all very well, but it means nothing unless one explains how. Inevitably, explaining it requires one to clearly define the space alloted to both. Here I talk about all things that limit our choice, while in a future article I will talk about the limits of prediction.

Firstly, we need to acknowledge that when it comes to divination, it is not at all clear that we talk about prediction. After decades of New Age nonsense, divination has largely been relegated to the uttering of ‘inspired wisdom’, wisdom apparently being the consolation prize for those that can’t look at reality for what it is.

People who usually manage to compose their faces in a mask of sanity abandon all commonsense as soon as they pick up a tarot deck: you create your own destiny, you can do whatever you want. Well, you don’t. This is provably so. We cannot treat people as if they were bundles of free will floating in empty space. People come from specific backgrounds and have specific problems, idiosyncrasies and preferences that dictate their course.

You may be free, for instance, to choose between vanilla and chocolate, but if you hate chocolate you’ll probably pick vanilla. This is often seen as part of people’s free choice, but if we think about it for a second, it is actually a limit to personal freedom: an inner disgust toward something leads you toward something else without you being able to control it.

Free Will and Destiny

In other words, your choice, which is theoretically open to everything, is already limited by a number of psychological hangups that push you around like a sock puppet. That is a limit to free will in my book. Divination may very well be used to delve into these issues and to widen your options. In fact, it is a very good use of divination. But we cannot use divination to do so if we don’t first acknowledge that our options are limited, sometimes severely so.

But preferences are just one kind of limit. Another one comes in the form of ( the much reviled in spiritual circles) objective reality. If you are in a blind alley, know no martial arts, have no means of self-defense and an armed thug is walking toward you, that’s a pickle you can’t meditate or visualize your way out of.

This is not to say that you’ll inevitably lose. Maybe the dude is drunk and collapses to the ground as soon as he stumbles on that banana peel; maybe you are very good at talking and you persuade him to let you go by striking the right note; maybe a falling bit of debris from a ramshackle building takes care of him.

All this (and more) is possible. But the objective fact that you are in the blind alley in a less-than-desirable situation instead of sucking on a Capri Sun on your way to Hawaii imposes certain limits (just as this latter scenario imposes other limits)

The example above is situational, but our whole life is a series of determining factors that limit our trajectory. Look back on your personal history and you’ll probably be able to see traces of many, many past situations that still accompany you to this day, for better or worse. Even past choices become hard, unchangeable facts once enough time passes. You cannot, for instance, ungraduate from that useless gender studies degree in order to pursue a STEM subject. Although you can divorce, you cannot unmarry the person you married. Although you can abandon your child, you cannot unbirth it.

We could go on, but this point is clear enough: at any given moment in time we find ourselves shaped by a series of objective, subjective and intersubjective factors that limit us and our possible trajectory.

The delusional New Age view that we are the product of our current decisions does happen to stumble upon a little bit of truth, though it mischaracterizes it. It is true that, in so far as we abstract from ourselves and we move toward the universal, we peel backs layers of individual conditioning and we move toward the unconditional, however you may choose to call it (God, Being, One, Reality, Ensoph, etc.)

But there is a catch: moving toward the unconditional means not just letting go of our limits, but also of the aims that would lead us to want to overcome those limits as, however we may understand the unconditional, it is not conditioned by this or that choice. The fact of the matter is that free will may very well be the substance of reality, but in so far as it is the substance of reality it is not the substance of my limited whims.

In practice, therefore, the idea of unconditional free will is untenable from the standpoint of a diviner, as abiding by it renders the divination process futile, however we may understand it. This is not to say that complete determinism fares much better, as I shall show in the next article.

MQS

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

Vera Sibilla | Health Correspondences

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Here is a quick (and non exhaustive) list of the main health-related meanings of the Vera Sibilla. I almost never accept health readings, and I am in no wise an expert in the field (either medically or ‘cartomantically’). However health issues can come up in general readings or, if serious, even when consulting about something else. Usually you’ll find the card(s) of the organ(s) close to the 4♠ and/or K♣ or K♠, but it’s not always so. I presuppose that those reading this post are well-adjusted adults who know their limits, so I’m not going to spend too much type lecturing you on what you ought or ought not to do. Just be wise.

