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Vera Sibilla | Three of Diamonds – The Gift (Presente di Pietre Preziose)

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Name: Gift
Italian Name: Presente di Pietre Preziose
Playing Card: 3♦*
Polarity when Upright: Neutral to Positive
Core Meanings: Movement of goods, Parcels, Objects in General | Offers, Gifts | Opulence, Wealth
Polarity when Reversed: Positive
Reversed Core Meanings: Gradual resolution of difficult situations

Card Description: on a table a small jewel box lies open, revealing its rich contents.

Suit and Number: threes are connected to the idea of movement, while Diamonds are cards connected with money and everyday life. The Three of Diamonds is the card that represents movement of goods and parcels arriving. It represents gifts and proposals in general, and has a connection with wealth and the freedom to do what you want and go where you go.

UPRIGHT 3♦

General: on the whole a positive card, but it has some neutral connotations. It is mainly the card of goods coming and going and, by similitude, of gifts or proposals coming and going. It also represents wealth and being materially free from worry, and it is the significator card for most objects (the exception being means of transport (3♣, 6♠) and books and letters (2♦).

Love and Relationships: this is not a card that speaks of feelings. In the main, it represents people who are wealthy or who makes us gifts or proposals, and in that sense it is positive. However, the validity of the gift must be ascertained by looking at the cards nearby. Metaphorically, it can represents that a person is of great value to the querent, although this usually signified by other cards (such as the Handmaid). It can, however, signify that someone gives us advice, and whether this advice is good, or whether we will follow it or not, will be disclosed by the other cards in the spread.
Because this card has a connection to people’s character (see the section “Other”), with positive cards it can represent a couple getting along fine (it can also represent an engagement ring and therefore signal the consolidation of the couple) while with negative cards it signifies the potential for a breakup due to being too different. Just a month or so ago I pulled some cards for myself and the spread was 10♥ + 3♣ + 5♥ + 2♠R + 3♦ + 8♣ + 9♥. The cards showed a journey to my hometown to visit relatives where there would be some tension due to differing character traits, but in the end things would turn out fine. That’s exactly what happened last week.

Work and Money: an excellent card for financial and career readings. The Gift is the card of jewelry, finery, opulence, etc. It is connected to the idea of freedom from financial worry. It indicates good business sense and good business advice. It is the card of exclusive markets and and social progress. The concept of gift or proposal or opportunity that the Three of Diamonds embodies must be understood as anything that arrives toward the querent that will allow him or her to get where he or she wants. This is often the case with job proposals or being short-listed for a promotion. It can also signify someone’s patronage or being taken under a powerful person’s wing, if near a significator in the right context. Because of the concept of gift, the card can take on the meaning of being gifted at what we do. It represents people who make spectacular career choices, and it represents working with (usually precious) objects.

Other: as we have seen, the Gift card represents the movement of goods. It also represents, therefore, parcels and packages, and any object in general, regardless of it being precious.
The card does have a psychological meaning, signifying one’s gifts and talents, and more in general what someone brings to the table in terms of outlook, and can therefore signify the person’s values and character. This is usally a shade of meaning, as this card tends to be more on the material side most of the times, but as shown by the example above, it is a shade of meaning that can come up in a reading.
Artistically this is a card of talent or fame, and also represents (obviously) artifacts (usually not books, but be flexible). The cards surrounding it may show whether we are using our talent or not, whether our artifacts have a public or not, etc.
Spiritually, other than religious paraphernalia, the card can show someone with high values, someone who has a noble soul, but this is pretty rare. With negative cards it can signify materialism and someone who is not in touch with reality as they only have first world problems.

Important Combinations:
3♦ + J♦ = a parcel | news concerning an offer
3♦ + K♠ = a loan or help from the authority
3♦ + 2♣ = opulence, a great gift
3♦ + 10♣ = a trinket | a misplaced item
3♦ + K♦ = a job offer or a rich job

REVERSED 3♦R

General: there is no rational reason why this card should be positive when reversed. At least, none that I could find. And yet it is positive. Very positive. 90% of the times, its meaning is that of difficult situations slowly sorting themselves out. Everything else is just a minor shade of meaning that rarely comes into play. However, unlike the Two of Clubs and the Five of Clubs, this card is not very strong, meaning that if surrounded by negative cards it will fail to solve all problems.

Love and Relationships: this is a very material card, and does not in the least talk about feelings. Usually, the difficulties that it solves are of a practical or material nature. If the couple has material problems, this card normally heralds a resolution, for instance if they are waiting for an adoption procedure to go through.
With negative cards, or if the question is pertinent, this card can behave, on rare occasion, like its upright counterpart does when surrounded by difficult cards, namely, it points to differences in values and someone who is wrong for you (though not necessarily a bad person). With cards of enmity and shady situations, it can rarely show the presence of a powerful negative person influencing the situation.

Work and Money: excellent card on the whole, as it points to the sorting out of difficult situations. Often, it represents difficult material conditions that slowly lose their grip on the querent. Similarly, if the querent is waiting for a deal to go through or for some bureaucratic red tape to clear, this card is an encouraging sign. With negative cards it shows problems that are only partially or superficially solved. Alternatively, it can point (but rarely) to cheap gifts or cheap proposals, and in general something that has no great value. This include cheap tips and cheap pieces of advice, or even advice given to hurt. Again, though, this is rare.

Other: there are other layers of meaning of this card that come out, albeit seldom, when it is with negative cards. It represents not making full use of your talent (basically, the opposite of the upright card) or even wasting your life. Artistically it can represent damaged objects or lack of talent (or not having developed a latent talent). Psychologically, in addition to someone who is wasting their life, it can signify someone who is cheap and superficial.

Important Combinations:
K♣ + 3♦R = a therapy that slowly cures you of your ailment | in general, a good solution
5♦ + 3♦R = melancholy and dejection slowly coming to an end
4♣R + 3♦R = a recommendation or help that solves the issue
K♥ + 3♦R = a protector or benefactor helping you (Q♦ for a woman, 2♠ for an older woman)
2♦ + J♣ + 6♦ + 7♣ + 3♦R = graduation

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Threes

* in some recent versions of the deck, the 3♦ and 8♦ are swapped. I don’t know why this was done, but I’m guessing it was a mistake, especially considering the graphic similarity between the numbers 3 and 8 in the decks where the swap was made. In the 1850s version, the card is the three.

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

Vera Sibilla | Three of Clubs – Journey (Viaggio)

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Name: Journey
Italian Name: Viaggio
Playing Card: 3♣
Polarity when Upright: Neutral to Positive
Core Meanings: Journey, Travel | Change, Change of Mind, Change of Phase | A means of transport
Polarity when Reversed: Positive
Reversed Core Meanings: Positive transformation, Evolution | Positive Change of Phase, Coming out of stagnant situations

Card Description: A man is riding his horse through the countryside. In the distance we can still see the city he has just left behind.

Suit and Number: threes are all cards of movement. Nowhere does this connotation come to the fore more than in the Three of Clubs, the Journey card, which means travel three times out of four. Occasionally, it can mean a change, especially a change of outlook.

UPRIGHT 3♣

General: a very simple card, mostly self-evident in its signification: a change of place and everything connected to it, from distant places to means of transport. Sometimes it takes on more psychological shades of meaning. There are, however, two fundamental things to keep in mind with this card.
One is the direction in which the horseman is looking. This usually shows where we are directed, whether it be a person, a place or a situation. Be flexible, though.
The second thing to keep in mind is a specific function this card has of bringing movement to the spread. Often this quality of the card is activated when it comes up after a slew of difficult, slow or static cards, and it will show the arrival of a new phase. This is usually positive.

