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Cartomancy with Playing Cards | Four of Spades
In cartomancy with playing cards, the Four of Spades (4♠) is a card of blockage.
All fours are cards of order and stability as well as agreement between parts. But the suit of Spades is the “bad” suit, thus bringing about the opposite result.
The Four of Spades represents something closed, something that is over. It is the card of obstacles that obstuct the way, situations that cannot be mended and blockages of all kind.
It is also a card of breaks and breakups, signaling the impossibility to mend a relationship and the impossibility to find and agreement.
In love readings, the card represents loneliness, usually unwanted loneliness. It shows the end of a relationship or a relationship that’s been put on ice. Even if someone is in a committed relationship, the Four of Spades shows the impossibility to agree on anything.
In career readings, the Four can represent unemployment, loss of profession and a really bad work environment. In money matters, the it shows great obstacles, the impossibility to proceed with a purchase or lack of resources.
Generally, this card is more tragic than the Three of Spades, because it shows definitive loss. Only in the presence of very strong, positive cards can the break be mended, the blockage removed. Often, though not always, even if positive cards follow they show a new situation that is unrelated to the past. Often, after the Four, the only possible path is forward and beyond, for this is a card with a certain finality to it.
Psychologically it can show a loner or a misanthrope or someone who feels desperately alone and misunderstood.
Some Combinations:
4♣ – 4♠ = great tension, arguments | an ending
4♠ – 8♠ = inability to get over a break or loneliness
9♥ – 4♠ – 5♠ = letting go of your dreams
4♠ – 5♦ – A♦ = breaking with your old life (can be positive or negative)
8♣ – 4♠ – 7♦ = a sizable severance package
Playing Cards and Numerology – The Fives
In cartomancy with playing cards, fives have an affinity with the idea of change, just as fours are related to stability.
The Five of Hearts shows positive change coming our way without effort. It is a card of evolution, good opportunities, gifts, offers (it is somewhat similar to the Three) and in general it shows that the querent thrives. Its general meaning is that of abundance and flourishing, freedom and being in a positive environment.
The Five of Clubs also signifies change, but change that is enacted by the querent. It implies effort, even physical effort. Nothing is free in the realm of Clubs, and therefore the card implies combativeness and even competition and the need to fight for what you want. While the Five of Hearts shows abundance, this card has an inherent sense of scarcity to it and the need to make the best of your chances.
The Five of Diamonds is the card that I thought exemplifies this number best, because in my system it just means change in a neutral sense. Generally it’s a positive card and it can bring some dynamic energy to a static spread. Of course it is also connected to the movement of money, information and energy, all of which are themes of the suit of Diamonds.
The Five of Spades is a bad card. The main meaning is that of prison, but of course it needs to be interpreted figuratively most of the times. It signifies the inability to move or to act, and it is symbolic of all things that keep us fenced in (like the pip in the middle) and chained, unable to change, be it guilt or an addiction. In general it signifies lack of opportunities, scarcity, dejection, the need for great sacrifice or, if followed by negative cards, a definite turn for the worse.
Playing Cards and Numerology – The Fours
In most systems of cartomancy with playing cards, the fours are cards of stability. However, a further connotation that I think attaches to them is that of pact or agreement between parts. Possibly this is due to the four pips resembling the legs of a table where people sit to talk.
The Four of Hearts is the card of reunions, gatherings and positive social occasions. It is also a symbol of agreements that come easy or are easily restored (Hearts): harmony and affinity all play into the meaning of the card. Because of the emotional connotation of the suit, the card can signify sex.
The Four of Clubs represents talks, and it is mainly the conversation card. However, it is not splendid. Because of the neutral nature of the suit of Clubs, which implies struggle and the need for action, the Four can go either way: toward agreement or toward breakup. It implies a degree of difference that needs to be reconciled, which is why talks are necessary. It’s not a bad card, but it is open-ended.
The Four of Diamonds is the card of formal agreements. It represents all things to do with papers, documents, offices, etc. Because the suit is more material than that of Hearts, the agreement can be interpreted as a transaction, and therefore the card represents buying and selling, and, by extension, all objects. In general, it signifies economic activity and has an affinity with the more material side of life.
