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Vera Sibilla FAQ
My version has keywords. Should I use them?
Honestly? No. The keywords provided are extremely limiting, they are sometimes completely stupid (the Gift card does NOT mean obstacles) and they were clearly added by people working on the graphics of that particular version in the 60s or 70s. People working on a deck’s graphics in a big manufacturing company are NOT card readers. Their boss probably told them to add keywords so they could market the deck as ‘now improved and easier to read’ or something to that effect.
What are the little numbers supposted to mean?
They are lottery numbers. Some older versions even have three numbers. I’ve never paid attention to them, but then again my eyes glaze over at the mere mention of lottery and games of chance.
In my deck the cards of the Three of Diamonds and Eight of Diamonds are swapped. Why?
I honestly have no clue. My best guess is that there was an error made during the reelaboration of the deck for that specific edition. The traditional numbering is 3♦ for the Gift and the 8♦ for the Handmaid. If they are swapped in your version it’s not a big deal. Just don’t expect it to be due to some deep kabbalistic consideration. No “tzaddi is not the Star” and all that jazz. The Sibilla is much simpler.
Can I use playing cards with the meanings you provide?
Yes. If it helps you, write the title on each card.
What is the difference between the Vera Sibilla and the Sibilla della Zingara?
The Sibilla della Zingara (sometimes marketed as Gypsy oracle cards) is a reimagining of the Vera Sibilla, and is relatively recent compared to it. It was created because the Sibilla was popular and they wanted to update the graphics. Whether you choose it or the Vera Sibilla is a matter of taste, though I personally prefer the original. There is no difference in terms of meanings.
Do you recommend any books on the Vera Sibilla/Sibilla della Zingara?
I am a sucker for books. I believe I am aware of most, if not all books written on this deck in most languages, which isn’t to say much. I can, in all honesty, only recommend one which is still available: Alessandra Venturi’s Italian Cartomancy. It is poorly organized and it doles out information in hopes or making you fork out more money for the author’s course. There are no examples, no combinations, no spreads. But the information it does contain is solid. All other books on the Vera Sibilla/Sibilla della Zingara in all languages I PERSONALLY consider pretty bad (you are welcome to your own judgment). Italian cartomancer Etienne Valancourt is working on a book. It’s been years in the making, so I don’t know if he’ll ever publish it, but I have great respect for him and I already recommend it even before having read it.
Can I skip reversals?
Yes, you can do what you want. I myself do not actively create reversals when shuffling: any card reader will tell you that cards simply have a way of reversing themselves. I deal out the cards as they are, and then, in gathering them up, I don’t pay too much attention to how they face. However, I always try to start a new reading session with my cards upright. Even then, often one or two cards will reverse themselves. Call it chance, call it magic, but it happens. I would suggest that you pay attention when a card comes up reversed, but you can do what you want.
Can I make up my own meanings?
The first thing to realize when it comes to any psychic skill is that there is no psychic police. So yes. You can. I know some people who don’t use traditional meanings and give perfectly satisfactory readings. My own meanings are a mix of tradition and experience, and the numerology I use is invented, not traditional.
The second thing to realize is that if you are asking me, or anyone, for permission to do what you want, you’ve already lost. Detract further points if you pay someone in order to be told.
The third thing to realize is that just because you can reinvent the wheel doesn’t mean you have to. There is no psychic police, but there are established practices. To dismiss them out of hand without knowing them can be just as much an act of weakness as slavishly following them. Another point worth mentioning is that when we make up something we place our own limitations on it. It can be good to measure yourself against something you didn’t make up even just to stretch your imagination, skill and preconceptions.
My advice would be to educate yourself (here or somewhere else), make your own experience and adjust accordingly.
Or do what you want. Just don’t ask me to validate you. You don’t need validation and I am not inclined to validate people.
Can I just use the pictures as a guide?
Again, you can do what you want. Remember to keep a record of your readings, though, so you can go back to them and see what was accurate and what wasn’t.
Can I use the information you give as basis and develop it in my own way?
Of course! That’s what I did.
Do I have to memorize the combinations?
A handful of combinations are so classic (like that for pregnancy) that not to know them would be a mistake in my opinion, but combinations don’t need to be memorized, especially because you will find that the same combination could mean something totally different when surrounded by other cards. Just use the ones I provide as a mental gymnastics, but don’t confine yourself to them, nor to the interpretations I provide.
Do I need to consecrate/purify the deck?
