Tag Archives: Stanza
Vera Sibilla | Ace of Diamonds – The Room (Stanza)
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
Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Aces
In this article you will find some examples of combinations using the Vera Sibilla. Most or all of these combinations are handed down by tradition. Studying and decoding combinations is a very good way to improve your cartomantic vocabulary, but bear in mind that the exact meaning of a combination depends on many other factors, such as the context of the question and the other cards in the spread, so I would encourage you to keep an open mind. As a rule, you will find that if you do not pose a question and these combinations come up, they will mean what the tradition says they mean 3 times out of 5. Also, keep in mind that it’s useless to try to combine every card with every other card beforehand so that no surprises will ever come up in a spread, just as it is useless to try to combine every word in a dictionary with every other to study a language. That time is best spent actually practicing.
NOTE:
R = Reversed
U/R = Upright or Reversed (doesn’t matter)
* = This combination has to come up in this specific order
3♦ = The Gift (Omaggio)
8♦ = The Handmaid (Donna di Servizio)
Ace of Hearts (A♥) – Conversation (Conversazione)
A♥ + 2♥ = The querent’s own home or family | Talking at home | Talking about real estate
A♥ + 3♥ or 5♥ = An engagement or being hired for a temporary job (depending on the question and the other cards)
A♥ + cards referring to a certain topic = Talking about that topic (e.g. + 4♥ declaring your love; + 6♥ money or investment; + 7♥ a contract or some intellectual thing; + A♣ marriage or a contract or partnership; + 7♣ business or work; + K♦ can be an interview)
A♥ + 8♥ = A meeting by the water | a hoped for meeting will take place or will be successful
A♥ + 10♥ = can be a successful meeting or discussion | It can mean confidence in interpersonal relationships
A♥ + 2♦ + 3♥ = Long-distance communications (including over the internet)
A♥ + 8♣ = A reconciliation, talking things over | An appointment, meeting, date, etc.
A♥ + 9♣ = A party
A♥ + 9♣R = Meetings falling through | Be careful about too much indulgence with what you put in your mouth
A♥ + 10♣ = Chatting about nothing in particular | Careful who you meet or what you say (look around for the J♠ or Q♠)
A♥ + 4♦ = Lies or, at best, incomplete information | Being around the wrong people, either because they are wrong in themselves or because they are wrong for your purpose (barking up the wrong tree)
A♥ + 6♦ = It might be an oral examination or an aptitude test (+10♥ or positive cards, you pass) | Opening up about what’s going on in your mind
A♥ + 3♠ = Difficulty of interaction with others, Social isolation | A meeting that won’t happen
A♥ + 10♠ = Lies | An argument | Being guarded or defensive when with others
A♥ + 10♠R = More probably a secret meeting (this can also be the case if the 10 is upright, although less likely)
A♥ + K♠ = Talking with an authority | Traditionally, a trial taking place (but this is more common if the Ace or the King are reversed or if other relevant cards appear)
A♥R + A card signifying a certain topic = Change, revolution or renovation in that topic
A♥R + Cards of argument or disagreement = Reinforces the idea of disagreement
Ace of Clubs (A♣) – Marriage (Imeneo)
A♣ + 2♥ = The couple’s life (or a firm’s/company’s life, in a career reading). This is a very important combination, when it comes up. Look at the cards surrounding this combination or falling between them to see what’s going on
A♣ + 4♥ or 9♥ = A marriage of love
5♥ + A♣* = It may mean an engagement to be married very soon
A♣ + 7♣ = A business contract | Marriage to a rich person
A♣ + 2♦ + Happy cards = an invitation to someone’s marriage
A♣ + K♦ or 8♦ = A job contract (if it’s the 8, it’s more usually employed work)
A♣ + 9♦ = Litigiousness between partners of any kind | Don’t sign anything
A♣ + 10♦ = Someone is trying to snatch your partner away | if you are planning a wedding, it will not take place (not necessarily because of cheating, look around), or if positive cards follow, things will happen that will make plans change in some respect
A♣ + 3♠ = Abandoning a partner (this is a very traditional combination)
A♣ + 7♠ + K♠U/R = Divorce
A♣ + 8♠ = A critical moment in the marriage (if the Ace is reversed, it’s beyond saving)
A♣ + K♠R = Also divorce, but depending on the context it might mean other things, for instance the government or public authority causing problems to a partnership
A♣ + Person card = It may imply that the person is married
A♣R + Person card = It may imply that the person is divorced or separated
A♣R + 2♥R = A couple’s daily life is perceived by the person as stifling and they would like to get away from it | A firm/company unravelling
A♣R + 6♥ = Riches
A♣R + 7♣ = Real estate
A♣R + 10♥ = One’s assets (+2♣ + 3♦, you probably have money to burn)