Love and Relationships: the obvious meaning this card often takes on is that of needing to travel in order to meet someone. In more general terms, it can show long-distance relationships. When we are studying the dynamic among a group of people (or within a couple), the card signifies a change in how the relationship works. This is usually for the better, as it also signifies that the people involved are capable of assessing the situation and making adjustments. This is a flexible card, after all. With negative cards, however, it can signify changing one’s mind on something, going back on your word, etc. This is usually rare, though.

Work and Money: again, the most common signification will be that of a business trip or a work-related journey. Whether the trip is good or bad, it will be shown by the cards around it.
The card is especially connected with commerce and with importation and exportation, as well as with travel and physical activity. It signifies also the ability to innovate.
The meaning of change can also apply to the  the subject of work and finances. Often this card pops up in a reading when the querent is in a difficult situation but things are about to improve. I remember once doing a reading for a rather unlucky young man. His cards were 6♣ + 4♠R + 5♦ + 3♣ + 7♣. The first three cards showed a difficult period of unemployment (6♣ + 4♠U/R is typical of unemployed people). The 3♣ showed that the static period was coming to an end and he would finally see the light at the end of the tunnel (7♣).

Other: the Three of Clubs is connected with the action of sending, just as the Three of Hearts is connected to that of receiving. Psychologically, the Journey card is a card represents a psychological change, often a positive one. It heralds processes of transformation, not necessarily conscious or  deliberate, that make a person change their outlook on life or on a specific situation.
The 3♣ is connected with distant places and with cars and motorcycles, but also with other means of transport. It is also a card of physical movement, of keeping mobile, etc. Spiritually it often shows conversion, but in general it represents a process of transformation of one’s beliefs.

Important Combinations:
3♣ + 2♥ = leaving your home (if they were swapped, moving)
3♥ + 3♣ = arrival
3♣ + 3♠ = removal (often, the place or person that is left is found between these two cards, e.g., 10♥, the town or country, Q♥, the woman you love, etc.)
9♦ + 3♣ = a journey beset by difficulties | leaving on the spur of the moment and without forethought
3♣ + 9♣ + 8♣ = a trip to the country

REVERSED 3♣R

General: on the whole, more positive than when upright. It loses the meaning of journey (except when it signals a delay or setbacks during one) and it becomes a card of positive evolution. It is no longer required to look at where the horse is pointing toward, but the function of heralding new phases is maintained, and this time we are assured that the new phase is positive.

Love and Relationships: usually, it represents the end of a period of difficulties in all types of relationships. It is also especially good as it shows that the people involved are maturing and leaving counterproductive behaviors behind. If the querent is lonely, especially if he or she has been going through a difficult emotional period, this card promises the end of such period. After a difficult break, the presence of the Three of Clubs reversed shows events taking a positive turn. When you meet someone, this person is likely to sweep you off your feet, and new encounters in general are likely to have a follow-up or further evolution. When surrounded by very negative cards, the reversed Journey can signal that someone will in time reveal themselves different than what we think them to be now.

Work and Money: it is in this sector that this card has the best potential, as it mostly represents investments that bear fruits and social advancement. It represents social progress in general, and career advancement which usually comes with recognition. Although, like with the upright card, the 3♣R can show developing new ideas and models, it tends to be a more material than psychological card, and it is generally more likely to show improved material conditions.

Other: this card can also represent a surprise, generally a positive one, but if near very negative cards, it can mean that the negative event will take us by surprise and will pull the rug from under our feet. The only circumstance where this card is mildly negative is when the cards are pulled for a journey. In this case, the fact that the card comes up reversed can foretell breakdowns and delays, or simply journeys that won’t happen. Only near very negative cards can it show an accident. Needless to say, if you are looking to buy a means of transportation, you should avoid it.
Psychologically this card represents renewed hope and the ability to let go of old patterns. Spiritually it represents miracles and healing in a broad sense.
This card has a strong connection with the idea of breaking out of old molds and breaking vicious circles in general. The upright card can have the same meaning, but the subtle difference is that when it is upright, the new phase arrives to us, while with the reversed card we break out of the old phase.

Important Combinations:
A♠R + 3♣R = breaking free of a cycle that keeps repeating
3♣R + 7♥ = advancement, recognition
3♣R + 7♠ + 5♠ = a journey that is best avoided
5♦ + 3♣R = end of a sad period
6♥ + 3♣R = finances looking up

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Threes

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

Vera Sibilla | Three of Hearts – The Balcony (Belvedere)

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Name: Balcony
Italian Name: Belvedere
Playing Card: 3♥
Polarity when Upright: Neutral to Slightly Positive
Core Meanings: Arrival, Visit, Arrival of Developments in the Area Enquired About | Waiting for Something or Someone to Arrive | Distance, Abroad
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Lack of Arrival, or Delay in Arrival | Lack of Insight, Lack of inner life, Animalistic, Violent Character

Card Description: a young woman on a balcony looking into the distance through a small telescope, probably waiting for someone to arrive. She holds the instrument the wrong way

Suit and Number: Threes are cards of movement, and Hearts are cards of feelings, of positive things and circumstances that bring people together. As a result, the Three of Hearts represents arrival, distance being reduced.

UPRIGHT 3♥

General: It’s a dynamic card that signals the quick approaching of developements. In itself, it is faintly positive, but in practice its meaning often depends on the cards that follow it. It is also connected with waiting for something and to long distance.

Love and Relationships: especially when followed by a face card, it represents the arrival of someone, a visit, etc. In itself, this has a mildly positive connotation, but negative cards surrounding it may contradict the message. In general, as the Balcony card signals the arrival of developments, it gives some hope to lonely hearts. Be careful, though, as the card also describes a certain anxiety waiting for someone to arrive in someone life (not in an exessively negative terms, though. This is not the Six of Spades, remember).
Because of its connection to the sense of sight, the card, in specific combinations, may show someone prying in other people’s business or even spying or hiring a detective.
The Balcony is mildly positive when a reconciliation is expected, because of its connection with the idea of arrival and therefore bringing people together. It does need other supporting cards, though.

Work and Money: the card doesn’t say much in this respect, other than announcing the arrival of something, someone or a new situation in the near future in the field enquired about. Often it shows the arrival of offers, correspondence, checks, occasions or situations to beware of, depending on the cards that follow it. 
Because of its dynamic nature, the Balcony is often welcome in unemployed people’s readings, as it is usually followed by cards that show the unblocking of the difficult situation. Professionally, it is connected with all jobs where the sense of sight (looking, searching, etc.) plays a major role. Since it is also a card of distance, it can point, depending on the other cards, to professions connected with it.

Other: On rare occasion, it can signify that a situation is still in development, but this is usually only a very slight nuance. In general, it shows that the situation has not ended yet, that it is still attracting new developments. Of the connection of this card with the sense of sight we have already spoken. This also extends to the psychological and spiritual aspect of this card. While on one hand it signals a slight trepidation, on the other it shows insight and the ability (or, with negative cards, need) to look within oneself. In general, it represents introspection. It can also represent someone who is watchful or on the lookout. Which option is true will depend on the context of the question and, more importantly, on the other cards. The Balcony is connected with the sense of sight, so it can signifies looking, searching for, etc.
Again, due to its connection with sight, the card represents clear weather, good visibility while traveling, and tropical locations (more generally, it means “abroad”, though).

