Tag Archives: Cartomancy

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

The Door Knockers – A Deep Dive into Italian Cartomancy

2 Comments

In almost all cartomancy systems, Italian or otherwise, the Ace of Hearts/Cups is the house. Here the Sibilla is an exception, since it relegates the House to the Two of Hearts, although the Ace of Hearts still has connections to the idea of family and people living together. In the second most widespread Sibilla deck in Italy, which is the Sibilla Regionale, which uses the suits of the Neapolitan cards, the Ace of Cups is once again the house.

One thing I have so far never found in non-Italian systems, which on the contrary is very widespread in Italy, is the concept of the door knockers, also known as ‘close to home’. This is a meaning that is found in many regional Italian cartomancy systems, and keep in mind that almost everything in Italy is regional, since regions have a much older history as separate states than Italy itself, if we discount the Roman Empire.

When I was taught to read playing cards, my teacher told me that the Two of Hearts is “al martel di porta”, knocking at the door. This refers to the way old house doors are made in many European countries, including Italy, where door knockers were used back when you couldn’t ring at the door. At least in Italy door knockers are still very much en vogue, though mostly as a decorative element.

The idea of the Two of Hearts as “the door knockers” is a reference to the fact that door knockers usually come in twos and to the fact that the Two of Hearts comes right after the Ace, which is the house, so that the Two is quite literally close to the home.

This meaning is also found in many systems for reading Piacentine cards, where the Two of Cups takes on that meaning (in some other systems this meaning is given to the Two of Wands) as well as in the Bolognese Tarot, where it’s the Ace of Swords that depicts it, due to the odd shape of the picture.

In some systems I am aware of, there are two distinct cards: the door knockers and the roof of the house. This is true for some systems employing Piacentine cards, where the Two of Cups is the door knockers and the Four of Wands is the roof.

This distinction is also found in the Bolognese tarot, where the Ace of Swords depicts the door knockers and the Seven of Cups the roof of the house. In the oldest surviving system for reading the Bolognese tarot, which dates back to before the French revolution (I talk about it here), the Knight of Wands indicated the door knockers and the Ten of Cups the roof of the house. Clearly, therefore, this symbolism is deeply ingrained in Italian cartomancy.

According to the person who taught me the 45-card system of Bolognese tarot, the Ace of Swords, the door knockers, tends to show something close to home in a temporal sense (about to happen) whereas the Seven of Cups, the roof, is more connected to everyday life, to our close environment and to the protection of people surrounding us, as well as to the family in a more extended sense. Germana Tartari, who initiated me to the 50-card system, which she was taught by her grandmother and by some of her grandmother’s friends, uses the Nine of Cups as ‘the staircase to the house‘, again mostly in a temporal sense as something about to happen.

On the other hand, in the system for reading playing cards that I was taught, the Two of Hearts covers both possibilities: it indicates something about to knock at the door or it can show family situations, people who are close to us etc.

I have never found this symbolism in other non-Italian systems. If you did, feel free to drop me a line, as it would be very interesting. Manuel Arcuri, an American reader who was taught to read playing cards by his Italian grandmother, says somewhere that his grandmother called the Two of Hearts “l’attesa”, which means waiting or expectation, as of something about to happen. He doesn’t mention door knockers though.

Furthermore, many card reading systems I have read about assign the meaning of “within two weeks” to the Two of Hearts, which once again gives us the idea of something about to knock at the door. Interestingly, Regina Russell‘s playing card system uses the Two of Hearts to indicate excitement for something that is about to happen, expectation and even pregnancy (expecting a child).

MQS

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

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Seven of Pentacles or Coins

Leave a comment

(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 Seven of Pentacles from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the third decanate of Taurus, under the rulership of Saturn, May 11 to 20. Meanings:
Well-Dignified: slight gains, but of small account; much labor for small returns.
Ill-Dignified: something promising turns out badly; loss in speculation and unprofitable employment; financial restriction; unrealized hopes and
wishes.
Keyword: Loss
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

A young man, leaning on his staff, looks intently at seven pentacles attached to a clump of greenery on his right; one would say that these were his treasures and that his heart was there. Divinatory Meanings: These are exceedingly contradictory; in the main, it is a card of money, business, barter; but one reading gives altercation, quarrels–and another innocence, ingenuity, purgation. Reversed: Cause for anxiety regarding money which it may be proposed to lend.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

The Seven of Pentacles from the Rider Waite Smith tarot

Aleister Crowley

The Seven of Disks is called Failure. This suit gives the extreme of passivity; there is no positive virtue in it below the Abyss. This card is ruled by Saturn. Compare it with the three other Sevens; there is no effort here; not even dream; the stake has been thrown down, and it is lost. That is all. Labour itself is abandoned; every thing is sunk in sloth.

