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Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Six of Cups

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Six of Cups from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

Time period is the second decanate of Scorpio, from November 1 to November 10 under the combined influences of Jupiter and Neptune.
Well-Dignified: the meanings in specific divinations are based on the influence of Neptune and Jupiter in Scorpio combined with its natural 8th house; deep emotions, ardor, enthusiasm, generosity; money through marriage or business partner, or by inheritance; the beginning of steady gain in business or pleasure, but beginning only; peculiar circumstances.
lll-Dignified: deceit in reference to partner’s money; loss of inheritance through some sort of swindle; danger of death on water, or through poisons or anesthetics; some reversal of fortune.
Keyword: Betterment
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

Children in an old garden, their cups filled with flowers. Divinatory Meanings: A card of the past and of memories, looking back, as–for example–on childhood; happiness, enjoyment, but coming rather from the past; things that have vanished. Another reading reverses this, giving new relations, new knowledge, new environment, and then the children are disporting in an unfamiliar precinct. Reversed: The future, renewal, that which will come to pass presently.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

The Six of Cups is called Pleasure. This pleasure is a kind of pleasure which is completely harmonized. The zodiacal sign governing the card being Scorpio, pleasure is here rooted in its most convenient soil. This is pre-eminently a fertile card; it is one of the best in the pack.

[…]

This card shows the influence of the number Six, Tiphareth, in the suit of Water. This influence is fortified by that of the Sun, who also represents the Six. The whole image is that of the influence of the Sun on Water. His fierce, but balanced power operates that type of putrefaction-he is in the Sign of Scorpio-which is the basis of all fertility, all life.

The lotus stems are grouped in an elaborate dancing movement. From their blossoms water gushes into the Cups, but they are not yet full to overflowing, as they are in the corresponding card below; the Nine.

Pleasure, in the title of this card, must be understood in its highest sense: it implies well-being, harmony of natural forces without effort or strain, ease, satisfaction. Foreign to the idea of the card is the gratification of natural or artificial desires. Yet it does represent emphatically the fulfilment of the sexual Will, as shown by the ruling Sephira, planet, element, and sign.

In the Yi King, Sol in Scorpio is represented by the 20th Hexagram, Kwan, which is also “Big Earth”, being the Earth Trigram with doubled lines. Kwan means “manifesting”, but also “contemplating”. The Kwan refers directly to an High Priest, ceremonially purified, about to present his offerings. The idea of Pleasure-Putrefaction as a Sacrament is therefore implicit in this Hexagram as in this card; while the comments on the separate lines by the Duke of Chau indicate the analytical value of this Eucharist. It is one of the master-keys to the Gate of Initiation. To realize and to enjoy this fully it is necessary to know, to understand, and to experience, the Secret of the Ninth Degree of the O.T.O.
(From The Book of Thoth)

A fairytale-like AI-generated illustration for the Six of Cups

Golden Dawn’s Book T

AN Angelic Hand, as before, holds a group of stems of water-lilies or lotuses, from which six flowers bend, one over each cup. From these flowers a white glistening water flows into the cups as from a fountain, but they are not yet full.
Above and below are Sun and Scorpio referring to the Decan.

Commencement of steady increase, gain and pleasure; but commencement only.
Also affront, detection, knowledge, and in some instances contention and strife arising from unwarranted self-assertion and vanity. Sometimes thankless and presumptuous; sometimes amiable and patient. According to dignity as usual.
Tiphareth of HB:H (Beginning of wish, happiness, success, or enjoyment).
Therein rule HB:NLKAL and HB:YYYAL

Etteilla

Past.
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: the Past, Formerly, Withered, Formerly. – Formerly, Anteriorly, Of Yore, Once. – Old age, Decrepitude, Antiquity.
Reversed. Upcoming, Future. – What comes next, Afterwards, Posteriorly, Further. – Regeneration, Resurrection. – Reproduction, Renewal, Reiteration.

MQS

Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

The Great Spreads With the Bologna Tarot – The Significator Spread

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This is the last full-deck spread I am aware of that can be performed with the Bolognese Tarot. It doesn’t have an Italian name. The person who taught it to me, together with the 45-card method, just calls it “la stesa”, “the spread”. For her, this is THE spread, while all other systems, whether large or small, are in a separate category, as it were. My other teacher, who taught me the 50-card spread, is also aware of such a way of laying out the cards, but doesn’t have a name for it either.