Important Combinations:
3♥ + 2♦ + 6♥ = arrival of a check
3♥ + 8♥ + 3♣ = can mean traveling abroad
3♥ + 2♦ + A♥ = chats, discussion boards, dating apps
J♠ or Q♠ + 3♥ + 10♠R = someone spying you in secret
3♥ + 4♥ or 9♥ = love is about to knock at your door

REVERSED 3♥R

General: a negative card. In the best case scenario, it represents delays. Depending on the other cards, it can even show that someone or something won’t arrive. It points to situations that are over and won’t develop further. It represents vain waiting. Upright, it represented sight, insight and introspection. Reversed, it signifies the lack of all those things, showing an animalistic, rageful, wanton character.

Love and Relationships: if you are waiting for someone to make their move, with this card you may be waiting a long time. If you are single and hoping for someone to rescue you from this dreary mess we call life, you may be covered in ivies before that happens (especially if other cards of delay piles up on top of this one).
When this card does show the arrival of someone, you need to be very careful about letting them into your personal space. The reason why will be clarified by the following cards.

Work and Money: the same meaning applies to financial and career readings. It is connected with long periods of delay in the arrival of news, situations, developments etc. With negative cards, it shows situations where hoping further would be futile. Money that has been loaned will be awaited in vain, and loaned that have been applied for will similarly be waited for vainly. In work readings, it can show a situation with no prospects, and with other cards it can point to a dead-end job.

Other: the psychological traits represented by the Balcony reversed are extremely important and potentially color readings in all fields of life, including love and career. This card represents the opposite of the upright version. It shows, in the best-case scenario, extreme shortsightedness. More often, though, this shortsightedness extends to being unable to see other people’s perspectives and using them selfishly for one’s own gratification. Both spiritually and psychologically, it points to a lack of introspection which results in bestial behavior, understood as behavior that debases one’s humanity (or that of the people around us). Commonly, it refers to anger issues, an inability to control one’s rage. Depending on the context and the other cards, it can also signify an inability to control one’s pants. Sometimes it represents both. In general, this card shows that the person is unable to observe themselves and their basest impulses before acting on them. 

Important Combinations:
3♥R + 10♠ = stranger danger, arrival in your life of someone you shouldn’t trust
3♥R + 10♥R = angry outbursts
3♥R + 4♥R + A♣R = sexual assault
3♥R + J♦R = awaited parcel that doesn’t arrive
3♥R + 4♣ + Q♠ = arrival of a friend you should keep at arm’s length

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Threes

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

Vera Sibilla | Two of Spades – The Old Lady (Vecchia Signora)

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Name: Old Lady
Italian Name: Vecchia Signora
Playing Card: 2♠
Polarity when Upright: Neutral
Core Meanings: decline, waning, weakening |     an elderly woman | slow, structural changes, stagnant situations | Everything old | a visit or short trip | good advice
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: An old crone, an intriguing old woman | Sharp decline | separation, removal, inability to get along | situations that are stale, obsolete, without perspective

Card Description: an elderly woman comfortably seated in a large chair, probably waiting to receive a relative.

Suit and Number: Twos are cards of strengthening, extension, development. The suit of spades, however, is generally negative. The Two of Spades is therefore a card of weakening, stagnation, decline and waning.

UPRIGHT 2♠

General: a neutral card with a slew of meanings, possibly one of the hardest to read in the deck. The core of the card, we’ve seen, has to do with decline, slowness, waning. It is everything that is reaching its natural conclusion, from life to contracts, from a school year to a relationship, and so on. From here it takes on symbolic meanings by analogy, including old age, everything old, experience, etc. It represents slowness and slow, structural changes, things that develop slowly and move slowly and little if at all, or things that stagnate, even. By analogy with the idea of little movement, it represents short trips and especially visits as opposed to long travel and journeys. It is also a face card, a significator for an old woman, usually 60+.

Love and Relationships: when the Two of Spades represents a person, she is an elderly woman. The meaning is neutral and depends on the context. Usually, she’s an elderly relative of friend, or a colleague who is close to retirement. Whatever the case, the person is experienced and, with positive cards, will either help or advise the querent well.
When the Old Lady is not a person, it can take on a whole host of different meanings. When it signifies the type of relationship between two people, it usually one grounded in trust, affection and affinity, albeit possibly lacking in excitement. It can also show that the relationship is stable and has deep roots, and whatever change will happen to it is going to be gradual and structural rather than random and on a whim. With less positive cards, it shows a bond that is weakening and waning or a stagnant relationship.
In relationship readings specifically, the 2♠ can signify an ex. However, unless a heart card comes nearby (e.g., Q♥), it means that the querent has no feelings left.

Work and Money: with positive cards, the Two of Spades can signify slow, structural changes for the better that bring stability. It is connected to accumulated savings and with speculations that mature slowly. With specific cards, it can point to a traditionally wealthy family that has the querent’s back, and to old objects of considerable value. With negative cards, it points to financial decline, projects that stagnate or a collaboration that no longer yields fruits and is going to be interrupted. It can represent traditional business models or inherited businesses and working with the elderly or with old things, concepts, objects. It can also be an old job, a job you’ve already done in the past. With positive cards it can also represent old projects that finally being to give results. Needless to say, the Old Lady is connected to retirement.

Other: there are four important concepts to remember that can be applied to most questions: a situation that is waning and reaching its natural conclusion; slow structural change; short trips and visits; everything old, traditional, connected to the past.
Psychologically, it represents maturity and the ability to learn from experience. It also represents serenity and acceptance of what’s to come, as the person knows the difference between what can be changed and what must be faced with stoicism. It is also connected with conservatism and traditional values, without a negative connotation (unless with negative cards). It can mean being attached to one’s roots. Spiritually, it shows, again, slow changes and traditional forms of spirituality. It can also signify a deep connection with the divine that renounces the flashy stuff but knows what’s truly important, and the ability to learn lessons from every curve ball that life throws at us. Artistically, it has a connection with old objects and classical art as opposted to avant-garde schools.
Note that when surrounded by negative cards, being a rather weak card, the Two of Spades takes on some of its reversed meanings.

Important Combinations:
2♠ + 5♠ = the natural end of something
2♠ + 8♦ or J♦ or 3♣ = visit
4♥ + 2♠ = feelings slowly declining | an ex
7♣R + 2♠ = decline in status
Q♠ + 2♠ = the mother-in-law (in a neutral sense)

REVERSED 2♠R

General: A very negative card on the whole. When it represents a person, best case scenario she’s dead. If she isn’t, then she’s trouble. Its upright meaning of decline and weakening is retained, but here it becomes much sharper and more likely to be harder to accept. While the upright 2♠ represents visits, the 2♠R represents separations and the inability to get along and putting differences aside.

Love and Relationships: when she’s a woman, hopefully she’s kicking the bucket, thus justifying the reversed position. When she’s alive and well, however, she represents a spiteful old crone with all the stereotypical traits of spiteful old crones, from pettiness to hypocrisy to meanness to pearl-clutching prejudice. She is also a skilled liar who will make life difficult for the querent.
When the card doesn’t represent a woman, she can describe a relationship of any type that has run its course and has no future. Alternatively, it can signify a relationship that has no nurturing or reassuring quality for the querent. It is a sign of coldness and frigidity.
This card predicts falling outs and arguments and is generally a harbinger of separation and of a fundamental inability to get along and compromise. It can also show, depending on the other cards, that something that has been said and done in the past still weighs on the relationship.
The card can still represent a person from the past, but in this case the reversed Two of Spades acts as a definite warning.
When people are trying to improve their relationships by changing their behavior, the Old Lady reversed implies that the change will be short-lived and soon the relationship will revert back to the same old problems.
Just as this card can show situations that pull people apart, it can show situations that pull people together for the wrong reasons, and so it can, albeit rarely, identify negative groups, bad company and the wrong crowd.