The Four of Spades takes the basic theme of the number and runs it into the ground. The card represents loneliness and isolation. It shows the inability to get along or reach a positive conclusion. It shows complete disharmony and the impossibility of proceeding in a given direction, thus implying blockage. With other negative cards it means failure and trouble that cannot be overcome.
Vera Sibilla | Four of Spades – Sickness (Ammalato)
Name: Sickness
Italian Name: Ammalato (literally “Sick Man” or “Sick One”)
Playing Card: 4♠
Polarity when Upright: Negative
Core Meanings: Illness, Sickness | Downtime, Interruption of usual routine | Broken, Noxious, Bad for you | Dejection
Polarity when Reversed: Neutral to Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Blockage, Stop | End of a situation, for better or worse | Confinement | Economy, Avarice
Card Description: a man lies in bad, a suffering expression on his face.
Suit and Number: Fours represent the querent’s context. Spades are a decidedly bad suit. The Four of Spades, therefore, signifies a situation that is rotten, noxious or “sick” in some way.
UPRIGHT 4♠
General: A decidedly negative card, it is one of the significator cards for bad health, as it is obvious. The type of illness or the organs affected will be shown by the cards coming up next to it. I will not waste more than a line to tell you that you should forebear from diagnosing people, especially if you are not a physician. The notion of “sick”, however, carries to all situations. More broadly, the idea of sickness can also imply that the querent is forced out of his daily round and somehow stopped from acting. This is rarely to be taken in a positive sense.
Love and Relationships: Other than to signify sick relatives and loved ones, the Four of Spades is a card of sick relationships. In general, all bonds represented by this card are bad for the querent, whatever the reason may be. At best, it signifies that a relationship has run its course and is falling sick, as it were. Often this means that there are structural problems that have been accumulated and never resolved that make the situation hard to salvage (but also look at the following cards). If together with more sinister cards, it can point to morbid feelings poisoning a person’s mind with regard to the querent, such as jealousy or hatred.
Often this card can signify a person who lacks and needs support. This is true in all contexts, but it is especially true if the querent is single, a situation that this card can represent, with the added meaning that loneliness bears heavy on the person’s mind and soul.
Work and Money: The Sickness card represents all jobs to do with sickness, obviously. More typically, though, it is a card of unemployment. The general feeling is that of situations that are overwhelming for the querent, especially if he’s not working, so it rarely shows up for someone who can afford not to work.
Finances are structurally in bad shape with this card, and may need a lot of effort in order to “cure”. Investments are to be avoided, and when they aren’t, they are invariably bad. Likewise, offers made to the querent tend to be rotten on the inside, often hiding problems that will become obvious later on.
Other: Both psychologically and spiritually, the Four of Spades is a card of dejection. It is often present in constellations of cards showing depression, though not necessarily clinical depression, if the other cards are not really bad. The idea of sickness applies also to objects, so a package may arrive containing a broken item, or food may be spoiled.
Important Combinations:
4♠ + K♣ + 7♠ = surgery (if K♠ instead, by a specialist)
6♣ + 4♠ = unemployment (also if 4♠R)
4♥ + 4♠ = a “sick” love, one without healthy outlets
10♥R + 4♠ = complete dejection and lack of willpower to plough through a situation
4♠ + 10♣ = a minor illness (but if followed by negative cards, an illness that is underestimated)
REVERSED 4♠R
General: A neutral card, but with generally negative undertones. It is mainly a card of blockage, of situations that cease to evolve. This is reflected in a function this card has, which is of bringing situations to an end. This is only true when the card is preceded by good cards and followed by bad ones, or vice versa.
Love and Relationships: At best, the reversed Four of Spades shows coldness, distance and lack of intimacy. It is also the card that shows being on a break. If the cards following it are positive, the relationship will later resume. If the question is if someone will make a move, this is a bad sign, especially if the card comes up next to the face card representing the person in question. With cards showing jealousy, the meaning of avarice typical of the card turns into possessiveness. It is also a card of loneliness and seclusion.