To distinguish it from the other spreads I call it the Significator Spread, because it requires you to lay out a significator for the querent on the table, as opposed to the bed sheet spread and the staircase spread, where the significator remains in the deck.

In most regular readings, you are going to select either the King of Wands, for a man, or the Queen of Wands for a woman, though someone might ask to lay out the cards for someone else (e.g., a father would be the King of Cups, a daughter the Page of Cups, etc.) You may also choose to ‘christen’ the significator to connect it with the querent. Once this is done, you shuffle the deck, cut it, and then lay out the cards in the following manner:

141516Sign.272829
171819123303132
202122456333435
232425789363738
2610111239
13
4041424344

You may notice some similarities between this spread and the thirteen card spread, which also belongs to the same cartomancy tradition. Here is an example:

The Significator Spread using the Bologna tarot

In this case, the cards 1 to 13, that is, those underneath the significator, indicate either the past or the present of the querent, or sometimes the immediate future, if you’ve already discussed the querent’s past using other spreads. The cards 14 to 26 indicate what comes after (usually the nearer future), while the cards 27 to 39 show the further developments. Finally, the cards 40 to 44 can either give something upcoming and noteworthy or, according to others, simply be omitted from the spread. It is your choice. If you use the 50-card deck, you can add another row of five cards underneath.

As with the regular thirteen card spread, the central column of each thirteen-card cluster is more important, while the cards on the side either give details or may be ignored depending on the situation (after all, not all the cards in the deck are going to be read, otherwise everything would happen to everyone). Finally, remember that not every information you glean is going to be about the same topic, since this is a broad spread to tell a general future, before using shorter spreads to talk about individual topics.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Five of Pentacles or Coins

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Five of Pentacles from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the first decanate of Taurus, under the rulership of Venus, April 20 to 29. Meanings:
Well-Dignified: labor, toil, the cultivation of the land; building, and plans concerning it; some anxiety over money.
lll-Dignified: toil unrewarded; loss of money; poverty; trouble for the Querent through lack of imagination and foresight.
Keyword: Uncertainty; material trouble.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

Two mendicants in a snow-storm pass a lighted casement. Divinatory Meanings: The card foretells material trouble above all, whether in the form illustrated–that is, destitution–or otherwise. For some cartomancists, it is a card of love and lovers-wife, husband, friend, mistress; also concordance, affinities. These alternatives cannot be harmonized. Reversed: Disorder, chaos, ruin, discord, profligacy.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

The Five of Disks is in equally evil case. The soft quiet of the Four has been completely overthrown; the card is called Worry. [See Skeat, Etymological Dictionary. The idea is of strangling, as dogs worry sheep. Note the identity with Sphinx.] The economic system has broken down; there is no more balance between the social orders. Disks being as they are, stolid and obstinate, as compared with the other weapons, for their revolution serves t9 stabilize them, there is no action, at least not in its own ambit, that can affect the issue.

[…]

The Number Five, Geburah, in the suit of Earth, shows the disruption of the Elements, just as in the other suits. This is emphasized by the rule of Mercury in Taurus, types of energy which are opposed. It needs a very powerful Mercury to upset Taurus; so the natural meaning is Intelligence applied to Labour.

The symbol represents five disks in the form of the inverted Pentagram, instability in the very foundations of Matter. The effect is that of an earthquake. They are, however, representative of the five Tatvas; these hold together, on a very low plane, an organism which would otherwise disrupt completely. The background is an angry, ugly red with yellow markings. The general effect is one of intense strain; yet the symbol implies long-continued inaction.
(From The Book of Thoth)

A peasantly mystical AI-generated illustration for the Five of Pentacles

Golden Dawn’s Book T

A WHITE Radiant Angelic Hand issuing from clouds, and holding a branch of the white rose tree, but from which the roses are falling, and leaving no buds behind.
Five Pentacles similar to the Ace. Above and below are Mercury and Taurus.

Loss of money or position. Trouble about material things. Labour, toil, land cultivation; building, knowledge and acuteness of earthly things, poverty, carefulness, kindness; sometimes money regained after severe toil and labour.
Unimaginative, harsh, stern, determined, obstinate.
Geburah of HB:H (Loss of profession, loss of money, monetary anxiety).
Herein the angels HB:MBHYH and HB:PNYAL rule.