Work and Money: again, very negative, but much depends on the other cards. The 2♠R taints our relationship with colleagues and can herald a loss of employment. It also represents a work environment that is stale and offers no growth opportunity. In general, it shows lack of enterprise and initiative, and when it comes to business models, it shows them inadequate and behind the times. More in general, if the cards show a past mistake, the reversed Two of Spades signifies the inability to get over that mistake and improve things. This is the card of ventures that have ceased to be profitable. Depending on the context, it can show a business that has no future or someone who has no feasible plans for their financial or career future.
Financially, this card also signifies avarice and a miserly attitude. Metaphorically, this meaning can apply also when the querent is asking for money, e.g., requesting a loan, in which case it will be denied.

Other: psychologically, the card is connected either to reactionary views and fundamentalism or to immaturity and weakness of character. Either way, it signifies someone who has no clear perspective (and whose advice must be avoided). In general, it shows someone or something that has no future or someone who has no feasible plans. Usually, it highlights a person who is incapable of changing. It represents anything that is ossified.
Upright, the Old Lady was a card of traditional values and roots. Reversed, it can represent someone who has no roots, like a waif or orphan, or who gives up their roots, such as abandoning the family, giving up one’s citizenship, etc. (in these cases, the card is neutral and must be read in context).
Spiritually, the card represents fundamentalism and a greater attention to form and rituals than to substance. It also shows spiritual views that are cruel and unforgiving. It also points to someone who hasn’t been able to learn anything from life. In esoteric reading, it often signifies an evil hexer.


Important Combinations:
2♠R + A♥U/R or 8♣R = inability to get along
6♦ + 2♠R = extreme conservatism, obsolete views or plans | lack of enterprise or initiative
2♠R + 4♦ = intrigues, schemes, hypocrisy
2♠R + 6♥R = hoarding, not wanting to give or share
2♠R + 5♠ = sharp decline and end of a situation

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Twos

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

Vera Sibilla | Two of Diamonds – The Letter (Lettera)

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Name: Letter
Italian Name: Lettera
Playing Card: 2♦
Polarity when Upright: Neutral
Core Meanings: Letter, Message, Telephone Call | News, Information, Books, Diplomas, Reading, Studying | Documents | All things papery and/or written
Polarity when Reversed: —
Reversed Core Meanings: —

Card Description: a hand in the act of delivering a letter.

Suit and Number: All twos are concerned with addition, increase,strengthening, elaboration. Diamonds, in the Sibilla, are concerned with the mind, information, daily situations, inputs. What we get is the Letter, which gives new inputs and adds developments to daily life in the form of news and messages, strengthens the mind with studying and books, etc. The concept of ‘written things’ must be understood broadly, as writing something is associated with reasoning it out, this card has to do with elaborating projects near the appropriate cards or in the appropriate context.

UPRIGHT 2♦

General: A generally easy, neutral card. It is mainly the card of news, messages and calls. It is connected with documents, books, study and is a very swift card, usually. There isn’t much to say about this card.

Love and Relationships: The Two of Diamonds does not speak of feelings. However it often shows up in love readings to predict messages and developments in the form of the arrival of communications from another person. When two people have broken up, it gives hope of receiving news from the other, but whether the message is good or bad will be shown by the other cards. It is connected to the idea of tending to one’s relationships, keeping up with people. In general, though, it predicts the specific arrival of messages.

Work and Money: Financially, the card is connected to banknotes and to checks, but more in general it shows the arrival of communications about money. Similarly, in career readings the Letter can herald communications in that field. It can also signify documents and papers. Professions connected with this card are bookkeeping, postman, librarian, journalist/news anchor, writer, in general office jobs, jobs connected with paper and documents, job connected with communication.

Other: the card signifies all objects made of paper. It is a speedy card. Psychologically it has a very vague connection with anxiety and nervousness, but this is such a subtle thing you can safely ignore it 99% of the times. Because it signifies written things, this card implies a certain elaboration of one’s ideas, unless other cards show otherwise. Spiritually it concerns messages from the divine plane and scriptures and grimoires. Artistically it is connected to writing and intellectual pursuits in general. The card is also important for students, as it can signify a number of things, from a test to the books they need to read, to the diploma or degree they need to earn, to school reports, etc.

Important Combinations:
2♦ + J♦ = important news | correspondence
2♦ + 6♦ = elaboration of plans | studying
2♦ + 3♠R (+5♠) = a telegram concerning someone’s death
2♦ + 10♦ = loss of document or letter (or it being stolen)
2♦ + K♣ = diagnosis, prescription | can also be a degree (not necessarily in medicine)

REVERSED 2♦R

General: traditionally, the Letter does not have a reversed meaning. Whether it comes up upright or reversed is a matter of indifference. However, it does tend to show up reversed when the other cards qualify it negatively, such as when it represents a negative diagnosis, a fine, a summons, etc. or if a letter or document is lost. But even if it came up upright, it wouldn’t change the negative connotation that the surrounding cards would give it, nor is there anything to worry if the spread is positive and the Letter is reversed.

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Twos

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

Vera Sibilla | Two of Clubs – The Peacock (Superbia)

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Name: The Peacock1
Italian Name: Superbia (also known as Carta del Pavone)
Playing Card: 2♣
Polarity when Upright: The Best and Strongest Card in the Deck
Core Meanings: The Amulet Card | Marvel, Excellence, Superb and outstanding results | Completion, Perfection, Removal of limitation and blockage | Beauty | God, Divine Power, Miracles | Outstanding, Incredible | Magic and the use of Magic
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Haughtiness, Pride, Arrogance | Overestimation of one’s abilities or prospects | Situations that cannot be improved, that have gone as far as they can | Black magic, negativity, Demonic energy, Evil

Card Description: in a walled garden, a beautiful peacock opens the feathers of its tail in a wheel. The wheel is a symbol of completion, and the peacock a symbol of immortality in the Christian symbolism of the Sibilla.

Suit and Number: twos are cards of continuation, strengthening and increase, while the suit of clubs is generally lucky. Thus, the symbolism of the Peacock takes on meanings of completion, increase of good or decrease of evil, embellishment, improvement, standing out, etc.

UPRIGHT 2♣

General: This is the best card in the whole deck. Yes, better (and more reliable) than the Fortune card. On its own, if you could choose between the 5♣, Fortune, and the 2♣, you’d be wise to pick the latter: Fortune represents luck, while the Peacock is the card of divine protection. The main function of the Two of Clubs is as ‘amulet’ or shield card, giving a positive spin to spreads, deviating the flow of the reading toward realization and happiness. Its main function is to increase the good and decrease the bad shown by the surrounding cards.
It is also connected with concepts of perfection, marvel, excellence, completion, totality, and to the removal of blockages and restrictions and to art and beauty.

Love and Relationships: the presence of this card usually allows singles to come out of difficult periods of loneliness. It is also connected with the ability to “win over” people in all fields of life and to seduce. It is a marker of self-confidence and a magnetic personality that draws people nearer. When the querent is in a relationship, the Peacock solidifies the union, making it last, and it allows the couple to get over difficult periods and arguments. Personal relationships in general are honorable and marked by a commitment to keeping one’s word. People characterized by this card are positive for the querent and usually hold the key to solving the querent’s problem. If the querent is asking about a reconciliation and the breakup happened some time ago, this card may however show that the person enquired about is already fulfilled, which means they have a new story, or it may show that the querent will be fulfilled in a new relationship. Bear in mind that there is no ‘yes’ card in the Vera Sibilla: cards must always be interpeted in the context provided by the other cards. If a reconciliation does happen, this card signals that it will bring the couple to a whole new level where old mistakes won’t be repeated. If a new relationship is shown by other cards, the Peacock signals that it’s this new relationship that will bring the querent to a whole new level or standard. If the querent has been single for a long time, it can simply show the end of the difficult period.