Work and Money: on material questions, the card’s meanings vary wildly depending on the surrounding cards. Surrounded by positive cards, it points to wise management. It signifies one who can rely on his own ability to manage the situation, as opposed to the helplessness of the upright version. More often than not, it is a sign of avarice, especially in a metaphorical sense: someone will refuse to help us out economically. If surrounded by disastrous cards, it can show utter poverty. Career-wise, it can still point to unemployment, or, at least, being stuck.
Other: psychologically the card points to sterness, seriousness, a morose demeanor, sort of saturnine. Spiritually it can be connected to religion, especially organized religion, whose aim is, technically, to help those in need (as represented by the upright Four of Spades). The card also has a connection to reclusion and places where one is stuck, for one reason or another.
Important Combinations:
4♠R + 2♠ + 2♥ = a retirement home
6♥ + 4♠R + 6♣ = wise management bringing in results
8♦R + 4♠R + 8♠ = financial crisis
2♥ + 4♠R + 8♥ + K♠ = a spiritual retreat, a monastery (if 4♠R + K♠, it can be a church)
4♥ + 4♠R = coldness, a break
Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Fours
Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Fours
In this article you will find some examples of combinations using the Vera Sibilla. Most of these combinations are handed down by tradition. Studying and decoding combinations is a very good way to improve your cartomantic vocabulary, but bear in mind that the exact meaning of a combination depends on many other factors, such as the context of the question and the other cards in the spread, so I would encourage you to keep an open mind. As a rule, you will find that if you do not pose a question and these combinations come up, they will mean what the tradition says they mean 3 times out of 5. Also, keep in mind that it’s useless to try to combine every card with every other card beforehand so that no surprises will ever come up in a spread, just as it is useless to try to combine every word in a dictionary with every other to study a language. That time is best spent actually practicing.
NOTE:
R = Reversed
U/R = Upright or Reversed (doesn’t matter)
* = This combination has to come up in this specific order
3♦ = The Gift (Omaggio)
8♦ = The Handmaid (Donna di Servizio)
C = Cuori (Hearts)
F = Fiori (Clubs)
Q = Quadri (Diamonds)
P = Picche (Spades)
Four of Hearts (4♥) – Love (Amore)
4♥ + 2♦ = a love letter
4♥ + 3♦ + 7♠ = a strange (and rather common) traditional combination that shows a breakup due to incompatibility (the 3♦ represents one’s “gift” and therefore what one brings to the table. It also represents values and one’s values)
4♥ + 9♥ = a pure or faithful love (9♥ stabilizes love)
4♥ + 10♥ = stability or dependability in love
4♥ + 10♣ = an easy love that doesn’t mean much, a flirt
4♥ + 4♦ = insincerity in love
10♦ + 4♥ = it’s a symbol of betrayal and cheating
4♥ + 4♠ = a sick way of showing love | loneliness
7♠ + 4♥* = it can mean being struck by love
4♥ + 7♠ = usually, a breakup (in itself it is not irreversible, but if also 5♠, then yes)
4♥ + J♠ or Q♠ = a rival
4♥ + 10♠U/R = cheating | the need to fight for one’s happiness in love, sometimes
4♥R + 5♠ = lack of feelings | a very unbalanced emotional life
4♥R + 7♥R = a distorted sexuality