[…]

The number Seven, Netzach, has its customary enfeebling effect, and this is made worse by the influence of Saturn in Taurus. The disks are arranged in the shape of the geomantic figure Rubeus, the most ugly and menacing of the Sixteen. (See Five of Cups.) The atmosphere of the card is that of Blight. On the background, which represents vegetation and cultivation, everything is spoiled. The four colours of Netzach appear, but they are blotched with angry indigo and reddish orange. The disks themselves are the leaden disks of Saturn. They suggest bad money.
(From The Book of Thoth)

The Seven of Disks from the Thoth Tarot

Golden Dawn’s Book T

A WHITE Radiating Angelic Hand issuing from a cloud, and holding a white rose branch. Seven Pentacles arranged like the geomantic figure Rubeus. There are only five buds, which overhang, but do not touch the five uppermost Pentacles. Above and below are the Decan symbols, Saturn and Taurus respectively.

Promises of success unfulfilled. (Shewn, as it were, by the fact that the rosebuds do not come to anything.) Loss of apparently promising fortune. Hopes deceived and crushed. Disappointment, misery, slavery, necessity and baseness. A cultivator of land, and yet a loser thereby. Sometimes it denotes slight and isolated gains with no fruits resulting therefrom, and of no further account, though seeming to promise well.

Netzach of HB:H (Unprofitable speculations and employments; little gain for much labour).
Therein HB:HRChAL and HB:MTzRAL are ruling Angels.

Etteilla

Money
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Money, Wealth, Sum, Coin. – Silver. – Whiteness, Purity, Candor, Innocence, Naiveté, Moon. – Purgation, Purification.
Reversed. Restlessness, Torment of spirit, Impatience, Affliction, Remorse, Concern, Solicitude, Care, Attention, Diligence, Application. – Apprehension, Fear, Distrust, Misgiving, Suspicion.

MQS

Card Reading, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Playing Cards, Reading Example

There Is No Ghost (Example Reading)

Leave a comment

When we give a reading about extraordinary questions like the occult or the paranormal, it is easy to fall into the trap of wanting to confirm the querent’s bias or subjective experience.

This is why I tend to avoid queries about such things as past lives: for one, I don’t believe in reincarnation, or rather, I believe that the soul of the world constantly reincarnates through every individual that is born, but I don’t believe in the existence of seprate or individual souls that reincarnate karmically; for two, I fail to see the importance of knowing about what one might have been in a previous life; for three, suppose I tell someone that they were an illiterate farmer, when another reader convinced them they were a cool witch who was burned at the stake for her mystical powers, how is the querent going to choose who is right apart from their whim of the moment?

Still, certain topics, such as magic or spirits, are within my tradition and I do believe in them, so I accept readings, but I warn querents that the likelihood of something of the sort happening in their life is very low even if they go looking for it, let alone randomly.

This one querent thought there is a ghost haunting the third floor of the building she moved to. This is the spread that came out:

A card reading about a ghost

As can be seen, even without interpreting the spread, there is no trace of haunting in the cards. The final two cards, the Nine of Diamonds and the Ten of Diamonds, are a lucky combination, they can show success, protection or even simply the fact that the “energy” is clean, not charged with magical or paranormal forces. The querent shows up at the beginning of the spread with the Three of Diamonds, which is a doubtful card in this context. It makes me think more about random things that she, the Queen, misinterpreted.

The Jack of Hearts is even more doubtful. It could show the presence of a child (a living child, that is) or an animal (again, a living one) who does something the querent misinterprets. The querent said that there are both children and animals in the building, so that’s a possibility. Frankly, I should have either added cards or done another spread.

Still, this is enough to make me think that there is a non-paranormal explanation for the querent’s experience, so the spread is enough to answer the question in that regard.

The funny thing is that, after the reading, the querent started talking to me like I am not very competent at reading cards. I am obviously open to being wrong, and I understand that it must be frustrating being told that one’s subjective experience is probably the result of a misinterpretation (it must feel like ‘gaslighting’, to employ an overused word). All I could do was trying to be as understanding as I could in delivering the answer.

After all, for every instance of real haunting or real magic (at least, real according to the oracle) there are thousands of cases of people who spend years burning sage to smoke out a presence that isn’t there, yet the ghost who isn’t there often ends up influencing their life more than those that are there.