Work and Money: again, an extemely positive card. People who are going through a rough patch economically are often lifted up and protected. No matter how dire the situation may get, if the Two of Clubs intervenes we’ll be snatched out of the abyss. It brings freedom from worry or debt. It can also point to great career prosects and to recognition in one’s field. Businesses can expand or draw in extra clients. In itself, the card shows jobs related to beauty, the arts and professions where someone is in the public eye, or simply professions that express the querent’s true vocation. However, if the querent has been through a long spell of unemployment, it may simply signal the end of hardships, not necessarily that all of a sudden they’ll wake up the great masters of their dream job. Projects that are undertaken under this card’s influence are completed successfully and obstacles, bureaucratic red tape and difficulties tend to disappear. Everything that may limit the querent’s realization takes a blow.

Other: as said, this card points to excellence, completion, perfection in all fields. It is connected to beauty, beautiful objects and good taste. Next to a significator, it qualifies them as either beautiful, talented or key in solving a problem. Spiritually it represents God and the divine plane in general. It also represents noble magical aspirations and practices and spiritual oaths and vows. By analogy, it is the card of kept promises and honor. Artistically, the Peacock shows good taste and everything that is appealing (“eye candy”) and heralds recognition. Psychologically, it is a card of self-confidence, being at peace with who someone really is, charisma, personal magnetism and the resilience necessary to survive every experience. It also signals a person with high standards, but never a bad person.

Important Combinations:
9♠ + 2♣ = freedom from chains and limiting conditions, or solitude
2♣ + K♥ = a great protector | God (with Q♣, Mary mother of God)
5♠ + 2♣ = a positive change that may seem difficult at first
6♦ + 2♣ + 7♥ = a person of genius
3♦ + 2♣ + 8♦ = high status, nobility

REVERSED 2♣R

General: the import of this card varies from mildly to very negative. In the main, it represents the more negative side of the peacock symbolism, namely pride, vanity, haughtiness. Another meaning deriving from this basic idea is that of ego, decisions clouded by one’s ego or the overestimation of one’s ability or prospects, which may lead to problems signalled by the following cards.
When coming up reversed, the Two of Clubs is also a significator of black magic (though almost never on its own, unless a specific question is asked) and of demonic powers. Needless to say, the reversed Peacock does not function as a talisman card.

Love and Relationships: personal relationships usually suffer due to one of the two being vain, feeling superior or being too self-centered. The gravity of the situation will be shown by the other cards. As it points to rather obnoxious character traits, this card also signifies arguments and a tendency to pick fights. In any relationship, but especially in romantic relationships, in addition to the above, it shows differing sets of values causing problems and an inability to truly understand one another, as if the two were two separate universes, from the symbolism of totality and completion applied to the negative, reversed version of the card. Furthermore, if other cards concur, the symbolism of completeness of the upright version becomes negative and shows that all that could be done to salvage the relationship has been done and there’s nothing left to do. People who are alone may feel very lonely but be too proud to reach out and even feel they are owed something (think of incels).

Work and Money: generally, from a financial standpoint, the card symbolizes overspending, a tendency to miscalculate one’s odds of success, overestimating what one’s budget will accomplish and business ventures undertaken as vanity projects that no one with an objective appraisal of the situation would agree to. Businesses may fail to attract clients. With other negative cards, the 2♣R shows complete ruin.
In career readings, unemployed querents will usually struggle to find a new job. On a more positive note, with positive cards and with the appropriate querent, this card can stand for retirement, because it shows that one phase of the querent’s life is completed and now over.

Other: psychologically, the card represents someone who is haughty and thinks they are just what the world desperately needs. These days, it can also come up when someone refuses to leave his or her echo chamber that constantly reinforces their prejudices (again, from the concept of totality applied negatively). In general, it shows a big ego, self-indulgence and too much attention given to shallow things, especially appearance.
Spiritually, this is the card of Satan and all that is demonic. On a lighter note, it can point to spiritual views colored by one’s ego and prejudices and cherry picking spiritual beliefs based on one’s preconceptions (ever noticed that progressives think God’s a hippie while conservatives think he’s a hillbilly? Convenient, isn’t it?) Artistically it leads to overestimating one’s talent and can signify shallow art without depth. The Peacock reversed is also the card of black magic and demonic invocations, but don’t go around diagnosing hexes without solid evidence from the spread.

Important Combinations:
2♣R + 4♦ = a skewed view of reality
2♣R + 6♣R = a loss caused by overestimating one’s ability or the validity of a project
2♣R + 3♠R = black magic (if the 2♣ were upright, just magic)
A♥ + 2♣R = litigiousness, ego-trips in other people’s presence
2♣R + 7♣R = taking offence, being offended, being stung to the quick

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Twos

  1. the meaning of the card title “Superbia” can actually be translated as “Haughtiness” or “Pride”. However, it is commonly referred to among Italian cartomancers as Carta del Pavone, which means Peacock card. The reason I use the title Peacock as main translation is that the Italian adjective “superbo” has two meanings: one connected with arrogance and one connected with excellence and everything outstanding, marvelous, perfect, the best. This latter meaning is retained by the English word “superb”, which has the same root. The ambiguity of the card’s title in Italian explains why the card has a very positive meaning when upright and a negative one when reversed. However, the English word “haughtiness” is negative and doesn’t retain the ambiguity of the Italian, hence the need for a more neutral title. ↩︎
Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Everyday Oracle, Sibilla della Zingara, Vera Sibilla

Vera Sibilla | Two of Hearts – The House (Casa)

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Name: House
Italian Name: Casa
Playing Card: 2♥
Polarity when Upright: Positive
Core Meanings: House, Family | Building | Harmony, Stability, Consolidation
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: A difficult home environment | A hospital, and in general all places the querent would rather not go

Card Description: a tall house, a manor almost. It gives off an aura of stability and protection.

Suit and Number: Twos are mostly concerned with how the suit extends the initial impulse of the Ace, building on it. They show elaboration, strengthening and similar ideas. The Two of Hearts is a card that brings harmony and harmonization. It shows the strengthening and consolidation of a situation, especially of positive, feeling-oriented and family-oriented issues. The house is a symbol of this kind of consolidation because buildings are, by their nature, fixed things which aren’t easily moved.

UPRIGHT 2♥

General: A positive card with some neutral connotations. Its main meanings are solidity and harmony, the querent’s home and family environment and buildings in general.

Love and Relationships: this is the field of life where this card truly shines. It is connected with harmonious relationships and strong ties. In love, it heralds a strengthening of the bond of affection and can show the couple moving in together. Even when two people do not live together, the Two of Hearts can be taken to represent their life together, and the surrounding cards will show what happens to it.
When shit hits the fan, the presence of this card can show a return to the status quo and harmony. However, if the House is followed by negative cards, it could mean that the harmony and stability are crumbling down.
The House represents family ties and a supportive home environment that may prove helpful to tackle the issues at hand. If surrounded by negative cards, though, the Two of Hearts becomes an indication of a troubled everyday life, especially at home (although the fact that the card comes up upright gives some hope).

Work and Money: In this field, the card takes on a variety of meaning. In financial readings, the card represents personal savings or family help (or, depending on the cards, family or house-related problems that sap the family’s finances). In itself, it is an indicator of financial stability and smooth financial sailing. With negative cards, it can point to financial decisions or problems that jeopardize the querent’s financial stability. It can also represent the workplace, with the appropriate cards, or a home-based business (or smart working, especially these days). In itself, the card is a symbol of something with strong foundations, but if surrounded by difficult cards, the solidity beings to show some cracks.
Needless to say, the House is an extremely important card to watch for in all issues concerning inheritance or real estate.