4♥R + 7♦U/R + 10♠R + PersonR = pedophilia
Four of Clubs (4♣) – Friend (Amica)
4♣ + A♣ = a partnership or a common project (8♣ or K♦ may be present)
4♣ + Q♠ = a friend who is really an enemy, a backstabber
4♣ + 3♠ = loss of friendship
4♠ + 4♣ = a nurse or similar profession
4♣ + J♦ + A♥ (+K♦) = a trade union (the J♦ represents mediation, the 4♣ protection and support)
3♥ + 4♣ = the visit of a friend
10♣ + 4♣ + A♦R = a friend will carelessly reveal a secret
4♥ + 2♠ (+A♥R) + 4♣ = love cooling off and turning into a friendship
K♦ + 4♣ = it can be a friend from work | more broadly, a supportive work environment
A♥ + 4♣ = talking to a friend or meeting her, obviously | it can be a support group
2♦ + 4♣R = a letter of recommendation
K♣ + 4♣R = the help of a doctor or a boss
4♣R + K♣R + 4♦ = a recommendation in exchange for favors (+A♣R, for sex, +6♥ for money, +3♦ for gifts or some kind of advantage in general)
4♣R + 6♦ + K♠U/R = a higher up or politician pulling some strings for you (the 6♦ can represent ideology and the K♠ is the government, so it shows you probably belong to the same party)
4♣R + 4♦R or 3♦R or 2♣ or 5♣ or 8♥ = a help or recommendation that will solve your problem
Four of Diamonds (4♦) – Falseness (Falsità)
4♦ + 2♥ = lies in the family or a negative home environment | a house with hidden issues (especially with 2♥R) don’t buy! | the facade
9♥ + 4♦ = lies, ulterior motives | someone whose transparency and genuineness are just a front
3♣ + 4♦ = a broken car or one with hidden issues | with other cards, it can show the car has been tampered with, don’t drive!
6♦R + 4♦ = very negative plans or one who is completely deluded | with other cards, it can mean sending evil energies toward someone, the “evil eye”
4♦ + 9♦ = a huge blunder | a very negative group | someone who is completely unreliable
4♦ + 10♦ = betrayal, cheating
4♦ + 10♦ + 8♠ = the traditional combination for a fraud, scam or swindle
4♠ + 4♦ + 6♠ = a hypochondriac (the 6♦ may be present, showing thoughts)
4♦ + 10♠R = a well-covered lie
4♦ + K♠ = something not quite right with the authority or judge | it can simply mean that a judge is ill-disposed toward you for no good reason (but if K♠R, it would confirm that something is iffy)
4♦ + 9♣U/R = sometimes it can mean false happiness, pretending to be happy for someone or about something
4♦ + Person = 4 times out of 5, a person not to trust | sometimes, acquired family (like adopted, step-, ecc.)
6♣ + 6♠ + 4♦ = a traditional combination showing that if you’ve lent someone money, you are unlikely to see it again (the 6♣ may be substituted with other money cards or with the 8♣ and 6♥. The 10♦R may also be present, being connected with insolvency, but at that point the cards are speaking of serious economic damage done to the querent)
A♥ + K♦ + 4♦R = a job interview that will go well and will solve the querent’s work problems
9♥R + 4♦R = discovery of a betrayal or of someone cheating
10♦ + 8♠ + 4♦R = discovery of a swindle or scam or fraud (usually, in time to avoid the worst)
4♠ + 7♠ + 4♦R = a surgery that brings relief
J♠ or Q♠ + 4♦R = uncovering an enemy
4♦R + A♠ = the discovery of a lie or a betrayal brings sorrow (however, in the long run it will be for the better, or the 4♦R wouldn’t have come up)
Four of Spades (4♠) – Sickness (Ammalato)
K♦U/R + 4♠ = unemployment | an illness you get from working at your job (e.g. where you manipulate chemicals, etc.)