Etteilla

Lover
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Lover [man], Lover [woman], In love, Gallant man, Gallant woman, Husband, Wife, Groom, Bride, Friend, Friend. – Lover. – Loving, Lovingly, Adoring. – Harmony, Agreement, Convenience, Concordance, Good manners.
Reversed. Disorderly, Contrary to order. – Debauchery, Disorder, Turmoil, Confusion, Chaos. – Damage, Devastation, Ruin. – Dissipation, Consumption. – Unruliness, Libertinism. – Discord, Disharmony, Discordance.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Five of Cups

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Five of Cups from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The Five of Cups is the first decanate of Scorpio, ruled by Mars, time period October 22 to October 31.
Well-Dignified: strength, power to do; ability to introduce needed changes and let go of relationships, prejudices and false ideas that are hindering spiritual progress.
lll-Dignified: loss in pleasure, vain regret, disappointment, sorrow and loss of those things which have been much desired; treachery, deceit; unexpected troubles and anxieties; disappointments in love, broken engagements, broken friendships.
(Note: These sorrows and disappointments, as indicated by the Five of Cups, lll Dignified, are often the necessary destruction before the beginning of a new and greater expansion and growth in the life of the Querent, depending on his basic understanding and evolutionary level.)
Keyword: Defeated desire.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

A dark, cloaked figure, looking sideways at three prone cups two others stand upright behind him; a bridge is in the background, leading to a small keep or holding. Divanatory Meanings: It is a card of loss, but something remains over; three have been taken, but two are left; it is a card of inheritance, patrimony, transmission, but not corresponding to expectations; with some interpreters it is a card of marriage, but not without bitterness or frustration. Reversed: News, alliances, affinity, consanguinity, ancestry, return, false projects.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

 […] the Five of Cups is called Disappointment, as is only natural, because Fire delights in superabundant energy, whereas the water of Pleasure is naturally placid, and any disturbance of ease can only be regarded as misfortune.

This card is ruled by Geburah in the suit of Water. Geburah being fiery, there is a natural antipathy. Hence arises the idea of disturbance, just when least expected, in a time of ease.

The attribution is also to Mars in Scorpio, which is his own house; and Mars is the manifestation on the lowest plane of Geburah, while Scorpio, in its worst aspect, suggests the putrefying power of Water. Yet the powerful male influences do not show actual decay, only the beginning of destruction; hence, the anticipated pleasure is frustrated. The Lotuses have their petals torn by fiery winds; the sea is arid and stagnant, a dead sea, like a “chott” in North Africa. No water flows into the cups.

Moreover, these cups are arranged in the form of an inverted pentagram, symbolizing the triumph of matter over spirit.

Mars in Scorpio, moreover, is the attribution of the Geomantic figure Rubeus. This is of such evil omen that certain schools of Geomancy destroy the Map, and postpone the question for two hours or more, when Rubeus appears in the Ascendant. Its meaning is to be studied in the “Handbook of Geomancy” (Equinox Vol. I, No.2).
(From The Book of Thoth)

AI-generated illustration for the Five of Cups

Golden Dawn’s Book T

A WHITE Radiating Angelic Hand, holding lotuses or water-lilies, of which the flowers are falling right and left. Leaves only, and no buds, surmount them. These lotus stems ascend between the cups in the manner of a fountain, but no water flows therefrom; neither is there water in any of the cups, which are somewhat of the shape of the magical instrument of the Zelator Adeptus Minor. Above and below are the symbols of Mars and Scorpio for the Decan.

Death, or end of pleasure: disappointment, sorrow and loss in those things from which pleasure is expected. Sadness, treachery, deceit; ill-will, detraction; charity and kindness ill requited; all kinds of anxieties and troubles from unsuspected and unexpected sources.
Geburah of HB:H (Disappointment in love, marriage broken off, unkindness of a
friend; loss of friendship).
Herein rule HB:LVVYH and HB:PHLYH.