Other: the House can be a building in general, and the nature of the building will be specified by the surrounding cards. In itself, this meaning is neutral, and the type of buildings shown by the House when upright will tend to be more benign than if it were reversed (but don’t take it as a blanket statement, you need to look at the other cards). As said, the card brings the idea of strong foundation and strengthening in all areas.
Psychologically, this card is connected to the querent’s innermost feelings and the deeper layers of his or her personality and can therefore show his or her motivations. Artistically, when it doesn’t represent a place connected to the arts, it can show, among other things, the ability to infuse one’s work with one’s inmost feelings and beliefs.
Because of the House’s connection with the most intimate layer of things and to the idea of foundation, the card can occasionally show the reason why something is the way it is (what something is founded on). In this case, the surrounding cards must be studied.

Important Combinations:
2♥ + 7♥ = a real estate contract | a male family member | it can represent being serious about a relationship
2♥ + 9♣ = restaurant or club
2♥ + K♦ = workplace or working from home (or working door to door)
A♦ + 2♥ = the querent’s own home
2♥ + 6♦ + 7♥ = school or university

REVERSED 2♥R

General: A negative card through and through. There is no good reason for this card to come up reversed. It is still connected to the querent’s home environment, but it qualifies it negatively as a difficult place to live. It is also connected with places the querent would rather avoid (on its own, this card represents a hospital, but unless the question is specific or other cards concur, don’t jump to conclusions). Its previous connotation of stability is lost, and in its place we find rocky relationships.
When this card comes at the end of a sequence, it makes it less stable and less fulfilling.

Love and Relationships: when it depicts the querent’s family or home environment, the reversed House characterizes is as unsupportive and stifling. It represents an environment the querent can hardly flourish in, one where his or her best interested is not  taken into consideration, or one that (for any reason) saps all energy and resources, including mental resources, out of him. Personal relationships described by the Two of Hearts reversed tend to be difficult. The card becomes a harbinger of disharmony and of lack of sencere feelings, or of feelings at all. If other cards point in the same direction, the couple may end up dissolving. For someone who is alone, the 2♥R promises nothing good, as it will usually highlight that the person suffers due to his or her loneliness and doesn’t thrive.

Work and Money: the card can show a business that is going through a tough period, and with negative cards it is at serious risk of going belly up. The card also points to poor budgeting or depleted personal resources, and when negative money cards surround it, it can predict bankruptcy and financial ruin in general.
In less serious circumstances, the reversed House can mean that the family won’t support the querent financially, or that one’s achievement are below expectations or nor on firm footing.
When it refers to the querent’s workplace, the House reversed shows the environment as negative and not nourishing, or it can imply that the firm the querent is working for is not doing well.
Generally, if the querent is looking to strike a deal, the card can prevent it from going through, or it can mean it won’t be advantageous. Investments tend to turn sour under this card’s influence, and papers should not be signed.

Other: the card is connected to all places the querent would normally want to leave as soon as possible or places of corruption. In itself, the card can mean a hospital or a psych ward, especially with the appropriate combinations. However, the concept of negative building must be taken with a grain of salt, as the 2♥R is also associated with places of isolation such as retreats and hermitages.
The card is a serious warning for anyone planning on buying real estate. Here, the concept of negative place must be taken to mean that the house has structural problems and may be in serious need of renovation. The same meaning can also apply to the querent’s own home, even if he or she isn’t planning on buying it or selling it. Psychologically, the Two of Hearts reversed points to instability and of feeling unloved or not nurtured enough, and can show that one feels like the world is a hostile place for them. It can also mean the querent is going through a period where he would like to grow but can’t find an appropriate avenue to pursue, and may feel like he lacks opportunities or space.

Important Combinations:
2♥R + 4♠ = hospital
2♥R + 9♠ = prison
2♥R + 4♥R = brothel
2♥R + 5♠ = a morgue
2♥R + 9♦ + K♣ = psychiatric hospital

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Twos

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

Vera Sibilla | Ace of Spades – Sorrow (Dispiacere)

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Name: Sorrow
Italian Name: Dispiacere*
Playing Card: A♠
Polarity when Upright: Negative
Core Meanings: Bad news, Sad tidings | Sorrow, Tears | Something that we don’t like, that repels us, that we would rather didn’t happen | Negative interactions, Violence, Beatings, Arguments
Polarity when Reversed: Mildly Negative to Mildly Positive
Reversed Core Meanings: Toil, Labor, Hard work | Repetition, Cycles, Many times | Passing disappointment

Card Description: A woman brings her hands to her eyes in dismay after reading the contents of the distressing letter.

Suit and Number: As all aces, the Ace of Spades is mostly concerned with news. Since Spades are a negative suit, the news is negative, “sad tidings”, as the fortune-tellers of old used to say. Furthermore, aces speak of how people come together to interact, but again, Spades are the negative suit, so the interaction is negative, showing arguments and violence.

UPRIGHT A♠

General: It’s mostly an easy card to understand, as it has fundamentally three meanings: bad news, violence and arguments. If a face card falls together with it, it is usually that person who will be sorry, but there may be exceptions.

Love and Relationships: the Ace of Spades heralds bad news in every area, so in this case it can be the harbinger of rejections or negative communications from the people we are interested in investigating. It is also a card of turbulent relationships both with partners and with family members and friends. The other cards will show whether mediation and reconciliation are possible. Being a card of arguments, we need to look at the other cards to see whether the argument could leave permanent damages in the two people’s dynamic. It is also a card of violence, though usually not on its own (you’d expect the Ten of Hearts reversed or the Ten of Spades or the Three of Spades reversed, for instance). Violence comes in many flavors (verbal abuse is different from physical abuse, for instance). Again, this will be clarified by other cards. In addition to the above, this card can point to displeasure in being together with the other person.

Work and Money: in this case, the sad news refers to the material side of life. Anything from failed projects to being fired to losing money or investments is fair game for the Ace of Spades. The more negative cards reinforce the message, the more disastrous it is. If the other cards are positive, on its own this card is not strong enough to destroy a career or your finances. It can point to feelings of discoursgement caused by a difficult financial situation, to underwhelming results or to difficulties getting along with coworkers (the other cards will show whose fault it is. Be careful about cards that may be showing a situation of mobbing, bullying, humiliation, etc.)

Other: the card also represents everything that repels us and that we don’t like, so it often shows up in situations where something happens that the person would rather didn’t happen or would stop if he or she could (see the example of the eviction below). More generally, all things, happenings or results that somehow disappoint us. Psychologically, this is a card of tears, and it can often pile negative vibes on top of other psychologically taxing cards to show depression, mental breaks and similar states of mind. It shows inner turmoil and feeling hurt, discouraged, deeply sorrowful. Spiritually, it shows lessons that are hard to learn and can point to areas or problems that the querent would rather not tackle because it causes them pain (with positive cards, it points to lessons that are uncomfortable to learn).
Being an ace and being a spade card, this card can show a bad beginning. With negative cards, the Sorrow card may show something that is bad from the start, and it advises not to undertake something. When it falls with positive cards, it can point to a difficult beginning that will improve or some growing pains as we leave our comfort zone. But don’t sugarcoat it: it remains a bad card.