A♣R + 8♦ (+2♣)= A noble person, an aristocrat
A♣R + A♦ = Sex (+ A♥ oral; + 5♥ (+7♦) with much foreplay; +9♠ can be anal; +10♣ casual or without protection; + 8♦R and/or J♣R sleazy or very kinky, someone who likes debasement or being dominated (K♣ or Q♦ would be the master/mistress), with 7♣R shaming plays a role, with 7♠R it borders on abuse or a very extreme slavery kink; +9♦ + 4♥R (+ reversed people cards) group sex; +5♥R and other negative cards it might be incestuous; +Q♥R or J♣R + 6♥U/R or 8♦R, with a hooker; +9♣R drugs are being used in the context; +4♥R and/or 7♥R, sexual depravity is implied; +4♥R +3♥R + 4♠ careful about STDs, if also 5♠, it might be AIDS (you may find A♠ or J♦R instead of 3♥R, showing the “communication” of something bad); +A♠ or 10♠, violence might be part of the thing, but 10♠ can also be a uniform kink (e.g. + J♣); + Q♣R traditionally the loss of virginity)
A♣R + 4♥R + 3♥R = A traditional combination of sexual abuse
A♣R + 7♦ = Conception of a child
A♣R + 7♥R or 2♠R + 9♠ = Difficulties getting off, impotence or frigidity
Ace of Diamonds (A♦) – Room (Stanza)
A♦ + A♥ = a private talk
A♦ + A♠ = the news received confidentially is bad
A♦ + 2♥ = One’s home
A♦ + 4♥ = A private meeting between lovers
A♦ + 6♥ and/or 6♣ and/or 7♣ = material prosperity
A♦ + K♦ = may be an office or a shop | confidential information concerning the job
A♦ + 7♥ = a professional’s office | a den or office
A♦ + 9♥ = sexual encounter (the Nine implies giving oneself completely to the other, so it’s probably not a random encounter)
A♦ + 10♣ = careful whom you trust with your secrets
A♦ + 4♦ = what you tell/are being told is false | the pantry
A♦ + 4♠ = spending time in bed due to illness | in love, it can mean the intimate sphere is “sick”
A♦ + 7♠ = can be a domestic accident (look around for the 10♣ showing carelessness) | what you’ll be told will anger you | the electrical system or the stove, depending on the other cards
A♦U/R + 7♠R = Wringing a confession out of someone
A♦ + 9♠ = a traditional combination meaning intimacy. It’s not negative
A♦ + 10♠R = A private meeting of a secret nature
A♦U/R + 7♠ + A♠ and/or 10♠ + 5♠ = the confession of a homicide
2♥ + A♦ = The querent’s bedroom
A♦ + 3♥ = a museum or cinema or place where you look at things | the balcony | the point of view
A♦ + 3♥ + 10♠R + 4♥R = A peep show
A♦ + 2♦ = private writings | a desk
A♦ + 5♥ = the garden, a park, if it makes sense in the context
A♦ + 6♥ = can be a literal safe or vault
A♦ + A♥ = can be a living room or dining room (8♣ might also show the living room)
A♦ + 9♣ = more probably a dining room
A♦ + 3♣ = can be a garage, a hotel room or moving into an apartment (especially if 2♥ follows the 3)
A♦ + 3♠ = the cellar (+8♥R, the plumbing, a sewer)
A♦ + 10♣ = the attic, the roof
A♦ + 8♦ = the kitchen
A♦ + 5♠ = a mortuary
A♦ + 7♠ = a place in ruin
A♦ + 8♠ = a place of bad memories, a place of desperation and low energies
A♦ + K♠ = the seat of an authority | a confessional
(Note: there are many other combinations showing places, with a little practice you’ll be able to detect them easily. Also, depending on the context you will need a different interpretation for these combinations. Be flexible)
A♦R + 9♠ = problems of intimacy
A♦R + K♣R = an unpleasant diagnosis
A♦R + 4♥R = a coming out | the discovery of a sexual secret
A♦R + 10♣ = being busted due to carelessness
A♦R + 4♦ = the shocking secret is false
A♦R + 10♣R + J♠ or Q♠ + 2♦ = unpleasant secrets spread over the internet by trolls, fake news
A♦R + 7♦ = a traditional combination showing the recognition of an illegitimate child
A♦R + K♠ = Another traditional combination, showing the possibility of legal action
Ace of Spades (A♠) – Sorrow (Dispiacere)
A♠ + 4♠ = a mental breakdown
K♦ + A♠ + 5♠ = loss of employment
A♠ + 2♦ = bad news via letter or telephone
A♠ + 10♠ = can represent violence (but look around for other cards confirming it)
A♠ + 6♦ = depressing thoughts | psychological violence
8♥ + A♠ = a hope or wish that will not be realized
A♠ + 7♠ + 9♦ = can be a brawl
A♠ + 4♠ + K♣U/R = a traditional combination showing that the person will develop a physical defect due to an illness (+7♠, after a surgery)
7♠ + A♠ = the traumatizing disruption of a situation | with other cards showing violence, the 7♠ becomes a card of wrath)
2♦ + A♠ + J♣R + 10♠ + 7♠ + 5♠ = receiving news that a son has died in war
J♠ or Q♠ + A♠ + 7♠ + 5♠ (+10♠) = a murderer
A♠R + A♥ or 8♣ or 9♣ = many outings, a good social life
A♠R + 10♥ = success after much toil
A♠R + 10♥ + 7♦ = birth of a child (I once drew 2♦ + A♠R + 10♥ as a daily spread and on the same day we received a postcard telling us of the birth of a distant cousin’s daughter)
A♠R + A♣ and/or 2♦ and/or 7♥ = the signing of a document
A♠R + 2♦ + 4♦ = forgery of signature | signing something you’d be better off not signing
A♠R + 3♣ = many occasions to travel
A♠R + 8♦ or 6♣ = many occasions to receive money
A♠R + 8♦R = many expenses | paying something in installments (+10♥, you finally pay off something)
