A friend and I have decided to do a little experiment with the German skat deck. He has applied for a job and we wanted to see if he’ll be hired.
An Experiment with the German Skat deck
According to the meanings I’ve received, the Eight of Diamonds (here the Eight of Bells) is the card of work and business, so the cards seem to be on the ball. We also have the Ten of Hearts which is a contract (a marriage/union) with the Ten of Diamonds/Bells indicating it’s a relatively well-paid full-time opportunity. The Seven of Hearts here should indicate relief and pleasantness in general. It could also mean the querent is going to have fun, but considering it comes before the contract, I incline more toward the former interpretation.
There’s that King of Spades / King of Leaves there, which puzzles me. Technically the querent is the King of Hearts. This could show that someone else gets the contract, but this would be a really weird way for the cards to communicate (“Will I get the job?” “Someone else is going to be really pleased”). It can happen that the cards say someone else gets the job, but they would show this as a negative for the querent. Also, this cannot be the boss, because two women are the boss and are looking for someone to hire.
Maybe the King of Leaves could represent the type of job. It is in the medical field. Technically, medical subjects would be indicated by the Ten of Clubs/Acorns or the King of Clubs/Acorns, however I have seen many sources that assign the meaning of doctor to the King of Leaves / Spades. It could indicate that the job is going to have to do with lots of bureaucracy and office stuff, and that would true.
We did a little experiment with a friend. She wanted to know if the bureaucratic process to get the inheritance from the recently deceased grandfather would finally come to an end, since there had been several delays (leave it to the Italian bureaucracy). We started with the Sibilla.
Sibilla
A three card reading with the Vera Sibilla
In this case, the Handmaid reversed indicates money going out (of the querent’s wallet). The Sighs card simply indicates that the person worries they’ll have to pay money. The Ten of Hearts here is not a positive influence, because it is a card that makes the uncertain certain (in the context of a trial, for instance, it might indicate the sentence being decided). So in this case the worries shown by the Sighs are confirmed.
I asked my friend if she was worried about having to pay some extra money, and she said that this was her and her dad’s worry, but that they had looked into inheritance law and thought they were safe and wouldn’t need to pay . Clearly the Sibilla begs to differ.
Playing cards
A three card reading with regular playing cards
In this case we don’t have the querent’s state of mind (which the Sibilla talked about). However, we do have, once again, the loss of money, indicated by the Three of Diamonds being covered by the Ace of Spades. The Ace of Hearts shows us that the money going out is due to family issues, something which was absent from the Sibilla.
Skat cards
A three card reading with the Skat / Piquet deck
I decided to make an experiment with the Skat cards as well, just for kicks. The Eight of Diamonds is technically the card of work. However, if I understand the meanings correctly, it represents work because it shows the flow of money, money being exchanged. So it can represent, more broadly, the economy. With the Seven of Clubs, which indicates tears, the economy will take a hit. The King of Spades might be the office worker who will give the querent the news.
A week ago they received news that they needed to pay an extra 3000€ to unfreeze the granddad’s money. My friend doesn’t know if the office worker who worked on their case was a man (the King). Still I think the Skat cards were rather accurate.
The great thing about occultism being my life but not my job is that I get to do whatever I please. Well, right now it pleases me to talk about this deck, somehow.
Fortune-telling with Piquet cards or Skat cards. Like the video and subscribe
I won’t buy it, because there’s really no point in me owning it, but I’m going to post a personal translation of the meanings found on the cards, just as a comparison to the other systems I posted. Note: in German the descriptions rhyme (sort of). Since poetry is not among my many, many gifts, I’m not even going to try it in English. We’ll wait for the next Lord Byron to stumble upon this blog and give it a go. However, I will leave in bold type the words that are in bold in German, where possible.
The fact that some of the meanings coincide with the ones I posted, which I know to be traditional because I trust the sources, tells me that this Oracle of the Silver Mirror isn’t something someone just pulled out of his heinie, but they probably at least did some reaserch or had access to someone who could read skat cards. Still, I don’t want to exaggerate the importance of this deck: it is just a little bit of Skat trivia, in the long tradition of card fortune-telling as a parlor game.