Important Combinations:
A♠ + 10♠ and/or 10♥R = fight, violence
A♠ + 6♦ + 4♠ = can mean depression
A♠ + 3♣ + 2♥ + K♠ (+7♠R) = eviction
K♦ + A♠ (+7♠) + 5♠ = being fired
A♥ + A♠ = conversations and meetings that cause sorrow | confrontations | verbal abuse

REVERSED A♠R

General: the card becomes slightly positive, but still with potential negative undertones that are ready to come out near negative cards. In the main, it represents slight or passing disappointments and sorrows (or sorrows that lose some of their hold on the person). It represents situations that are difficult and call for effort, but are not completely lost. You are not just there, taking them on the chin, as with the upright card. Analogically, this card represents hard work, toil, labor. This includes the type of labor that comes before a child’s birth. As a further analogy, therefore, this card stands for fertility, germination, multiplication. It is the card of cycles, of the same thing many times. Finally, the upright meaning of violence is not lost, but it is usually rarer.

A specific function of this card is that when it is preceded by negative cards and followed by positive cards, it represents the end of a sorrowful period thanks to the querent’s ability to overcome obstacles. Conversely, when it is preceded by positive cards and followed by negative cards, it is a harbinger of a sorrowful period.

Love and Relationships: a lot depends on the polarity of the other cards and what they are saying. With negative cards, especially cards of anger and violence, the difficult nature of the Ace of Spades come to the fore, and it may even show that angry or violent outbursts come one after the other (cycles). With cards showing a thriving social life, it points to numerous dates and many outings. When describing a romantic relationship, this card shows strong carnal attraction and a sense of “sexiness”, the reason being that the card is associated with physical toil and therefore the body, and also because this card reverses the notion of “displeasure” found in the upright card. It can foretell a crush.
If a couple is hitting the rocks, depending on the narrative that the cards are showing, the reversed Sorrow may show recurring difficulties or, on the contrary, putting in the effort to salvage the relationship. Because of its connection to cycles, this card can, with the appropriate cards, show the return of someone.

Work and Money: for the most part, the A♠R is a card of hard work, great energy and the need for elbow grease. It represents great effort being put into something. Depending on the other cards, it may even show holding down two jobs, moonlighting and similar situations. If the following cards show a goal being reached, the reversed Sorrow announces the need for toil and sweat.
Due to its connection with physical labor, this card is traditionally associated with agriculture, especially the harvesting period. This can be literal or figurative, as in reaping the fruits of one’s actions (this is true in all fields of life).
Thanks to its connection with germination and production, it is a good card for investments when surrounded by positive money cards. Alternatively, and again, when with positive cards, it can point to good career prospects and great productivity.
A neutral meaning of this card is that of signature, because the act of signing something makes a contract “produce” its effect: it fertilizes it. The meaning is neutral because whether signing something is wise or not will be shown by the other cards.

Other: the meaning of signature extents to all areas of life. The meaning of harvest, too, can come up in many situations, and it carries with it the general idea of advantage, benefit and profit (if with positive cards). Psychologically, with negative cards it points to tiredness and overwhelm, while with positive cards it becomes a sign of energy and a proactive mindset. It can also show that negative feelings are beginning to lose their grip on the person, and he or she is starting to have the psychological elbow room to fight back. With other negative cards, it is a harbinger of sorrow or sadness.
This card is a staple of pregnancy readings, where it can show the woman going into labor. Being a card of fertility, it can also be anaylzed to see whether the person is fertile or not, and it can also foretell the conception phase.
Artistically, the A♠R can show the ability to come up with many ideas and inputs, a period of great productivity and a fecund mind.
Spiritually, its meaning varies a lot depending on the surrounding cards: from recurring “signs” or dreams to an excessive concern with physical reality to spiritual growth thanks to one’s effort and the reaping of what one has sown. It really depends on the context.

Important Combinations:
A♠R + 10♥ + 7♦ = giving birth (in general, A♠R + 10♥ can mean success after much toil)
A♠R + 8♣ = frequent meetings (if 8♣R, frequent disagreements)
A♠R + 2♥ = it can be a return home after a separation or the need to work hard at home
A♠R + 6♣ = getting many small sums of money | harvest
A♠R + 3♣ + J♦ = many small trips, especially errands

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Aces

* “Sorrow” is a good translation of the word “Dispiacere”, which evokes ideas of mourning and disappointment. However, due the difference in root, a possible shade of meaning is lost, as the word “dispiacere” literally means “displeasure”, and so can refer to something we don’t like or that repels us.

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

Vera Sibilla | Ace of Diamonds – The Room (Stanza)

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Name: Room
Italian Name: Stanza
Playing Card: A♦
Polarity when Upright: Positive
Core Meanings: Intimacy, the intimate sphere, private meetings | news told in strict confidence, sensitive information, privacy | a place | financial prosperity
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: the revelation of unpleasant or shocking news | mismanagement of money

Card Description: A comfortable room, used by someone to receive close friends and write or read important letters.

Suit and Number: like all aces, the Ace of Diamonds, too, is concerned with news and the coming together of people. In this card, the news are told confidentially, usually by someone that is close to the querent. As far as the coming together is concerned, it represents intimate meetings, that is, meetings that are not highly advertised (sometimes, but not always, of a romantic nature). Being the suit of Diamonds, this card represents situations that generate (ace) prosperity and economic advantage. Again, it brings dynamic (♦) beginnings, that is, it brings movement and progression to the spread, foretelling that developments are to be expected in the near future.

UPRIGHT A♦

General: A positive card with some neutral undertones. In the main, the Room represents news gathered from a confidential source or of a confidential nature. The nature of the news must be read from the surrounding cards, so in this sense the card is neutral. The main positive shades of meaning concern the financial sector, where the card represents prosperity and good finances, and personal relationships, where it highlights confidentiality and intimacy.

Love and Relationships: as anticipated, this is the card of intimacy. This is never a card that represents casual acquaintances (although, with negative cards, it may show that you give away sensitive information far too easily to people you are barely acquainted with).
For the most part, it represents relationships that are grounded in mutual trust and the sharing of intimate or sensitive details, both in love and in friendship. Great care should be taken when cards representing carelessness or enmity show up nearby, as this can show that your trust in someone is misplaced. This card represents the act of pouring your heart out, telling secrets, etc.
It is also the card of romantic intimacy, so it foretells satisfaction in that regard. It is also good for socialising and cultivating interpersonal relationships. If the querent is alone or single, this card normally allows for positive developments to shake things up. If surrounded by negative cards, though, it may point to inner suffering or a sense of being alone and unfulfilled, having no close connections.

Work and Money: a great card in money matters. Especially when coupled with cards that refer to the more material side of life, the Room brings satisfaction, advantage, prosperity and good prospects. It is connected to important and often sensitive information being put to good use to generate profit, such as insider knowledge and “a little bird told me” situations. Sometimes, it can refer to all unique contributions that rely on special formulas, personal recipes, etc. More simply, it may predict work meetings that are not open to the public. If the querent is unemployed, this card often marks the end of the stagnant period, if the other cards agree. It materializes a supportive environment around the querent, which for an unemployed person is normally a work environment.

Other: being a “room”, it can be a place, of course. The main difference with the House (the Two of Hearts) is that the Room is generally a space within a building, although this can be overridden by other cards, and when it represents the querent’s home, it qualifies it more clearly as an apartment.
In spiritual readings, the Room can be read as a deep personal connection with higher worlds or, depending on the context, to inner knowing. It is also connected with esoteric knowledge. Psychologically, you can read from the cards surrounding it whether querents are at peace with themselves or not, or whether they are capable of expressing their intimate thoughts (to other people or to themselves).

Important Combinations:
A♦ + 9♠ = intimacy, in a neutral sense
A♦ + 2♥ = the querent’s own home, the home environment
A♦ + 10♠R = secret intimate meeting
A♦ + 3♣ + 2♥ = moving from a house into an apartment
A♦ + 6♥ or 6♣ or 7♣ = economic prosperity

REVERSED A♦R

General: Much more negative. Its meanings are mostly a more problematic version of their upright counterpart. As such, the Room reversed signifies shocking revelations, unpleasant news, dirty secrets coming to light and, financially, mismanagement. The presence of surrounding positive cards can, however, improve on its polarity.