4♠ + 4♥ or 9♥ = a sick love | can mean loneliness
4♠ + 3♣ = a “sick” car
7♦ + 4♠ = an illness that is typical of children or a small indisposition
3♦ + 4♠ = a “sick” object | an offer that is “sick”, not to accept
4♠ + 5♠ = a very serious illness
4♠ + 5♠ + positive cards = the end of illness or unemployment or loneliness
4♠ + 8♦ (+6♣) = sick pay or unemployment benefits (K♠ would show the government) | with just the 8♦ it could be a positive evolution of the illness
A♥U/R or 3♥R + 6♣ + 4♠ = it can represent an illness that is “caught”
4♠ + K♣ + 7♠ = a surgical procedure
9♣U/R + 4♠ = it can be food poisoning
4♠ + 6♥R + 8♠ = slipping into (heavy) debt due to illness
4♠ + 2♣ or 5♣ = healing (if 2♣ and then K♥ and maybe 8♥, miracle healing. K♥ is God)
4♠ + 7♥ + 6♣ = it can be a health insurance
5♥R or 6♥ + 4♠ = it can be a hereditary disease
4♠R + 9♠ = traditionally, prison
4♠R + 2♥U/R + 9♠ = house arrest
6♦ + 4♠R = being blocked in the elaboration of something (+2♦, writer’s block) | in love, being on a break to think things over
K♦ + 4♠R = also unemployment, but if the querent is emoloyed, they might garnish his or her wages (look around for cards that explain the story or confirm the money being taken from them)
10♣R + 4♠R + A♥R or J♦R = it can mean being blocked by someone on social media so that communication can’t happen (the 10♣R represents the internet. The 9♠ may be present. Instead of the 10♣R, you may find the 3♥ + 2♦)
4♠R + K♠ = can be a church, in the proper context | the government is “avaricious”, which means if you asked for money you are unlikely to get it
5♦ + 4♠R = being stuck in the past or not letting go of disappointment
4♠R among positive money cards = good handling of one’s finances
4♠R + positive cards = end of a period of blockage
Positive cards + 4♠R + negative cards = beginning of a period of blockage
Vera Sibilla and Numerology – The Fours
The four Fours in the Vera Sibilla appear to be connected with the notions of environment, context or situation. The famous squareness that almost every system of cartomancy ascribes to the number four is still present, but rather than talking about stability or lack of change, it is focused on describing of the type of 3D world that exists around the querent, depending on the suit. The Ace was like a spark, the Two extended it into a line, the Three provided movement, now we have a full-blown situation.
The Four of Hearts, Love, is perhaps the most famous card in the deck. Every traditional source describes it as a card that represents a live, blind force shaping the situation. This idea movement, aliveness and blindness are a consequence of the irrational nature of love, which is impossible to put in chains or define in a limiting way. I like what I like, I am attracted to what I am attracted to. Period.
Hence, the idea here is one of a context that the querent likes: it may be a house, a partner, a job, whatever. With this card, we are in a context we like. The Love card represents a situation that is alive, that has enough of that vital impetus to keep it going, and the vital impetus is, of course, attraction. The whole of the universe is love, and all that good shit.
Conversely, the Four of Spades, the Sickness card, shows a situation or context that is not hot, but cold, not lively and moving, but rotting, ill and decaying, not free, but stuck, not beneficial but noxious. This card represents sickness and illness in the most general sense, whether it’s an ill body, an ill career, a sick way of living a relationship, etc. Whereas the Four of Hearts is the card of a situation that we love, that we are compatible with, the Four of Spades is a card of wrong paths, situations that developed in the wrong way or that have grown stagnant.
In between, the Four of Clubs, the Friend, is a card of positive, helpful contexts. It may represent partnerships and co-operation, pacts etc., but in general it represents a supportive context or people who support the querent. Some of the undertones of this card are similar to those of the Nine of Hearts, Faithfulness, in that in both cases we have someone (or a general situation) that is loyal, caring and helpful, and will do what’s best for the querent.
Jobs and career in the field of service are often represented by the Friend, as well as all supportive roles (e.g. nurses). All this being said, this card sometimes represents a person, in which case it’s going to be neutral.
The Four of Diamonds, Falsehood or the Cat, is one of the most iconic in the deck. In the most general sense, it is the opposite of the Nine of Hearts and, in a way, of the Four of Clubs. While the Friend represents a positive, supportive context, the Four of Diamonds represents negative contexts in general. Under this card fall all those situations and contexts that are wrong, false or bad for the querent.
While the Dog card shows things being as they seem and seeming as they are, Falsehood is about reality being hidden behind a layer of something else which may be anything, but is not real. In this sense, it also covers illusion and self-deception, in addition to cheating and lies. Interestingly, this is also the card of bad weather, likely because bad weather is a passing illusion covering the eternal blue of the sky.