The Silberspiegel Orakel is a fortune-telling deck about which very little is known. A source online says it’s from the 50s. Considering the old-fashioned language and the pre-reform orthography it might as well be true.
Silberspiegel Orakel (Oracle of the Silver Mirror)
A♥️ Soon an event will involve the house. It appears as though it is something good! K♥️ The King of Hearts is your reflection in the mirror, or “He” who envelops you in his love Q♥️ The Queen of Hearts is your reflection in the mirror, or “She” who envelops you in her love. J♥️ The Jack of Hearts can be your son or your daughter, or just a child, broadly speaking. 10♥️ You can expect much love, much joy. The world becomes your enchanted garden. 9♥️ Kisses and love-making await you. Don’t lose your head, whether in December or in May. (This sounds much cuter in the original) 8♥️ A bit of good news is headed your way. It could also be an invitation. 7♥️ Everything turns out for the best and is cause for joy, as shown here in this card.
A♠️ Taxes, the courthouse or the government await you. Don’t pull a long face! K♠️ There is a wealthy man (around you). He could be your father, who loves you very much Q♠️ A well-meaning woman coddles you. She could be your mother, who protects you and takes care of you. J♠️ The postilion brings you a letter or message with much excitement. He’s almost here! 10♠️ You are planning a long journey, toward new horizons (shores) and harbors. 9♠️ A positive change in your personal situation. That’s a certain thing. 8♠️ An unexpected gift will bring you much joy, perhaps tomorrow, maybe even today. 7♠️ You can expect a visit, with flowers from the most beautiful garden.
A♦️ An important letter or a merry celebration, perhaps a marriage or something from the stork’s nest. K♦️ A blond man will propose to you. He may also be a relative (!!!) Q♦️ You will go out with a blonde woman. If she’s a relative, forget about her (!!!) J♦️ This is the big, big luck. Cut yourself a nice slice of it. 10♦️ You manage to accomplish something great, everything brings you success and lots of money. 9♦️ You may expect a bit of money. This is what the cards clearly show. 8♦️ You’ll have golden rings to wear. Maybe you’ll celebrate an engagement or a marriage. 7♦️ A small journey will restore you. Have a good journey and some fun!
A♣️ Affliction and a doctor are in your home, but a cheerful disposition can drive the devil out. K♣️ An older man is around you. Maybe a father-in-law, maybe a public official. Q♣️ An older woman is by your side. If she’s your mother-in-law, do as she says. J♣️ A false person wants to charm you. Be careful, and you will charm the snake! 10♣️ Luck, affluence and a long life are gifted to you as treasures. 9♣️ Something will soon become certain. Now ask yourself what it may be. 8♣️ Aggravations are coming to your house. Someone may exploit your good will. 7♣️ Tears, loss and fights threaten you. You will overcome them with a merry disposition.
Spreads
In the LWB, two spreads are described. One is the classic große Tafel, the grand tableau of 8×4, where one reads the lines that intersect the querent’s card.
The other is a cross spread (once again), where the person’s significator is taken out, the cards fanned out and fifteen cards chosen: covering him (“Was dich deckt!”, i.e., “what covers you”), to his right (“Was dich schreckt!” i.e., “What scares you/shocks you”), below him (“Was du mit Füßen trittst”, i.e., “What you tread on with your feet”), to his left (“Was dir gewiß ist”, i.e., “what you hold for certain”) and above (“Was du im Kopfe trägst”, i.e, “What you have in your head”). The “what shocks you” position on the right is probably the opposite of the “what you hold for certain” position on the left. It probably indicates something the person doesn’t expect.
The general tone of the LWB is very cautious and markedly negative toward divination, which reinforces the hypothesis that the deck originates from before the late 60s or early 70s. The reader is constantly encouraged to practice it only as a game with family members and not to practice professionally.
Ok, I swear this is the last deck I’m buying for a while, but it was only a couple of € on Ebay, and it was vintage, so yeah.