Love and Relationships: it is not good to have this card in your reading. It is, almost always, a harbinger of negative revelations. The concept of “negative revelation” must be applied broadly. It can be past mistakes one had swept under the carpet finally coming home to roost, being busted with the side chick or a coming out, which is not in itself negative, but usually makes for some dropped jaws. Family skeletons, infidelity, dirty little secrets, nothing is safe when this card falls in the spread. Depending on the position and the other cards, the reversed Room can show whose secret it is, whether the querent’s or someone else’s.  As with its upright counterpart, be careful of cards showing ill-will or carelessness, as gossip and scandals may be afoot.

Work and Money: in addition to the negative news possibly being about money or work, more specifically this card normally points to mismanagement, the inability to save, and major difficulties budgeting. However, when the other cards are positive, the polarity of the reversed Ace of Diamonds may be improved and its meaning once again be referred to that of prosperity and the ability to profit from reserved information, usually with the added nuance that the person is qualified as shrewd and a bit ruthless, as he or she may not think twice about using sensitive bits of knowledge or throwing someone under the bus, Devil wears Prada style. In general, as far as money goes, this card is negative but open to improvements.

Other: psychologically, the A♦R points to not being at peace with oneself and to unresolved “inner” issues. It is one of those cards that can show a tormented mental or emotional state. Similarly, it can show someone who doesn’t feel at peace with God (although, with positive cards, it may point to finally owning up to some dark past secrets that weigh on one’s conscience).

Important Combinations:
A♦R + K♠ = having charges pressed against you, legal quarrels (here, the shocking revelation is that the authority is trying to land your tush in court)
A♦R + 7♦ = traditionally, discovery of a child born outside of marriage | more generally, an unpleasant truth coming to light due to naive behavior (in this case 7♦ is interchangeable with 10♣)
A♦R + 2♥ = unpleasant family secrets coming to light
A♦R + 6♣R + 8♠ = it can signify the mismanagement of money landing you into a critical position
A♦R + 4♦ = an unpleasant revelation that is, however, false | defamation

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Aces

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

Vera Sibilla | Ace of Clubs – Marriage (Imeneo)

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Name: Marriage
Italian Name: Imeneo*
Playing Card: A♣
Polarity when Upright: Positive
Core Meanings: Union, Marriage, Partnership, Contract, Productivity, Good Business, Inception, Beginning
Polarity when Reversed: Neutral
Reversed Core Meanings: The material aspect of life, Wealth, Abundance, Sex, Conception, Unions or Marriages that don’t happen or fall apart

Card Description: A man is about to slip a wedding band on the finger of his beloved. In the background, a flame burns on an altar.

Suit and Number: Aces relate to the way in people come together and unite. In the suit of Clubs, this takes on the meaning of official, binding agreements, among which marriage is chief. Aces also refers to new things and news, so the Ace of Clubs is the card of all those things and projects that take root in reality, all things that materialize, and is therefore associated with production and the beginning of entertprises (or of life).

UPRIGHT A♣

General: A great card, in general, whose importance extends to all aspects of life. It represents all circumstances where two or more people come together to form a binding union, as exemplified by the picture of the exchanging of rings. Most of the times, this is the significator card for a marriage or partnership or a contract of some kind. Unless negative cards qualify it, it brings with it positive connotations of satisfaction and advancement. Just as marriage is a binding contract that marks the beginning of a new phase of life, so this card can stand for all actions that start something new, that make something begin to materialize.

Love and Relationships: this card is mute as far as feelings are concerned. In itself, it does not say whether someone loves us or not. However, it does bring with it a sense of commitment, as the general meaning of marriage implies the willingness to put your life in someone else’s hands. Near a significator card, it can show that the person is married. When it signifies the marriage itself, what happens to it must be read from the cards surrounding it. Here you will find whether the union is rooted in faithfulness or not, whether someone is interfering or all is as it should be. Beware of when cards like Falsehood or the Thief fall nearby.
In all other types of personal relationships, this card can generally be taken to signify that the person is trustworthy and keeps his or her word, but this is a rather weak undertone.

Work and Money: an excellent card. When it represents a job contract, unless other cards qualify it otherwise, it shows a good contract that will benefit the querent. The Ace of Clubs may also show a company’s ability to bind people to it, that is, acquiring (often high level) clients, contractors or subcontractors. It can foretell a good deal and it portends good business in general. As this card is a significator of marriage, it can also be a significator of a partnership of any kind, as long as it is legally binding. Again, anything that makes two or more people commit to one another.

Other: In more mundane questions, this card can represent acquiring or buying things, as the transaction is its own kind of legally binding operation between people. Usually the Ace of Clubs shows the buying of cool stuff, not a gadgeteer’s trinkets. Although its association with sex comes to the fore mostly when it is reversed, it can still, on occasion, function as a sex card when upright, provided it is surrounded by the right cards in the appropriate context. Psychologically it doesn’t have much of a meaning, except that it can represent a committed person or being productive. Artistically, it is one of the cards that can relate to music (the god Hymen was a patron of music), or creativity understood as the ability to produce new pieces (songs, books, paintings, etc.).

Important Combinations:
A♣ + 2♥ = married life | a company
A♣ + 3♠ = abandoning the marriage, separation
10♦ + A♣ = someone is trying to snatch away the partner
A♣ + 7♥ = a high level contract | a partnership or a business partner
A♣ + K♠R = a divorce (especially with 7♠)

REVERSED A♣R

General: A neutral card with slightly positive undertones, it is heavily influenced by the polarity of the surrounding cards. In the main, this is the card of all that is physical and material: sex, money, wealth, etc. The meaning of materiality comes from the card’s upright sense of “coming together” of people but now referred to a lower (reversed) aspect, which is sex, a concept that is associated with matter and materialism. This is also why the card, although neutral, can be easily influenced by negative cards.

Love and Relationships: this is the nookie card, and that’s pretty much it. It says absolutely nothing about emotional fulfillment: if it is there, other cards will show it. Alternatively, it can qualify a person who is wealthy. If it represents the querent’s marriage, though, finding it upside down is not good, and it may show it going south. Near significators, it can show them to be divorced or separated.

Work and Money: Being neutral, this card represents the concept of wealth and material possessions. It is the card of precious metals, exclusive items, finery and creature comforts. Together with cards that signify nobility of excellence it reinforces the concept, and in general it retains the notion of material benefit that it had when upright. When near negative cards, though, it can prognosticate heavy losses and financial collapse, or the collapse of business ventures. If the querent needs to sign a contract, the Reversed Marriage card together with negative cards should be a read flag, or it may show that the contract simply won’t be signed.

Other: being the card of sex, the upright concept of production can now be referred to the conception of children. Psychologically, with negative cards, it can point to feeling defeated or powerless and staring into the abyss. It can also be a sign of materialism. Otherwise, this is not a psychological card.

Important Combinations:
A♣R + 2♥R = married life is stifling, the person would like to abandon it | the company is in hot water
A♣R + A♦ = sex
A♣R + 7♦ = conception
A♣R + 6♥ = liquid assets
A♣R + 3♦ = exclusive objects | a high status (especially with 8♦ and/or 2♣)

Other Combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Aces

* Imeneo doesn’t, strictly speaking, mean marriage. Imeneo, i.e., Hymen or Hymenaios was a minor late Greek god of marriage. The root of his name means “to sew together”, which is probably the best description of this card: it represents all acts that join people together. I chose the title “Marriage” simply because it is less awkward and it means basically the same thing.