No, but you can. I do. I would also suggest that you keep your deck near you for some time. As a rule, anything that helps you feel attuned to the deck is good.
Can I make up my own spread?
Absolutely!
Who taught you?
The mother of one of my professors. The numerology is something I made up to make sense of the meanings I learned and to expand on them.
Will you teach me one-to-one?
I will not. I don’t have the time. Besides, theory will only get you so far, and this blog is, I believe, most if not all the theory you need. You need to practice and keep a record of your readings. Don’t exaggerate with readings for yourself. Don’t force yourself to ask questions just out of idle curiosity to see what the cards say. Strive to read for others. Nag your friends and relatives. That’s the best way to start. That’s not to say you can’t read for yourself. Just know your limits.
If I send you my spread will you interpret it for me?
I will not. I don’t have the time. Also, I believe everyone should take responsibility for their spreads and I also think that the language of the cards is somewhat personal, just like different dialects within the same language. Just because all the words are found in the same general dictionary doesn’t mean every word has the same significance and importance for every speaker. Learn your own cartomancy language. You can do it!
Playing Cards and Numerology – The Queens
In cartomancy with playing cards, Queens are generally representative of women, and this is just about their only role. It is very rare that they come up to signify something else. That being said, they also have a connection with receptivity, nourishment and growth.
In some systems, the significators for the querents vary, but in the one I have been taught, it’s normally the Queen and King of Clubs that represent the querent.
The Queen of Hearts is usually a woman who is known to the querent. She represents a mother, daughter, relative or close friend. In general, she is a woman who has the querent’s best interest at heart, or at least should (you’ll need to check the surrounding cards). Even if she is not related, she could stand for a positive woman in general. For a lesbian querent, the Queen or Hearts can be the partner. The Queen of Hearts is also a symbol of acceptance and receptivity. It shows an environment where the querent thrives and is allowed to grow. Broadly, it confirms the receipt of something and it is a symbol of motherhood.
The Queen of Clubs is the female querent. If the querent is a man, she is usually the partner, either actual or perspective. If this interpretation is out of the question, she is still a woman in the querent’s life, usually not related to him. The Queen of Clubs is also connected to the idea of tending to something, working on it to make it grow or perfect it. She is not a symbol of great accomplishments, but she signifies honest effort, and doing what’s honorable. She is connected to harvest.
The Queen of Diamonds is a woman outside of the querent’s immediate circle. She is an acquaintance, a superior, a businesswoman, a professor. Her role is ambiguous, because her primary loyalty is to herself and her interests, but this doesn’t make her evil (after all, the woman you buy flowers from sells flowers to make money, not to please you). Compared to the Queen of Hearts she can be colder. She can also be a rival. The card is also a symbol of prosperity and of reaping the good fruits of one’s labor.
The Queen of Spades is a lonely or elderly woman. She can be an enemy or a difficult person. She doesn’t love the querent, nor does she further the querent’s aims (this is a great difference with the Queen of Diamonds, that the latter’s aims can allign with the querent’s, while those of the Queen of Spades are usually opposite). She can also be a woman who is very powerful, wears a uniform or represents the law. She can be an ex or a doctor. The card is a symbol of things that rot or are overripe or spoiled, and also signifies lack of acceptance (including lack of submission) privation, hunger, miscarriage. Finally, the card signifies falsehood, false words, false promises and false people.
Playing Cards and Numerology – The Jacks
The way I was taught to read playing cards, Queens and Kings are often real people, representing women and men respectively, while Jacks are only rarely real people, although the Jack of Hearts can represent a real child.
Jacks tend to represent news and attitudes.
The Jack of Hearts, in addition to representing a child, can represent someone or something who is fresh, naive, immature, honest, happy-go-lucky. In love readings, for instance, it tends to show flirts and situations that haven’t fully matured yet. It is also a card of inexperience.
The Jack of Clubs represents friendship and help. It represents also service to others. Next to another court card representing a person, it shows that he or she is helpful, friendly, positive, serious, constructive. The card is also connected to cooperation and, as an extended meaning, to co-workers.
The Jack of Diamonds represents messages and the knowledge of facts. It shows the acquisition of information. As an extended meaning, it signifies study and research. It can also signify a go-between (you will notice that the Jacks of Diamonds and Clubs are similar to their Sibilla counterparts). The card points to someone who is inquisitive, curious and desirous to delve deeper into something.