A Schafkopf deck
It is actually a Schafkopf deck (literally, sheep head), and it is comprised of 36 cards. As far as I can tell, not all Schafkopf reading traditions use all 36 cards, as some discard the sixes.
At some point in life something’s got to give, so I don’t think I will use this deck very much, but I was browsing on Ebay and I came across a vintage Skat deck. I am sucker for vintage decks just as much as a hate the new ones more or less uniformly, plus I had just published my new article on reading this type of deck, so I took it as a sign and bought it. I love the papery texture of the cards. They probably wouldn’t survive aggressive use, but it will be enough to experiment with on occasion. Interestingly, if we take the King of Hearts to represent me and we use the meanings I received, this großes Blatt (grand tableau) describes my recent past quite accurately.
A couple of years ago I published a series of three articles on the Skat deck. This is not a system I use, merely one that has been kindly passed down to me, together with the premission to translate it. I came into contact with another reader, who also kindly accepted to share her system, which she learned from a friend some years back. This is another German system, which is recognizable in that Spades tend to be neutral and Clubs negative. There are also many similarities with the previous system I published, which is not surprising since the various systems tend to be regional, and both readers come from the same region ( the Südpfalz). Still, there are some interesting differences. What follows is my translation of the meanings, combinations and reading method. Thanks to Anke for this method.
Hearts
Ace – The Home King – The Man (Herzensmann, the man of my heart) Queen – The Woman (Herzensfrau, the woman of my heart) Jack – Thoughts, Projects, Hopes, Positive Feelings/Thoughts (gute Gesinnung) Ten – Great Joy, Wish Fulfillment, Wedding Bells (Hochzeitsglocken) Nine – Joy, Love, Sympathy, Affection / Inclination (Zuneigung) Eight – A Relationship, Harmony, Accord / Deal, Reconciliation Seven – Fun, Entertainment (Fröhlichkeit, Spaß)
Spades
Ace – Office (Amt), understood as official things, Bureaucracy, Documents, Laws, Lawsuits, etc. King – A friend or relative, Can be an office worker Queen – A friend, relative or office worker (Büroangestellte) Jack – Message, Contacts Ten – Journey, A long period of time, The Long Road (auf dem langen Weg), An important change (Umbruch) Nine – Uncertainty, Uncertain timeframe, Jealousy, Unwarranted turmoil, at the end of a sequence it improves the situation (the worry is unwarranted) Eight – A short timeframe, Also the card of society (Gesellschaftskarte) Seven – Very short timeframe, Discussions and Talks, The Short Road (auf dem kurzen Weg)
Diamonds
Ace – Letter, Invitation or Gift King – A Man of position, Respected (angesehener Mann), Someone who counts Queen – A woman of position, Respected, Who counts Jack – The Jack of Good Luck (Glücksbube) Ten – Big Money Nine – Success, Ambition, Idealism Eight – Work, Also buying and selling, Business (Geschäftskarte) Seven – Small Money, A child
Clubs
Ace – Shock (Schreck), Fear, Fright, Suffering or Loss King – A lonely man, Older or inimical, Father-in-law Queen – A lonely woman, Older or inimical, Mother-in-law Jack – The Jack of Bad Luck (Pechbube), Bad/evil ideas / feelings / disposition (böse Gesinnung) Ten – Great sorrow, Illness Nine – Falseness, Antipathy (Abneigung), Dislike Eight – Arguments, Fights, The need to fight, Obstacles Seven – Tears
Some Combinations
Ace of Hearts – Ace of Spades – Ten of Hearts = Wedding Ace of Spades – Ten of Clubs – King of Clubs = Hospital stay Any Queen – Seven of Diamonds – Ten of Clubs = Pregnancy (apparently pregnancy is seen as a sickness) Ace of Clubs – Ace of Spades – Evil card (especially the Jack of Clubs) = death Ace of Spades – Eight of Clubs – King of Clubs = Court case Ten of Spades – Person card = Someone who comes from afar (but can also be someone who is away)
Spreads
There are two phases to a general reading. The first is a cross spread not unlike the one I use. Lay out the querent’s card (King or Queen of Hearts), but with some slight variations. Let’s say you are reading for a woman:
4
9
14
2
7
12
QH
3
8
13
1
6
11
5
10
15
The positions’ meanings are quite similar, although the order of laying out the cards differs: above are the thoughts, underneath the problems or what she has command over, behind is the past, in front is the next future. The second stage is as follows:
3
8
13
4
9
14
QH
1
6
11
2
7
12
5
10
15
This second spread is called the Rundum Blick, literally the comprehensive view or all-around view. The cards covering the Queen are supposed to be the most important ones, while the others all cover the future, with those to the left being a bit closer than the ones to the right, unless the Ten of Spades (the long time card) is present, in which case it can change the timeframe.