A♥ – Conversation / Conversazione = throat, mouth, doctor visits

2♥ – House / Casa = the skeleton (but it is also a card of good health, stability, protection)

3♥ – Balcony / Belvedere = the eyes, vertigo

4♥ – Love / Amore = the sexual organs, but also the eyes (especially eyesight issues)

5♥ Happiness / Allegrezza al Cuore = blood circulation, inherited diseases that run in the family, broadly good health and recovery, some say the neck

6♥ Money / Denaro = immune system, past diseases or inherited diseases (if reversed new diseases)

7♥ Scholar / Letterato = mind and brain. Reversed it is also connected with impotence in more than one sense

8♥ Hope / Speranza = kidneys, bladder, liquids, breasts. Reversed also the lymphatic system

9♥ Faithfulness / Fedeltà = good health broadly, but with negative cards or if reversed difficult recovery (the illness is faithful to us), chronic issues, also illnesses from pets and animals, but this is rare

10♥ Perseverance / Costanza = the spine and the back, a tendency to put on weight, long illness

J♥ Boyfriend / Amante = rarely it can indicate the hands

Q♥ Girlfriend / Amatrice = all things feminine, female sexual organs, the scalp and hair

K♥ Gentleman / Gran Signore = all things masculine, male sexual organs, incredible recovery

A♣ Marriage / Imeneo = injections, the male sexual organ, immune system

2♣ The Peacock/Pride / Superbia = beauty, recovery (reversed it is connected with the eyes and with all those attitudes that prevent recovery)

3♣ Journey / Viaggio= movement, muscles, the limbs and the hips

4♣ Friend / Amica = nurses and helpful figures, figuratively the need to seek one or a new one

5♣ Fortune / Fortuna = good luck (when reversed slow recovery)

6♣ Surprise / Consolante Sorpresa = caught diseases (reversed with bad cards can also show utter bodily collapse)

7♣ Gratification / Gran Consolazione = resilience, vitamins and all things that fortify us (reversed a disordered life, anxiety, weakness, depletion)

8♣ Reunion / Riunione = Arms, recovery from illness (reversed also depression, retention, constipation)

9♣ Cheerfulness / Allegria = food, nutrition, drinking, mouth, throat, ears, good health (reversed also excesses, the kidneys, the liver, the bladder)

10♣ Levity / Leggerezza = intestines, glands of all kinds, the respiratory system

J♣ Helper / Domestico = problems (including mental) typical of boys, a male nurse, physical activity

Q♣ Maiden / Giovane Fanciulla = problems (including mental) typical of girls, the skin, a female nurse

K♣ Doctor / Dottore = the GP, the need to get a checkup

A♦ Room / Stanza = convalescence, recovery, visit, a doctor’s surgery, the female sexual organ (reversed it can be the unpleasant discovery of an illness)

2♦ Letter / Lettera = diagnosis, prescriptions, tests, anxiety

3♦ Gift / Omaggio = objects used during surgery and possibly inserted in the body, crystallizations in the body, lymphatic system

4♦ Falsehood / Falsità = heart

5♦ Melancholy / Malinconia = spleen, tiredness, sadness

6♦ Thought / Pensiero = nervous system, a doctor’s opinion or your opinion on what to do about health

7♦ Child / Bambino = illnesses typical of babies and young kids

8♦ Handmaid / Donna di Servizio = allergies, feet, legs, joints, movement

9♦ Fools / Deliranti = lungs, mental diseases, all double organs, medical oversight

10♦ Thief / Ladro = Stomach, the ingestion of noxious things

J♦ Messenger / Messaggero = usually test tesults

Q♦ Wife / Donna Maritata = diseases typical of women, chronic diseases

K♦ Merchant / Mercante = baldness, physical defects, medical expenses

A♠ Sorrow / Dispiacere = head, the mind, infections (reversed also fertility)

2♠ Old Lady / Vecchia Signora = bones and teeth, problems typical of old people, longevity