Etteilla

Legacy
Upright. This card, in its natural position, means, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned: Inheritance, Succession, Bequest, Gift, Donation, Endowment, Estate, Transmission, Will. – Tradition, Resolution [=Decision]. – Kabbalah.
Reversed. Consanguinity, Blood, Family, Avi, Ancestors, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, Cousin. – Filiation, Extraction, Race, Lineage, Alliance. – Affinity, Attachment, Relationship, Ties.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Five of Wands

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Five of Wands from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The first decanate of Leo encompasses the time period from July 23 to August 1. It is ruled doubly by the Sun, so that the Sun and its attributions have a marked influence on the meanings of this Key.
Thus the Five of Wands is a combination of the powers of Mars, active in Geburah and the powers of the Sun in Leo, together with the meanings of the number five and the pentagram. Key ideas associated with the Five of Wands are power and pleasure in exercising it. This is the combined influence of the strength resident in Geburah together with the pleasure associated with Leo and its natural fifth house in astrology.
The Martian influence gives a spirit of adventure and speculation, together with some uncertainty in carrying out plans. The Leo influence, a fixed fire sign, intimates strong attachments, either to family or in love affairs.
Well-Dignified: boldness, command and generosity.
lll-Dignified: cruelty, violence, lust, prodigality. –
Keyword: Competition.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

A posse of youths, who are brandishing staves, as if in sport or strife. It is mimic warfare, and hereto correspond the Divinatory Meanings: Imitation, as, for example, sham fight, but also the strenuous competition and struggle of the search after riches and fortune. In this sense it connects with the battle of life. Hence some attributions say that it is a card of gold, gain, opulence. Reversed: Litigation, disputes, trickery, contradiction.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

This card is referred to Geburah of the suit of Fire. Geburah itself being fiery, it is a purely active ,force. It is ruled also by Saturn and Leo. Leo shows the element of Fire at its strongest and most balanced. Saturn tends to weigh it down and to embitter it. There is no limit to the scope of this volcanic energy.

The symbol represents the wand of the Chief Adept, showing that the authority is derived from the superiors; were it not so, this card would be thoroughly disastrous. Moreover, there are also two wands of the Second, or Major Adept. They have the head of the Phoenix, which gives the idea of destruction (or rather purgation) through fire, and the resurrection of the energy from its ashes.

There is also a pair of wands of the Third, or Minor, Adept, which are daughters, so to speak, of the wands in the Three of Wands. In this card there is the mitigating influence of the Mother. One of the most difficult doctrines with regard to Geburah is that, while it represents all this tameless irrational energy and disturbance, yet it derives from the benign and gentle influence of the feminine.

The Egyptians understood this doctrine perfectly. Their Lion goddess, Pasht, was hailed as “saeva” and “ferox”, was even called “red in tooth and claw” by those fanatical devotees who wished to identify her with Nature. The idea of sexual cruelty is often inherent in the highest divine nature; compare Bhavani and Kali in the Hindu system, and observe the Shiva-Sakti coition portrayed on many Tibetan banners. See also Liber 418,4th, 3rd, and 2nd Aethyrs; and the description supra of Atu XI.
(From The Book of Thoth)

AI-generated illustration for the Five of Wands

Golden Dawn’s Book T

TWO White Radiant Angelic Hands issuant per nubes dexter and sinister. They are clasped together in the grip of the First Order, “i.e.” the four fingers of each right hand crooked into each other, the thumbs meeting above; and they hold, at the same time, by their centres, five wands or torches which are similar unto the wands of a Zelator Adeptus Minor. One wand is upright in the middle; the others cross each other. Flames leap from the point of junction. Above the middle wand is the sign Saturn, and below is that of Leo: thus representing the Decante.

Violent strife and boldness, rashness, cruelty, violence, lust, desire, prodigality and generosity; depending on whether the card is well or ill dignified.
Geburah of HB:Y (Quarrelling and fighting).
This Decan hath its beginning from the Royal Star of Leo: and unto it are allotted
the two great Angels of the Schemhamphorash HB:VHVYH and HB:YLYAL.

Etteilla

Gold
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Gold, Wealth, Opulence, Magnificence, Sumptuousness, Splendor, Luxury, Abundance, Good. – Physical, philosophical and moral sunshine.
Reversed. Trial, Arguing, Differences, Altercations, Disputes, Disputes, Instance, Investigation, Judicial proceedings. – Contradictions, Arguments, Brig, Harassment. – Contradiction, Inconsistency.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Four of Pentacles Or Coins

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Four of Pentacles from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) Tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the third decanate of Capricorn, under the rulership of Mercury, January 10 to 19.
Well-Dignified: opportunities for public service; an acute, sharp, penetrating, tactful temperament; economy in the arrangement of material affairs; activity in money matters.
Ill-Dignified: dangers to reputation; troubles through changes not carefully considered; desire for money, but unwisdom in its management; the Querent will meet with sharp criticism.
Keyword: Management.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

A crowned figure, having a pentacle over his crown, clasps another with hands and arms; two pentacles are under his feet. He holds to that which he has. Divinatory Meanings: The surety of possessions, cleaving to that which one has, gift, legacy, inheritance. Reversed: Suspense, delay, opposition.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

As to the Disks, the heaviness of the symbol rather outweighs any considerations of its weakness. The card is called Power. It is the power which dominates and stabilizes everything, but manages its affairs more by negotiation, by pacific methods, than by any assertion of itself. It is Law, the Constitution, with no aggressive element.