I didn’t receive any instructions on how to read the cards for answering specific questions, which is not surprising, since many folk methods of divination were simply meant to talk generally about what was ahead. Still, I am quite sure you can devise your own strategy.
The German Skat / Piquet deck is normally read in a großes Blatt or große Tafel, i.e., a grand tableau. Usually, the composition of the Blatt is 8×4 or, alternatively, 6×5 plus two remaining cards in the last row. Maybe I will cover it in a future post, but as it’s a method I’m still studying and am not familiar with, it may take a while 🙂 there are, however, other methods.
For starters, nothing prevents you from using regular rows of cards for answering simple questions or just to get a general look at the future. You can also take a look at the spreads I presented for the Sibilla and adapt them.
Another popular method used with Skat cards is that of the star. There are several variations online. The star spread is relatively simple and is normally used for general readings. You place the significator card for the querent on the table, shuffle (or have the querent shuffle, depending on who you listen to). You then cut three times and read the cut. You restore the cut by placing the central heap on the last and then on the first, and you start dealing the cards.
One goes to the left of the significator, one to the right, one above, one below, one in the upper left corner, one in the lower right corner, one in the upper right corner, one in the lower left corner. You now have the significator completely surrounded by cards, like in a square of 9. But it’s not over. You then place another card to the left, one to the right, one above, one below, upper left, lower right, upper right, lower left. This will get you the shape of a star.
You then go on to interpret the spread, with the cards to the left as the past, those to the right as the future and those in the middle as the present. As I said, there are many variations on this spread, and I haven’t personally used it yet. I will update this post when I do.
This is the list of meanings I have received for the German Skat deck. If you need a background, click here for part I.
Hearts – Hearts (also called “Rot”, red)
Ace – The home, The Family Seven – Intimacy, Someone or something close, Something imminent Eight – Fun, Entertainment, Festivity Nine – Friendship, Joy, Love Ten – Marriage, Union, Connection, Bond Jack / Unter – A Child, Naive, Inexperienced, Positive, Immature Queen / Ober – The female querent King – The male querent
Spades – Leaves (called “Grün”, green)*
Ace – A letter, Document, A book, Study Seven – Visit, Meetings, Hopes, A short trip (even just going out on foot) Eight – Society, People meeting, Groups, Talks, Also a short trip, but a bit longer than the Seven Nine – Worry, Uncertainty, Preoccupation Ten – Long road, Travel, A long time, Abroad Jack / Unter – Message, News, also relatives Queen / Ober – An older woman, A dark-haired woman, A friend or relative King – The male counterpart to the Queen
Diamonds – Bells (“Schellen”)
Ace – Success, Great fortune, Gift, Good for career and business Seven – Small money, Something small, Objects, little by little, of small account Eight – Job, Occupation, also Praise Nine – Success, Growth, Increase, Recognition, Satisfaction, Improvement Ten – Money, Success Jack / Unter – Good luck, Fortunate occurrence Queen / Ober – A blond woman, A younger woman King – The male counterpart to the Queen
Clubs – Acorns (note that Clubs are called “Kreuzkarten”, Crosses)
Ace – Sorrow, Suffering, Spirituality, Loss, Shock, A large building Seven – Tears, can rarely be tears of happiness Eight – Anger, Arguments, Clashes Nine – Loss, Lack of success, Also jealousy Ten – Illness, Situations that are sick Jack / Unter – Disruption, Bad luck, Falseness, also wearing a uniform Queen / Ober – An elderly woman, An ex, A negative woman, Lonely, lying, A female doctor or a woman in a position of authority King – The male counterpart to the queen