The Jack of Spades signifies enmity. It shows a negative attitude toward the querent (or of the querent toward someone or something). It is a card of ill-will. It is also the uniform card, especially when together with the King of Spades. Animosity, a competitive attitude and the desire to dominate another are all part of the meanings of this card.
Despite the Jack of Hearts being the Child card, all Jacks can represent children. Usually, the Jack of Spades is a child with problems, or a sick child, or a child that misbehaves. The Jack of Clubs is a good child, while the Jack of Diamonds is a smart child.
Playing Cards and Numerology – The Nines
The nines in cartomancy with playing cards are associated with the idea of wishes and hopes.
The Nine of Hearts is, as in many other systems, the wish card. It represents realization, fulfillment, sincerity of heart and, in general, things going as we wish them to go. It’s a positive card in most instances, as it has the power to alleviate the negative import of other cards that precede it.
The Nine of Clubs represents distance. It is a neutral card that represents things of long duration, long waits and delays, matters slowing down. It can also relate to physical distance. Generally, it shows the separation between what what we want and us. It’s the long road ahead.
If the Nine of Clubs is the road, the Nine of Diamonds is making progress on that road, and advancement in general. It is an extremely positive card, showing improvement, recognition, increase, fame, even. It represents other people’s views and expectations concerning the querent, if he has a good name or not, etc. By itself, it shows a good name. It is symbolic of career.
The Nine of Spades is notoriously the worst card in the deck, and some call it the wish denied card. If the Nine of Hearts shows things going as we wish them to go, the Nine of Spades mean things going against our wish. As a further consequence, it signifies things happening that we don’t want to happen, and against which we are relatively powerless.
Playing Cards and Numerology – The Sevens
In cartomancy with playing cards, the sevens in general represent the idea of achievement.
The Seven of Hearts has the general meaning of surprise. This is because the suit of Hearts does not contemplate the notion of effort, so anything that happens happens either thanks to other people or thanks to positive circumstances. This card signals positive turns of events, fortunate breakthroughs and good luck. It is also connected with the idea of talent, because if we have a talent for something, achieving great results in it is easy.
The Seven of Clubs is less fortunate. It is a card of problems, things that stand in the way of achievement and that need to be worked through. It is not a tragic card. Sometimes it limits the amount of success shown by the other cards, while at other times it signifies that the sailing will be less than smooth. Either way, the problems shown by this card are solvable (which doesn’t automatically mean they will be solved). Supported by positive cards, the Seven of Clubs becomes a card of hard-won achievement. It can signal the conclusion of an agreement or that of a practical project.
The Seven of Diamonds is the card of money and financial achievement, and of achievement in general. It is a simple card most of the times. Unlike the Seven of Hearts, here effort is implied. By extension, this card is positive for recognition and winning prizes, and allegorically it is connected to harvesting.
The Seven of Spades is a card of misfortune. It shows obstacles that are difficult to solve, against which the querent has little power. More broadly, the card has to do with all negative unforeseen circumstances that either prevent us from achieving what we want or strongly limit us. With positive cards it shows that success won’t be complete, while with negative cards it’s a sign of utter capitulation.
Playing Cards and Numerology – The Sixes
The way I read playing cards, sixes are the difficult number. In general, six brings out the worst in the cards. I’ve noticed that this is a trend in Italian systems of cartomancy (althouth not in Kapherus’ system).
The Six of Hearts is the only positive card of the bunch, as it signifies the solution of trouble, adjustment and the return to happiness, health, etc. It shows peace, improvement and relax. Only when hemmed in by nasty cards it turns foul and it brings tears (which the card graphically reminds me of) and the impossibility of a solution.
The Six of Clubs is a very static card. It signifies tiredness and a situation with all work and no play and no enthusiasm. It is symbolic of subordinate work and, more broadly, it implies the inability to definitely put a problem behind you, as it keeps showing up. With positive cards, it shows the ability to reach your goal, but usually without a great sense of realization.
The Six of Diamonds is also a meh card. It is connected with insecurity, worries, confusion and indecision, especially but not exclusively of a financial nature. It shows all those situations where you can’t stop thinking about something and being tormented by it. However, with positive cards it can signify a situation that is sorted out by being resourceful, planning and making an informed decision.
The Six of Spades is a card of illness, as it figuratively depicts the wards of a hospital. It is one of those cards that is very difficult to put a positive spin on. The illness can be literal or figurative, when it symbolizes a situation of suffering and upset, or even one that is noxious or damaged. In itself, it negates reconciliations and the possibility of returning to the past, though of course the following cards may alleviate it.