3♠ Widower / Vedovo = it’s a serious and complex card, all kinds of deficiencies, serious mental issues, complications, when reversed also abuses of all kinds, harmful conducts, removal of organs or limbs

4♠ Sickness / Ammalato = sickness in general, tiredness, depletion

5♠ Death / Morte = blood, deadly or serious diseases, smoking, toxic substances, self-harm

6♠ Sighs / Sospiri = lungs, bronchi, anxiety, fears, etc. Reversed also the urinary system

7♠ Tragedy / Disgrazia = strokes, surgery, hives, heatstrokes, pressure, burns, dangerous allergies

8♠ Desperation and Jealousy / Disperato per Gelosia = legs, all problems you cause to yourself, serious mental issues, reversed it can indicate paralysis and accidents

9♠ Prison / Prigione = blockages, constipation, the buttocks, umbilical cord, pregnancy, impotence

10♠ Soldier / Militare = liver, muscles, strength, resistance

J♠ Enemy / Nemico= parasites, viruses, medications hurting the body, substance abuse

Q♠ Rival / Nemica = removal of organs or body parts (especially when reversed), dangerous diseases that don’t manifest themselves, nasty side effects of medication

K♠ Priest / Sacerdote = the specialist doctor

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

Vera Sibilla Reading – Will He Get a Job?

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Occasionally I get to do a reading that is worth discussing. This reading was done last November. A friend of ours, a mature woman, was worried that her son, 21, wasn’t going to find a job. The cards were:

“Will my son find a job?” Vera sibilla reading

The first card, the Merchant, is the theme card for the son’s work. It is reversed, showing the difficult moment. Immediately after comes the Fortune card, which technically should be a stroke of luck in the person’s destiny. Following is the Sighs card, which represents delay and waiting, in its main meanings. It also shows that the card the young woman is looking at is something the querent is worried about or is expecting. The Maiden, the Queen of Clubs, is usually a significator for a young woman. However, it also has the peculiar function of showing where the problem lies: it’s the card she is facing away from and pointing her finger at. Finally, there’s the Death card. Usually it’s not good to end a reading with the Death card, but in this case the reading was clear enough.

The young man will not find a job. The stroke of luck (Fortune) is not real, but merely something he is waiting for (Sighs). To paraphrase, he’s not looking for a job. This is the problem (Maiden) that leads to a dead end (Death). For several months, therefore, the boy won’t find a job, simply because he is passively hoping it will drop in his lap. In July of 2023 I got confirmation that he hasn’t yet found one. Of course, the cards are time-bound. At this point it would be good to do another reading. We shall see.

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

Vera Sibilla FAQ

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My version has keywords. Should I use them?

Honestly? No. The keywords provided are extremely limiting, they are sometimes completely stupid (the Gift card does NOT mean obstacles) and they were clearly added by people working on the graphics of that particular version in the 60s or 70s. People working on a deck’s graphics in a big manufacturing company are NOT card readers. Their boss probably told them to add keywords so they could market the deck as ‘now improved and easier to read’ or something to that effect.

What are the little numbers supposted to mean?

They are lottery numbers. Some older versions even have three numbers. I’ve never paid attention to them, but then again my eyes glaze over at the mere mention of lottery and games of chance.

In my deck the cards of the Three of Diamonds and Eight of Diamonds are swapped. Why?

I honestly have no clue. My best guess is that there was an error made during the reelaboration of the deck for that specific edition. The traditional numbering is 3♦ for the Gift and the 8♦ for the Handmaid. If they are swapped in your version it’s not a big deal. Just don’t expect it to be due to some deep kabbalistic consideration. No “tzaddi is not the Star” and all that jazz. The Sibilla is much simpler.

Can I use playing cards with the meanings you provide?

Yes. If it helps you, write the title on each card.

What is the difference between the Vera Sibilla and the Sibilla della Zingara?

The Sibilla della Zingara (sometimes marketed as Gypsy oracle cards) is a reimagining of the Vera Sibilla, and is relatively recent compared to it. It was created because the Sibilla was popular and they wanted to update the graphics. Whether you choose it or the Vera Sibilla is a matter of taste, though I personally prefer the original. There is no difference in terms of meanings.