MQS

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

Bolognese Tarot Spreads – The Thirteen Card Spread

Leave a comment

Nothing prohibits anyone from using whatever spread they prefer, or even just from laying out a row of cards. However, traditionally, the smallest spread used with the Bolognese Tarot is the thirteen card spread, which is a small tableau of cards used to answer a specific question or explore a specific theme (although nothing prevents you from laying it out for a general reading. It will respond anyway). This is a spread I have already presented, and it is one that is used with many decks in Central and Northern Italy in particular. The layout is as follows:

123
456
789
101112
13
The Thirteen Card Spread

Some readers take out the significator for the querent or even the significator for the question and put them on top of the layout (above card 2) before starting to shuffle. I prefer to have all cards in the deck and have not found it necessary, but feel free to experiment.

The cards may be read in rows or in columns, and which direction is the primary one depends on which tradition you come from. Personally I tend to see rows as the primary reading direction, but I will look at columns if there is clear information contained in them. I have found that the columns tend to describe the situation rather than to predict it. But don’t force yourself to read in every direction possible: simply read the information where it is found, and leave the rest.

There is no strict differentiation between past, present and future. However, I have found, personally, that at least the first row, or sometimes two (and on occasion even three), contains the past or present of the situation. Occasionally the cards simply jump ahead into the future from the start.

Be open about it: it may sound confusing in theory but in practice it is often quite clear. For instance, if you see the cards changing from good to bad or vice versa (or simply changing “tone”) in the first row or two, that’s usually a sign that the cards before the change happens are the past/present, and the others the future. In doubt, simply ask the querent: we are not there to play Nostradamus, so it’s fine to ask for help in interpreting the spread.

The final card, number 13, doesn’t have any specific preassigned meaning. However, I have found that it can either simply be a regular part of the spread (simply coming after card 12 or under card 11), or it can highlight an important detail, or something that will be true, regardless of what the previous cards say. For instance, if the spread is a disaster but the thirteenth card is good, it can tell us the querent will have some kind of satisfaction, or will be protected.

Yes-or-No Questions

Now we come to an odd bit of tradition. I will relay it as it has been taught to me, and then I’ll give you my two cents. Although the thirteen card spread is not unique to the Bolognese Tarot, the Bolognese Tarot adds another layer to the spread.

This is relevant only when the question is a yes-or-no question. If it is, then, according to some traditions, the answer is yes if the Death card comes up in the spread or while cutting the deck (it says: “yes, as sure as the fact we all die”). If the Angel card comes up, according to some it’s a maybe, while according to others it’s a no but with positive developments; if the Death and Angel cards both come up, not necessarily together, it’s the best possible outcome (a super yes, as it were). If neither card comes up, it’s a no.

Some also add that if the Death card doesn’t come up but the Angel and Devil card come up in the spread, not necessarily together, it’s also a yes (the Devil card alone would be a no, but if you remember the combinations, Angel+Devil means good news or satisfaction). Others still also believe the answer is yes if three or four Kings come up in the spread.

Now I’m going to tell you what my experience is. My experience is that there is something to these rules, but it is not all so cut-and-dry. The spread always needs to be interpreted as describing a concrete situation, and the yes or no comes from our evalutation of whether the picture presented by the cards matches what the querent wants or not. It’s happened more than once that the Death card was present but the answer (confirmed by experience) was a no, or vice versa, the answer was yes with no yes-marker present.

Focus on interpreting the cards. If the Death card comes up, what does it say in the context? Does it show some sharp change? Does it show inner suffering? Does it confirm something? If so, look at the cards around it: what is it saying yes to? Sometimes it is obvious that the Death card comes up for no reason other than to say “yes” to the question, while at other times it is a regular card, like the others. Again, be flexible, record your experience and learn from it.

MQS

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

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Seven of Cups

Leave a comment

(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 Seven of Cups from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the third decanate of Scorpio, November 11 to November 20, under the subrulership of the Moon.
Well-Dignified: possible victory, but the person to whom the card applies may be too indolent to take advantage of his opportunities for commanding circumstance. Success may be gained, but not followed up; necessity for choosing only the highest objectives.
lll-Dignified: illusionary success; lying and deceit; drunkenness; violence, even lust.
Keyword: Illusion
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

Strange chalices of vision, but the images are more especially those of the fantastic spirit. Divinatory Meanings: Fairy favours, images of reflection, sentiment, imagination, things seen in the glass of contemplation; some attainment in these degrees, but nothing permanent or substantial is suggested. Reversed: Desire, will, determination, project.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

The Seven of Cups from the Rider Waite Smith Tarot Deck

Aleister Crowley

The Seven of Cups is called Debauch. This is one of the worst ideas that one can have; its mode is poison, its goal madness. It represents the delusion of Delirium Tremens and drug addiction; it represents the sinking into the mire of false pleasure. There is something almost suicidal in this card. It is particularly bad because there is nothing whatever to balance it-no strong planet to hold it up. Venus goes after Venus, and Earth is churned into the scorpion morass.