Playing Cards and Numerology – The Aces
One word of caution: back when I was taught to read playing cards, I was simply given their meanings. Just like for the Sibilla, there were no number meanings. The numerology was something I came up with to make sense of the meanings, remember them better and further expand upon them. You are free to come up with different associations, or even to disregard numerology entirely.
Aces in playing cards are connected to beginnings, obviously, but also to how and where things begin based on the associations of the suit.
In the suit of Hearts, the Ace is famously the House card. This is because our emotional sphere begins at home. The walls of the house protect us from what is outside. Thus, the Ace of Hearts represents the idea of inside. The house is the core of our individuality, where our roots are (it can also signify our origins, and the idea of origins, source, spring, well in general). It is also connected with positive beginnings or the beginning of positive things.
In the suit of Clubs, beginnings are interpreted differently. Here things begin objectively, they take root concretely out there in the world and not just inside of us, hence the Ace of Clubs’ connection with outside buildings and the idea of “outside” in general. More broadly, the Ace of Clubs is a card of production, commitment, activity, vigor and willpower. It also signifies signing papers, which is how documents become objectively valid.
In the suit of Diamonds, the beginning is seen in more absolute terms. This is the card of things starting out, of new things and, because the suit is connected to information and impulses, to news. It is also the card of all things that are first or of the highest value, such as diamonds, jewels, gold, a capital city, the sun, etc. The card can herald changes of phase, usually positive, and it is great for starting new ventures.
The suit of Spades is negative, so the beginning turns into an ending. Thus, this is almost universally the Death card. It heralds change, but painful change, change which is seen as the ending of something rather than the beginning of something else. It’s connected to all things that confine us. On a broader level it can even signify a country’s borders because that’s where the country ends. It is the card of cuts and knives. Broadly, this is the card of bad things beginning or of bad beginnings. It is also connected to all things that are last or of least value, and to where things end or end up.
Vera Sibilla and Numerology – The Sixes
In the Vera Sibilla, the Sixes represent the natural evolution of the number Five. Whereas Fives dealt with transition, the Sixes represent the flow of time, with all its philosophical annexes: the idea of duration (or lack thereof), the notions of past, present and future, etc.
The Six of Hearts is called Money. A better name for it would perhaps be The Safe or The Archive, because while it is true that it does represent money, liquid assets and wealth, this meaning is derived from the idea of accumulation which is a consequence of the traditional meaning of the Six of Hearts in cartomancy in Italy: the past.
And, indeed, the past is one of the main meanings of the Money card, strange as this may sound. Often, when together with a court card, it shows someone whom we already know, or an ex. In general, this card shows that we inherit something from the past, whether it be a situation, a person, an illness (which maybe we haven’t treated properly, or simply one that runs in the family, i.e. a hereditary disease), etc.
Money, the other main meaning of this card, is simply a logical consequence of the notion of time (number six) understood in a positive sense (suit of Hearts), i.e. as a resource and therefore as convertible in resources to be accumulated. Note that, reversed, the Six of Hearts talks about the future, as in future occurrences, unknown places, situations and people. It also heralds money trouble, but it is especially a card of avarice, i.e. unwillingness to let go of what we already have (or of the past).
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Six of Spades, Sighs, is the card of anxiety and tormented hope. This card, too, can represent something that already happened, but this time it doesn’t show it in a neutral way, but as a source of anguish. More in general, however, rather than to the past, this card is connected with the passage of time as a neutral-to-negative element that comes between us and our desire: the need to wait.
When reversed, one of the meanings of the Six of Spades is that it can represent the idea of letting go of our tormented desires or of our anxiety concerning the past. This is one of the cards that can show, when reversed, opening up to new possibilities rather than clinging to what causes us nothing but grief.
It’s the ability to step outside of ourselves or of our issue and listen to reason, whether it’s in the form of new inspiration or some professional advice. When surrounded by more neutral or negative cards, however, it remains a card of instability, material or psychological even when reversed.
In between Hearts and Spades we find the Six of Clubs, the Surprise, and the Six of Diamonds, Thought. The Six of Clubs is the card of the present time. It represents things happening now, or at least in the very near future. With it are connected the ideas of suddenness and immediacy, and therefore marvel and surprise, of coming across something that was unexpected. Since the suit of Clubs is positive, this unexpected surprise is usually positive.