Combinations
A♣ – 10♣ – K♣ = hospital, sickness K♣ – 10♥ – 8♥ = marriage 7♥ – 7♠ – J♥ = pregnancy 8♦ – A♠ = a new job 8♦ – 9♦ – A♦ = career advancement 8♦ – 7♦ = part-time job 8♦ – 10♦ = full-time job 10♦ – K♦ – A♦ = successful businessman 8♠ – 8♥ = meeting people, a party A♥ – 7♣ – 9♣ – A♣ = loss in the family 10♥ – K♣ – 8♣ = divorce K♣ – J♣ – A♣ = problems with the law, prison (if another bad card instead of the Ace, problems with the law) 10♠ – 7♠ = someone visiting from far away 8♥ – J♦ – A♦ – 10♦ = winning money J♦ – J♣ = bad luck, lost opportunity J♣ – J♦ = good luck 7♥ – 7♦ = flirt, just sex, small money coming in 7♠ – 8♥ = going out with friends 10♠ – 8♥ = a pleasant trip 10♠ – 10♣ = problems with the car 10♠ – 8♣ – A♣ = an accident 7♦ – A♥ – 9♦ = house renovations A♠ – 10♦ – A♥ – A♦ = buying a house K♥ or Q♥ – 9♠ – 9♣ = person is jealous 7♦ – 7♣ = money problems
* as I said in part I, in the German tradition Spades are good and Clubs bad. If that seems weird to you, feel free to swap them.
Before moving on with the regular deck of 52 cards, I wanted to spend some time on the reduced pack of 32. Reduced decks are very common across Europe. Usually, a reduced deck consists of all Aces, Sevens, Eights, Nines, Tens, Jacks, Queens and Kings. Reduced packs are used not just in divination, but for playing games, and that’s probably how fortune-tellers and diviners got the idea. A reduced deck is usually called a Piquet deck or, in German-speaking countries, a Skat deck. I say this because the method I have been taught is of German origins.
Another important point to consider is that not all traditions see the suits in the same way. In Italy, as well as in most English traditions, Diamonds are neutral to good, while in France they are often seen more critically, as opposed to Clubs, which are seen as more positive, while in English fortune-telling they are neutral and, in Italian cartomancy, neutral to bad depending on who you ask.
In German-speaking countries we find a curious variation: Spades, which are considered invariably bad all across Europe, are seen positively, while Clubs are considered bad. This is due to the fact that in German, Clubs are called Kreuze (e.g., Kreuz-10, Kreuz-König, etc.), which means Crosses. As such, they are considered symbols of suffering. Spades, on the other hands, are associated with social activities and movement.
The method that I have been taught, which I admittedly do not practice, but have been allowed to pass along in case someone is interested in it, was originally devised for traditional German decks. German decks have peculiar suits which are completely different from the standard poker deck. These are Hearts (actually called Rot, Red) Leaves (actually called Grün, Green) Schellen (small bells) Eicheln (Acorns)
These suits can be made to correspond to the suits of the regular poker deck, although the correspondence depends on what value you ascribe to the regular suits. If I were to translate the German deck into regular suits, we would have the following. “Red” or Heart cards correspond to Hearts. They deal with happiness, family, love, fun. “Green” or Leaf cards correspond to Spades. They symbolize society, travel, movement. Bells correspond to Diamonds. They have to do with money, success, luck. Acorns translate as Clubs, and are symbolic of struggle, tears and difficult situations.
The system I am going to discuss in the next post can be used indifferently with German cards or with a regular reduced deck, using the correspondences above. If, however, you feel uncomfortable giving positive meanings to Spades and negative meanings to Clubs, feel free to just swap them. As long as you are consistent, you won’t have any problems.