[…]

The Four, Chesed, shows the establishment of the Universe in three dimensions, that is, below the Abyss. The generating idea is exhibited in its full material sense. The card is ruled by the Sun in Capricornus, the Sign in which he is reborn. The disks are very large and solid; the suggestion of the card is that of a fortress. This represents Law and Order, maintained by constant authority and vigilance. The disks themselves are square; revolution is very opposite to the card; and they contain the signs of the Four Elements. For all that, they revolve; defence is valid only when violently active. So far as it appears stationary, it is the “dead centre” of the engineer; and Capricornus is the point at which the Sun “turns again Northward”. The background is of deep azure, flecked yellow, suggesting a moat; but beyond this is a pattern of green and indigo to represent the guarded fields whose security is assured by the fortress.

In the Yi King, Sol in Capricornus is represented by the Second Hexagram, Khwan, which is the Female Principle. Compare the English word Queen, Anglo-Saxon Cwen, old Mercian Kwoen. Cognate are Icelandic Kvan, Gothic Kwens, woman. The Indo-Germanic type is g (w)eni and the Sanskrit root GwEN. Note also Cwm, coombe, and agnate words, meaning an enclosed valley, usually with water running from it. Womb—possibly a softened form?

Compare also the innumerable words, derived from the root Gas, Which imply an enclosed and fortified space. Case, castle, chest, cyst, chaste, incest and so on.

The primary radicle in all this class of words is the guttural. Observe the Hebrew attributions: Gimel, the moon; Cheth, Cancer, the house of the moon; Kaph, the Wheel; Qoph, the Moon, XVIII, Guttur, the throat. Sounds so made suggest the other throat; one is the channel of respiration and nutrition, the other of reproduction and elimination.
(From The Book of Thoth)

A Crowley-esque AI-generated illustration for the Four of Pentacles

Golden Dawn’s Book T

A HAND holding a branch of a rose tree, but without flowers or buds, save that in the centre is one fully blown white rose. Pentacles are disposed as on the points of a square; a rose in its centre. Symbols Sun and Capricorn above and below to represent the Decan.
Assured material gain: success, rank, dominion, earthy power, completed but leading to nothing beyond. Prejudicial, covetous, suspicious, careful and orderly, but discontented. Little enterprise or originality. According to dignity as usual.
Chesed of HB:H (Gain of money or influence: a present).
Herein do HB:KVQYH and HB:MNDAL bear rule

Etteilla

Benefit
Upright. This blade, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Present, Gift, Generosity, Beneficence, Liberality, Strenna, Grace, Offering, Giving, Gratification, Service. – White color, Lunar medicine, Stone to white.
Reversed. Enclosure, Circuit, Circumvolution, Circumscription, Circumference, Circle, Circulation. – Intercept, Obstruction, Engorgement, Hoarding, Cloister, Monastery, Convent. – Stop, Fixed, Determined, Definite, Extremity, Boundaries, Limits, Terms, End, Barrier, Dividing wall, Wall, Hedge, Wall. – Obstacles, Bars, Impediment, Suspension, Delay, Opposition.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Four of Swords

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Four of Swords from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the last decanate of Libra, October 13 to October 23, under the rulership of Mercury.
Well-Dignified: rest from sorrow, yet after and through it; relief from anxiety; rest after illness; quietness; change for the better; success in legal affairs; association with others in Mercurial pursuits; strong mental attraction to a person of the opposite sex; activity in writing or short journeys.
Ill-Dignified: inharmony with partners; unsettled conditions in legal
affairs; disorder and loss through ill-considered writings or needless
short journeys; vexations through petty strife and sarcastic speech.
Keyword: Rest.
(From the Oracle of Tarot Course)

A. E. Waite

The effigy of a knight in the attitude of prayer, at full length upon his tomb. Divinatory Meanings: Vigilance, retreat, solitude, hermit’s repose, exile, tomb and coffin. It is these last that have suggested the design. Reversed: Wise administration, circumspection, economy, avarice, precaution, testament.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

The Four of Swords is called Truce. This seems rather on the lines of “the strong man armed, keeping his house in peace”. The masculine nature of air makes it dominant. The card is almost a picture of the formation of the military clan system of society.