Taking this idea of “chancing upon” further, we get to the meanings of receiving, getting, acquiring that this card also shows. But this is also the card of things that start flourishing. Note how, in the image, the guy is fishing a bag of money out of a river or lake, which means that, while the result was beyond his expectations, he did have to cast his net. As such, this is the card of minimum effort for great results: small past efforts paying off in the present and possibly heralding a positive future.
Finally, the Six of Diamonds, Thought, also represents the present, but it’s more the a-temporal present that exists in the mind, rather than the physical present of the Six of Clubs. As the card of consciousness, the Six of Diamonds is the point where past, present and future converge and are organized, made sense of and shaped into alternative ideas of reality that we then seek to act out.
As such, this card also shows plans, ideas, etc. Not necessarily true ideas, not necessarily good plans, and not necessarily plans that we are going to be able to act out: this is the card of pure consciousness, the timeless present which fluctuates above the flow of real time.
Vera Sibilla and Numerology – The Eights
The Eights in the Vera Sibilla are a natural continuation of the sevens. They represent the concept of balance and evolution toward balance. If you look at the number 8, you’ll see that it’s made up of two loops, which represent the inside or inner world and the outside or outer world. One of the two loops is represented by the “intention” set forth by the number seven, while the other loop represents whether or not that intention finds actual expression in reality.
The Eight of Hearts, Hope, is connected with the realization of one’s expectations and dreams. At its best, this card shows things going as hoped, at its worst, when it ends a negative sequence, the Eight of Hearts promises us that all will be well anyway and things will evolve in a positive direction.
The two “loops” that make up the number eight are, in this case, in perfect balance: inner and outer are as one. As such, aside from showing the realization of hopes, this is the card that represents clairvoyant abilities, dreams and faith as a whole, as these are manifestations of the concrete reality of our inner world.
The Eight of Spades, Consumed with Jealousy, is by far the most interesting card in the deck. In the Italian title, the word “Disperato” actually means “desperate”, not consumed. Desperation is the opposite of Hope. And, indeed, the two images convey opposite ideas.
Let’s look at the two cards. On one hand, a young woman is gazing confidently in the distance. She is poised and dignified, and there is a sense of peace, of perspective, of having a future in front of us that is clear and peaceful. Her titties out to the wind don’t exactly scream insecurity, if I may add. The connection of this card with the element of water can also be interpreted as things flowing smoothly and calmly, which is itself an extension of the eight-ish idea of balance, understood as our inner wishes flowing out and permeating reality.
On the other hand we have one of the most disturbing images in the history of cartomancy: a guy who has lost all sense of perspective and all hope for the future, whose life has stopped flowing smoothly and who finds himself at a desperate turning point, and he’s about to possibly end his own life. Not someone you’d ask to look after the kids while you are out shopping.
This is the card of crisis, of the world closing in on you, of oppression and lack of positive ways out of this impasse (at least, unless other cards show otherwise). This card behaves as a landmine that our hopes and desires step onto while on the way toward realization. Here, the two loops of the number eight are imbalanced with one another. This imbalance can also be understood not just as unfulfilled hope or crisis, but also as negative hope, hence the card’s connection with envy, slander etc.
In between Spades and Hearts we have the Eight of Clubs, the Reunion and the Eight of Diamonds, the Handmaid, which represent evolution toward balance in two opposite senses. The Eight of Clubs is the card of the positive evolution toward a good conclusion, but it implies either a previous upset or a previous distance.
This is the card that can show winning a court case, which implies the upset of having gone through a trial, it’s the card of the date or meeting, which implies being apart (otherwise we wouldn’t be able to meet), it’s the card of reconciliation, which implies break-up, it’s the card of healing, which implies illness, it’s the card of getting back the money you’ve lent, which implies a previous parting with your money. In general, this card represents an evolution leading us back to a previous balance that has been interrupted, and a positive offsetting of the situation as a whole.
The Eight of Diamonds, The Handmaid, is also a card of evolution, but one that doesn’t necessarily lead us back: it’s an evolution that leads us forward toward a new equilibrium (or lack thereof). It is said that this card, when it falls in the spread without any specific reason, heralds new phases in life, and we must always look where the young woman is going.
The staircase she’s climbing is a symbol for improvement, expansion, growth. As such, this is one of the cards representing nobility, refinement, good manners and climbing up the social ladder. The evolution here is therefore not intended as a re-establishment of a former positive situation as the Reunion (Re-union) often implies, but rather as a building on what is already there to reach a new equilibrium. Note that the handmaid is also the card of offers and money, things and situations being given to us: the new equilibrium or balance may be coming toward us from the outside.