[…]

This card refers to the Seven, Netzach, in the suit of Water. Here recurs the invariable weakness arising from lack of balance; also, the card is governed by Venus in Scorpio. Her dignity is not good in this Sign; one is reminded that Venus is the planet of Copper, “external splendour and internal corruption”. The Lotuses have become poisonous, looking like tiger-lilies; and, instead of water, green slime issues from them and overflows, making the Sea a malarious morass. Venus redoubles the influence of the number Seven.

The cups are iridescent, carrying out the same idea. They are arranged as two descending triangles interlaced above the lowest cup, which is very much larger than the rest. This card is almost the “evil and averse” image of the Six; it is a wholesome reminder of the fatal ease with which a Sacrament may be profaned and prostituted.

Lose direct touch with Kether, the Highest; diverge never so little from the delicate balance of the Middle Pillar; at once the holiest mysteries of Nature become the obscene and shameful secrets of a guilty conscience.
(From The Book of Thoth)

The Seven of Cups from the Thoth Tarot

Golden Dawn’s Book T

THE seven cups are arranged as two descending triangles above a point: a hand, as usual, holds lotus stems which arise from the central lower cup. The hand is above this cup and below the middle one. With the exception of the central lower cup, each is overhung by a lotus flower, but no water falls from these into any of the cups, which are all quite empty. Above and below are the symbols of the Decanate Venus and Scorpio.

Possible victory, but neutralized by the supineness of the person: illusionary success, deception in the moment of apparent victory. Lying, error, promises unfulfilled. Drunkenness, wrath, vanity. Lust, fornication, violence against women, selfish dissipation, deception in love and friendship. Often success gained, but not followed up. Modified as usual by dignity.

Netzach of HB:H (Lying, promises unfulfilled; illusion, deception, error; slight success at outset, not retained).
Herein the Angels HB:MLHAL and HB:ChHVYH rule.

Etteilla

Thought
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Thought, Soul, Spirit, Intelligence, Idea, Memory, Imagination, Understanding, Conception, Meditation, Contemplation, Reflection, Deliberation, Viewpoint, Opinion, Feeling.
Reversed. Plan, Design, Intention, Desire, Will, Resolution, Determination, Forethought.

MQS

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

An Interesting Divinatory Phenomenon About The Past

Leave a comment

This article is going to be as vague as it gets. It pertains to certain observations I’ve made over the course of the years practicing divination, first with playing cards and the Sibilla, then with regular Tarot and now with the Bolognese Tarot, but it is not a unified theory, and in fact, it is even hard for me to put it into words.

We all know how time is difficult to define in divination, especially by cards. Sometimes it’s even hard to say if the cards are describing the past, the present or they are directly starting off with the future. This is even more true when using non positional spreads, where one or more lines of cards are interpreted together. My observations are mainly about non positional spreads, and how sometimes they seem to signal that they are talking about the past.

In all decks (at least, in all decks I use) there are cards connected with the person’s thoughts, or at least with their inner or emotional world. A person’s inner world is a complex thing, since it is a mix of hopes for the future, memories of the past, illusions, dreams, traumas, etc. All decks I use also contain cards that show ending, death, disruption and radical change, indicating the end of a life path.

The thing I’ve noticed is that, when in the first couple of lines of a spread (or within the first couple of cards in a longish one-line spread) there is a card connected to the person’s inner world and then a card of ending, that section of the spread usually talks about the past, and more specifically the distant past (that is, not just a couple of months back). This is because the card of disruption tells me that the situation the cards are talking about is over, while the card relating to thoughts or emotions says that the thing exists only as a memory, something that has left a mark on the person’s soul.

I recently did a spread for someone with the Bolognese Tarot. Unfortunately I didn’t save a picture of it and forgot most of it (it was one of those “I’m sure I won’t forget it” moments). It was a question about love, and in it both querent and quesited (the love interest) showed up only as thoughts, followed by cards of disruption. It turned out they had been together eight years ago, she had left him on the advice of a friend who thought causing drama would strenghthen his commitment. Instead he moved on, and she was still waiting for him to come back. In this instance, the thoughts reenacting the break-up were like ghost impressions reliving that pivotal moment in her past.

Obviously, this sort of things tend to happen for major events, whether positive or negative, and it shows how our inner structure is a bit like a geological section, with different eras still present, but hidden from view.

MQS