Do you recommend any books on the Vera Sibilla/Sibilla della Zingara?

I am a sucker for books. I believe I am aware of most, if not all books written on this deck in most languages, which isn’t to say much. I can, in all honesty, only recommend one which is still available: Alessandra Venturi’s Italian Cartomancy. It is poorly organized and it doles out information in hopes or making you fork out more money for the author’s course. There are no examples, no combinations, no spreads. But the information it does contain is solid. All other books on the Vera Sibilla/Sibilla della Zingara in all languages I PERSONALLY consider pretty bad (you are welcome to your own judgment). Italian cartomancer Etienne Valancourt is working on a book. It’s been years in the making, so I don’t know if he’ll ever publish it, but I have great respect for him and I already recommend it even before having read it.

Can I skip reversals?

Yes, you can do what you want. I myself do not actively create reversals when shuffling: any card reader will tell you that cards simply have a way of reversing themselves. I deal out the cards as they are, and then, in gathering them up, I don’t pay too much attention to how they face. However, I always try to start a new reading session with my cards upright. Even then, often one or two cards will reverse themselves. Call it chance, call it magic, but it happens. I would suggest that you pay attention when a card comes up reversed, but you can do what you want.

Can I make up my own meanings?

The first thing to realize when it comes to any psychic skill is that there is no psychic police. So yes. You can. I know some people who don’t use traditional meanings and give perfectly satisfactory readings. My own meanings are a mix of tradition and experience, and the numerology I use is invented, not traditional.
The second thing to realize is that if you are asking me, or anyone, for permission to do what you want, you’ve already lost. Detract further points if you pay someone in order to be told.
The third thing to realize is that just because you can reinvent the wheel doesn’t mean you have to. There is no psychic police, but there are established practices. To dismiss them out of hand without knowing them can be just as much an act of weakness as slavishly following them. Another point worth mentioning is that when we make up something we place our own limitations on it. It can be good to measure yourself against something you didn’t make up even just to stretch your imagination, skill and preconceptions.
My advice would be to educate yourself (here or somewhere else), make your own experience and adjust accordingly.
Or do what you want. Just don’t ask me to validate you. You don’t need validation and I am not inclined to validate people.

Can I just use the pictures as a guide?

Again, you can do what you want. Remember to keep a record of your readings, though, so you can go back to them and see what was accurate and what wasn’t.

Can I use the information you give as basis and develop it in my own way?

Of course! That’s what I did.

Do I have to memorize the combinations?

A handful of combinations are so classic (like that for pregnancy) that not to know them would be a mistake in my opinion, but combinations don’t need to be memorized, especially because you will find that the same combination could mean something totally different when surrounded by other cards. Just use the ones I provide as a mental gymnastics, but don’t confine yourself to them, nor to the interpretations I provide.

Do I need to consecrate/purify the deck?

No, but you can. I do. I would also suggest that you keep your deck near you for some time. As a rule, anything that helps you feel attuned to the deck is good.

Can I make up my own spread?

Absolutely!

Who taught you?

The mother of one of my professors. The numerology is something I made up to make sense of the meanings I learned and to expand on them.

Will you teach me one-to-one?

I will not. I don’t have the time. Besides, theory will only get you so far, and this blog is, I believe, most if not all the theory you need. You need to practice and keep a record of your readings. Don’t exaggerate with readings for yourself. Don’t force yourself to ask questions just out of idle curiosity to see what the cards say. Strive to read for others. Nag your friends and relatives. That’s the best way to start. That’s not to say you can’t read for yourself. Just know your limits.

If I send you my spread will you interpret it for me?

I will not. I don’t have the time. Also, I believe everyone should take responsibility for their spreads and I also think that the language of the cards is somewhat personal, just like different dialects within the same language. Just because all the words are found in the same general dictionary doesn’t mean every word has the same significance and importance for every speaker. Learn your own cartomancy language. You can do it!

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

Vera Sibilla | Twenty Five Card Spread

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A last spread I wanted to cover with you, another one that can be used for general readings, is the twenty five card spread. This is similar to the twenty one card spread, but instead of seven packs of three, you use five packs of five cards.