[…]

The number Four, Chesed, is here manifested in the realm of the Intellect. Chesed refers to Jupiter who rules in Libra in this decanate. The sum of these symbols is therefore without opposition; hence the card proclaims the idea of authority in the intellectual world. It is the establishment of dogma, and law concerning it. It represents a refuge from mental chaos, chosen in an arbitrary manner. It argues for convention.

The hilts of the four Swords are at the corner of a St. Andrew’s cross. Their shape suggests fixation and rigidity. Their points are sheathed—in a rather large rose of forty-nine petals representing social harmony. Here, too, is compromise.

Minds too indolent or too cowardly to think out their own problems hail joyfully this policy of appeasement. As always, the Four is the term; as in this case there is no true justification for repose, its disturbance by the Five holds no promise of advance; its static shams go pell-mell into the melting-pot; the issue is mere mess, usually signalized by foetid stench. But it has to be done!
(From The Book of Thoth)

AI-generated illustration for the Four of Swords

Golden Dawn’s Book T

TWO White Radiating Angelic Hands, each holding two swords; which four cross in the centre. The rose of five petals with white radiations is reinstated on the point of their intersection. Above and below, on the points of two small daggers, are Jupiter and Libra, representing the Decanate.

Rest from sorrow; yet after and through it. Peace from and after war. Relaxation of anxiety. Quietness, rest, ease and plenty, yet after struggle. Goods of this life; abundance; modified by dignity as is usual.
Chesed of HB:V (Convalescence, recovery from sickness; change for the better).
Herein do HB:LAVYH and HB:KLYAL bear rule.

Etteilla

Solitude
Upright. This card means, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned and in its natural position: Solitude, Desert, Retired place, Hermitage. – Exile, Banishment, Proscription. – Uninhabited, Isolated, Abandoned, Neglected. – Tomb, Burial Ground, Coffin.
Reversed. Economy, Wise Conduct, Wise Administration. – Welfare, Management, Household management, Savings, Avarice. – Order, Arrangement, Relationship, Convenience, Concordance, Agreement, Harmony, Music, Disposition. – Will. – Reservation, Restriction, Exception. – Circumspection, Circumscription, Retention, Wisdom, Sympathy, Regard, Precaution.

MQS

Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Four of Wands

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Four of Wands from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) Tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The Four of Wands is associated with the third decanate of Aries, the time period April 10 to April 19, ruled by Jupiter.
Well-Dignified: this card signifies success through personal merit, good
social standing, influential friends, the perfection of something built
up after labor, benefit through travel, shipping and business with foreign countries.
lll-Dignified: loss in the same things, or in consequence of unpreparedness or by hasty action.
Keyword: Perfected work.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

From the four great staves planted in the foreground there is a great garland suspended; two female figures uplift nosegays; at their side is a bridge over a moat, leading to an old manorial house. Divinatory Meanings: They are for once almost on the surface–country life, haven of refuge, a species of domestic harvest-home, repose, concord, harmony, prosperity, peace, and the perfected work of these. Reversed: The meaning remains unaltered; it is prosperity, increase, felicity, beauty, embellishment.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

In the Wand suit, the card is called Completion. The manifestation promised by Binah has now taken place. This number must be very solid, because it is the actual dominating influence on all the following cards. Chesed, Jupiter-Ammon, the Father, the first below the Abyss, is the highest idea which can be understood in an intellectual way, and that is why the Sephira is attributed to Jupiter, who is the Demiurge.

[…]

This card refers to Chesed in the suit of Fire. Being below the Abyss, it is the Lord of all manifested active Power. The original Will of the Two has been transmitted through the Three, and is now built up into a solid system:-Order, Law, Government. It is also referred to Venus in Aries, which indicates that one cannot establish one’s work without tact and gentleness.

The wands are headed by the Ram, sacred to Chesed, the Father-god Amoun-Ra, as also to Aries; but at the other end of the wands are the Doves of Venus.