2♥ + A♠R + 10♥ = extension of a mortgage, remortgaging
6♥ + A♠R + 10♥ = extension of loan
8♦ + A♠R + K♦ = Holding down two jobs
K♦ + 2♠ + A♠R + 7♥ or A♣ = renewal of a job contract (the 2♠ is the job reaching its natural conclusion)
10♣R + A♠R = many occasions to win money or a lucky streak in general
9♠ + A♠R = labor (the one before birth), if 10♣ or 6♣ before the 9♠, it will come sooner than expected
Bad cards + A♠R + Good cards = end of a sorrowful period
Vera Sibilla and Numerology – The Aces
The four aces, like the aces in many cartomancy systems, deal with the idea of newness. This can mean news or simply something new. However, in the Vera Sibilla they also add a further layer: they show people coming together in a unity of some kind. This can overlap with the meaning of news. In a way, it is as if the Sibilla was asking: “Oh wise reader, if you were to reduce the meaning of each of the suits to a single spark or seed idea, what would that be?” In this sense, the newness is how the suit first manifests, how it comes into being. And the way it comes into being is by containing the interaction between people, or between inside and outside, in a single unity.
The Ace of Hearts, Conversation, is a good example of this overlapping of newness, news and relationship between people. This is the card of words and interpersonal relationships. The type of unity between people that this card shows is one of peace: word is an alternative to violence, and it allows us to find compromises, hence the further meaning of negotiation. Additionally, it represents people coming together in a further sense, as it is the card of people living under the querent’s same roof.
Note how, in a more metaphorical sense, the Ace of Hearts represents the idea of opening up to other people, or simply to a new situation, in that talking means connecting with the outside world in a peaceful, positive way. It describes a type of work where you need to stay in contact with people, and also the ability to communicate, to mediate, to make people understand where you are coming from.
The Ace of Spades, Sorrow, is in more than one sense the opposite of the Conversation card. It represents, first and foremost, sad tidings, the precise nature of which is shown by the cards nearby. Something from the outside comes to the I, and the I is saddened by it. From this comes a whole set of meanings assigned to the Ace of Spades, from grief to tears etc.
The difficulty that this card shows in interpersonal relationships is typified by one of its other meanings: violence. This is one of the cards that can show people coming together not, as in the previous card, with good intentions, or with the idea of finding a compromise, but holding a big club behind their back.
In between the two extremes, we have other types of news and unity. With the Ace of Clubs, Marriage or “Hymenaios”, the coming together is a legal one: it shows two or more people joined in a venture that requires a signature. From marriage to contracts, partnerships, this is a card of prosperity, and unless other cards modify it for the worse, it promises good. It shows something that is legally valid and legally binding because it has been intersubjectively been agreed upon.
From this we have further secondary meaning of this card. The Ace of Clubs represents everything that materializes, and becomes concrete, that is not just a vague abstraction, but is grounded in the outside world. In this sense, it shows how the inner and outer sides of reality are joined together.
Finally, the Ace of Diamonds, the Room, shows yet a different type of news and a different type of coming together. It is the card of intimacy and of the querent’s privacy and private sphere. While it is certainly a good card for material affairs, its most important meaning is that of confidential news and of intimate relationships.
As card of privacy, it represents something close to the querent, something that remains within their sphere of influence, and it shows property. From this a whole host of meanings related to intimacy, hanky panky (especially with the Ace of Clubs, and especially if it is reversed) and so on. Note how the Room card and the Marriage card complement each other: the Ace of Clubs shows a “masculine” type of energy which is projected outwardly, from subjectivity into intersubjectivity, while the Ace of Diamonds, with its symbology of Room, shows retreat and welcoming inside.
To sum up, the Ace of Hearts shows words and new situations of a peaceful kind (unless other cards show otherwise) and peaceful unity among people; the Ace of Clubs shows contractual unity and, if other cards concur, a beginning of prosperity; the Ace of Diamonds is the card of news coming from a confidential source and intimate unity among people; the Ace of Spades is the card of bad news, sorrow and violence, i.e. people joined by their hands pulling the other person’s hair.