Pack 1: The Querent
Pack 2: The Home
Pack 3: Work
Pack 4: Love
Pack 5: What you don’t expect

This method also has a short time frame, rarely beyond three months. As usual, lay out the cards and see what your interpretations are before reading mine.

Example with the twenty-five card method

This was a general fortune for a friend, more than two years ago.

Pack 1: 2♥R + 5♦ + 6♦ + 3♠ + 3♣
Pack 2: Q♦R + 4♥ + 4♠ + K♥R + A♣R
Pack 3: 3♥ + 4♣R + 9♥ + 6♣ + 6♥
Pack 4: 9♠ + 10♥ + A♠R + 2♦ + 10♣R
Pack 5: K♠R + Q♠R + 5♥R + 4♦R + 2♣

Pack one tells of a difficult situation at home, which makes the querent sad and makes her want to leave. Since the 3♣ is a card of movement, it is probably going to happen (it did)

Pack two tells of tensions in the family between two married relatives (turned out it was the aunt and uncle who lived on the second floor of the querent’s home). Their love is sick and the situation will likely lead to a divorce (A♣R)

Pack three shows that there is an upcoming recommendation or help. The querent’s interests will be fostered on the job and her finances will improve.

Pack four shows a long period of solitude. The A♠ is reversed, which makes it mildly negative together with the 9♠, as they sandwich the 10♥. However, in reference to the following cards, which are positive, the A♠R shows the end of sorrow. Probably thanks to meeting someone online. This doesn’t tell us about their story, only that she will start dating.

Pack five shows the unmasking of a negative relative, a woman who will give the querent’s family much grief and be unjust. All will be well though in the end. It turned out that a distant cousin was trying to claim the will of a common relative for herself. I don’t know the details, but she was stopped.

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

Vera Sibilla | Twenty One Card Spread

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This spread can be used to tell a general fortune, but it is somewhat vague, meaning you will need to follow up with other spreads. It also tends not to go beyond one or two months.
You simply shuffle and cut the cards and then deal them out into seven packs of three cards each. Each small pack has a correspondence.
Pack 1: the querent (usually, but not invariably, the present moment)
Pack 2: the house
Pack 3: external influences
Pack 4: work and money
Pack 5: love life
Pack 6: potential for trouble
Pack 7: something unexpected

If a pack is not clear, shuffle the remaining cards and add two more

If you look up online, you will see that there are many different variations of this spread. This is how it was taught to me, but feel free to adopt the one that you find resonates better with you. I should also point out this is not a spread I use very often with other people, mostly I do it for myself every month or so to see what’s ahead. There are exceptions, or course.

Remember to lay out the cards as in the example and try to come up with your interpretation before reading mine

Example of 21 card spread
Pack 1: 5♦ + 9♠ + 3♣R
Pack 2: 9♣ + 8♣ + 3♦
Pack 3: J♦ + 8♦R + K♠R
Pack 4: 10♥ + 4♠ + 7♣
Pack 5: 5♥ + A♥ + 2♥
Pack 6: 9♦ + 5♣R + 2♣
Pack 7: 10♣ + 2♦ + 10♦

This is an old spread from some year backs. The first pack shows that I was coming out of a bout of depression. The 3♣R breaks negative cycles.
Pack 2 shows a family gathering with the exchange of gifts. A couple of weeks later was my nephew’s first birthday.
Pack 3 shows the arrival of negative communications from the authorities, possibly something to be paid or some money not granted. I hadn’t asked for money though. Around a month later I received communication that I needed to pay for the public broadcast network (even though I never watch it. Yay for unwanted public services)
Pack 4 shows that a long spell of unemployment was coming to an end. I did find a job soon after.
Pack 5 shows harmony in the relationship I’m in and talks about consolidating it. It was around the time we had started considering marriage.
Pack 6 shows that althouth there may be difficulties, all will sort itself out, albeit with a delay
Pack 7 shows the loss of correspondence. I actually ended up losing my phone (which can be signified by the Letter, considering that the Gift card was already in play). A tourist found it and I got it back (remember Pack 6)