In the symbol, the ends of the wands touch a circle, showing the completion and limitation of the original work. It is within this circle that the flames (four double, as if to assert the balance) of the Energy are seen to play, and there is no intention to increase the scope of the original Will. But this limitation bears in itself the seeds of disorder.
(From The Book of Thoth)

AI-generated illustration for the Four of Wands

Golden Dawn’s Book T

TWO White Radiating Angelic Hands, as before, issuing from clouds right and left of the card and clasped in the centre with the grip of the First Order, holding four wands or torches crossed. Flames issue from the point of junction. Above and below are two small flaming wands, with the symbols of Venus and Aries representing the Decan.
Perfection or completion of a thing built up with trouble and labour. Rest after labour, subtlety, cleverness, beauty, mirth, success in completion. Reasoning faculty, conclusions drawn from previous knowledge. Unreadiness, unreliable and unsteady through over-anxiety and hurriedness of action. Graceful in manner, at times insincere, etc.
Chesed of HB:Y (Settlement, arrangement, completion).
Herein are HB:NNAAL and HB:NYThHL Angelic rulers

Etteilla

Company
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, in its natural position means: Society, Association, Assembly, Relation, Confederation, Alliance, Union, Gathering, Circle, Community, Assembling, Multitude, Mass, Crowd, Troop, Band, Company, Cohort, Army. – Convocation, Accompaniment, Mixing, Mixture, League, Amalgamation. – Contract, Convention, Covenant, Treaty.
Reversed. Prosperity, Increase, Accretion, Advancement, Success, Succeeding, Fortune, Blossoming, Happiness. – Beauty, Beautification.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Three of Pentacles or Coins

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Three of Pentacles from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the second decanate of Capricorn, under the rulership of Venus, from January 1 to January 9.
Well-Dignified: construction; increase, growth; financial gain; the building up of favorable conditions; gain in commercial transactions; rank or prestige in vocation or business; beginning of matters to be perfected later.
Ill-Dignified: selfishness; cleverness in business, but lack of scruples;
narrowness and prejudice; too much ambition.
Keyword: Constructiveness.
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

A sculptor at his work in a monastery. Compare the design which illustrates the Eight of Pentacles. The apprentice or amateur therein has received his reward and is now at work in earnest. Divinatory Meanings: Métier, trade, skilled labour; usually, however, regarded as a card of nobility, aristocracy, renown, glory. Reversed: Mediocrity, in work and otherwise, puerility, pettiness, weakness.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

The Three of Pentacles, in a similar manner, exhibits the result of the idea of Earth, of the crystallization of forces; and so the Three of Pentacles is called the Lord of Work. Something has definitely been done.

[…]

The influence of Binah in the sphere of Earth shows the material establishment of the idea of the Universe, the determination of its basic form. It is ruled by Mars in Capricornus; he is exalted in that Sign, and therefore at his best. His energy is constructive, like that of the builder or engineer. The card represents a pyramid viewed from above the apex. The base is formed by three wheels-Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt; Sattvas, Rajas, and Tamas in the Hindu system; Aleph, Shin, and Mem-Air, Fire, and Water-the three Mother letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

This pyramid is situated in the great Sea of Binah in the Night of Time, but the sea is solidified; hence the colours of the back-ground are mottled, a cold thin dark grey with a pattern of indigo and green. The sides of the pyramid have a strong reddish tint, showing the influence of Mars.
(From The Book of Thoth)

AI-generated illustration for the Three of Pentacles or Coins

Golden Dawn’s Book T

A WHITE-WINGED Angelic Hand, as before, holding a branch of a rose tree, of which two white rosebuds touch and surmount the topmost Pentacle. The Pentacles are arranged in an equilateral triangle. Above and below the symbols Mars and Capricorn.
Working and constructive force, building up, creation, erection; realization and increase of material things; gain in commercial transactions, rank; increase of substance, influence, cleverness in business, selfishness. Commencement of matters to be established later. Narrow and prejudiced. Keen in matters of gain; sometimes given to seeking after impossibilities.
Binah of HB:H (Business, paid employment, commercial transaction).
Herein are HB:YChVYH and HB:LHChYH Angelic Rulers.

Etteilla

Important
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: Noble, Considerable, Famous, Important, Great, Major, Extended, Vast, Sublime, Renowned, Famous, Powerful, Elevated, Illustrious. – Excellence, Consideration, Greatness of mind, Nobility of conduct, Generous deeds, Magnificently, Splendidly.
Reversed. Puerility, Childhood, Infantilism, Frivolity. – Weakening, Lowering, Diminishing, Education, Modicity, Mediocrity, Minuity, Inezia, Frivolity, Lowness, Vileness, Poltrony, Rampant, Small, Puerile, Petty, Low, Servile, Vile, Abject, Humble. – Abjection, Humility, Humiliation.

MQS

Card Meanings, Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Tarot

Tarot Encyclopedia – The Three of Swords

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(Note: this is a collection of the meanings attributed to the cards by some occultists in the past centuries. It does not reflect my own study or opinion of the cards. It is only meant as a quick comparative reference as I develop my own take.)

The Three of Swords from the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) tarot deck

Paul Foster Case (and Ann Davies)

The time period is the second decanate of Libra, under the combined rulership of Saturn and Uranus, October 3 to October 12. Because Libra is involved, remember that the qualities of the Seventh house are prominent.
Well-Dignified: this is nevertheless a Key depicting sorrow, disappointment and tears, but it can be the beginning of deep understanding as to the basis and cause of our problems; disruption of friendship; interruption of cherished projects; quarrels; occasionally the position in the layout may indicate platonic friendships; in money matters this card is almost always a symbol of loss, but indicates that whatever money matters are under consideration have been fair and honest, so that no blame attaches to anyone for the loss.
Ill-Dignified: slander; selfishness and dissipation; deceit with respect to promises; loss in legal affairs.
Keyword: Sorrow
(From the Oracle of Tarot course)

A. E. Waite

Three swords piercing a heart; cloud and rain behind. Divinatory Meanings: Removal, absence, delay, division, rupture, dispersion, and all that the design signifies naturally, being too simple and obvious to call for specific enumeration. Reversed: Mental alienation, error, loss, distraction, disorder, confusion.
(From The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

Aleister Crowley

The idea of division, of mutability, the idea of the airy quality of things, manifests itself in the Three of Swords, the Lord of Sorrow. Here one is reminded of the darkness of Binah, of the mourning of Isis; but this is not any vulgar sorrow dependent upon any individual disappointment or discontent. It is Weltschmerz, the universal sorrow; it is the quality of melancholy.

[…]

Binah, the Great Mother, here rules the realm of Air. This fact involves an extremely difficult doctrine which must be studied at length in The Vision and the Voice: Aethyr 14.
Binah is here not the beneficent Mother completing the Trinity with Kether and Chokmah. She represents the darkness of the Great Sea.
This is accentuated by the Celestial Lordship of Saturn in Libra.
This card is dark and heavy; it is, so to speak, the womb of Chaos. There is an intense lurking passion to create, but its children are monsters. This may mean the supreme transcendence of the natural order. Secrecy is here, and Perversion.
The symbol represents the great Sword of the Magician, point uppermost; it cuts the junction of two short curved swords. The impact has destroyed the rose. In the background, storm broods under implacable night.
(From The Book of Thoth)

A gruesome AI-generated illustration for the Three of Swords

Golden Dawn’s Book T

THREE White Radiating Angelic Hands, issuing from clouds, and holding three swords upright (as though the central sword had struck apart the two others, which were crossed in the preceding symbol): the central sword cuts asunder the rose of five petals, which in the previous symbol grew at the junction of the swords; its petals are falling, and no white rays issue from it. Above and below the central sword are the symbols of Saturn and Libra.

Disruption, interruption, separation, quarrelling; sowing of discord and strife, mischief-making, sorrow and tears; yet mirth in Platonic pleasures; singing, faithfulness in promises, honesty in money transactions, selfish and dissipated, yet sometimes generous: deceitful in words and repetitions; the whole according to dignity.
Binah of HB:V (Unhappiness, sorrow, and tears).
Herein rule the Great Angels HB:HRYAL and HB:HQMYH as Lords of the Decan.

Etteilla

Removal
Upright. This card, as far as the medicine of the spirit is concerned, means, in its natural position: estrangement, Departure, Absence, Discarding, Dispersion, Remoteness, Delay. – Contempt, Repugnance, Aversion, Hatred, Disgust, Horror. – Incompatibility, Contrariness, Opposition, Unsociability, Misanthropy, Incivility. – Separation, Division, Breaking, Antipathy, Section, Cutting off.
Reversed. Misdirection, Dementia, Vanity, Alienation of spirit, Distraction, Insane conduct. – Error, Miscalculation, Loss, Deviation, Discard, Dispersion.

MQS