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

Vera Sibilla | Six of Diamonds – Thought (Pensiero)

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Name: Thought
Italian Name: Pensiero
Playing Card: 6♦
Polarity when Upright: Neutral
Core Meanings: Consciensce, the Inner Side, Character | Reflection, Planning, Study
Polarity when Reversed: Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: Negative thoughts or plans | Illusion | Lack of talent | Subconsciousness

Card Description: a man carefully meditating a plan before writing it down on a piece of parchment.

Suit and Number: Sixes have to do with the flow of time. In this suit, we take a look at the consciousness of the querent, which reflects on the past and plans for the future. Like the Six of Clubs, it tends to be a card of the present, but more in the sense of what’s present to the person’s mind.

UPRIGHT 6♦

General: A neutral card representing the inner side of the querent’s life. Here we find out about their character, their intentions, their attitudes, their plans, their vocations, etc. One thing to always keep in mind is that what is planned is not necessarily what is done. This is a static card. If cards showing movement or action follow, then the plan will be executed. The Ten of Hearts, being a card of concreteness and certainty, allows the plan to be carried out. Note: usually this card shows the Querent’s thoughts. However, if a Face card comes up right before it, then it’s that person’s thoughts.

Love and Relationships: This card can come up in relationship readings for a variety of reasons.  By itself the card shows that there is a meeting of the minds, that two people see eye to eye. However if there are negative cards it can show anger or a desire to break up the relationship, or to cheat. With cards of blockage it can show that one of the two is chickening out or having misgivings about their commitment. Needless to say, the card can also show a couple’s or group’s plans for the future.

Work and Money: again, the Six of Diamonds signifies the Querent’s thoughts and plans or attitudes. It can also show whether he or she has an affinity for the job, or if he has or lacks talent, though talent is more properly shown by the Seven of Hearts. Financially it can point to schemes and speculations, in a neutral sense, and it denotes that one puts a great deal of thought into a project and they are probably attached to it. Jobs signified by this card tend to be intellectual in nature, or at least not mindless.

Other: because it represents the inner side of the person, the Six of Diamonds is a card that can show little attachment to material things and possessions, and shows someone who looks for deeper meaning. It is also an important card in spiritual readings, as it can stand for the person’s inner development or their attitude toward the subject.

Important Combinations:
6♦ + 7♣ = ambition
6♦ + 10♣ = carelessness
6♦ + 7♦ = simplemindedness | wanting a child
6♦ + 9♥ = true fidelity | a person is as he or she appears
6♦ + 10♠U/R = hidden or unrevealed plans

REVERSED 6♦R

General: In the main it’s a negative card. It signifies negative plans, illusions, negative attitudes and the desire to do something bad. It can also signify subconsciousness and paranormal phenomena to do with spirits or psychological “gifts”, but this is VERY rare.

Love and Relationships: almost always negative, it points to incompatibility of character, and often to not liking someone, or growing to resent them. It can show the desire to break up a romance or that a promise is made without really meaning it. Sometimes it can show that the person harbors illusions about someone else.

Work and Money: plans born under this card are either wrong or evil, so any speculation is likely to prove disastrous. It can also represent that the querent isn’t doing anything to come out of a financially difficult situation, because, again, the Thought card is static. With cards signifying dubious moral qualities it points to swindles and scams. More often, it shows wrong plans.

Other: it points to lack of insight, delusions and lack of talent, either generally or in one area. Spiritually it is connected with sending or receiving bad vibes or, with positive cards, to the presence of psychic gifts. Psychologically it signifies subconsciousness.
It is a card of premeditation, so all that is done is done with the intent to harm.

Important Combinations:
6♦R + 4♦ = negative intentions
6♦R + 8♥ = it can signify prophetic dreams (but only in the right context)
6♦R + 7♥R = utter lack of talent | plotting and scheming
6♦R + 9♦ = traditionally ghosts, but many other interpretations are possible (unrealistic plans, morbid delusions, Baby Jane style)
6♦R + 7♠ + 10♠ + 5♠ = a plan to hurt or even worse

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

Card Combinations, Cartomancy, Divination Master Post, Everyday Oracle, Sibilla della Zingara, Vera Sibilla

Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Sixes

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In this article you will find some examples of combinations using the Vera Sibilla. Most 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)
C = Cuori (Hearts)
F = Fiori (Clubs)
Q = Quadri (Diamonds)
P = Picche (Spades)

Six of Hearts (6♥) – The Safe (Denaro)

A♥ + 6♥ = financial discussions and talks
6♥ + 2♥* = it can mean putting money  toward the house or family
A♣ + 6♥ = a financial contract | marrying money
A♣R + 6♥ = great wealth | with other appropriate cards, sex for money
10♣ + 6♥ = carelessness with money, burning through your savings | it can mean little experience (literally, “little past”. The same meaning could be had with 7♦)


6♥ + 3♦ = a gift of money | good finances | extra money
6♥ + 8♦ = positive financial evolution | money coming in
6♥ + 8♦R = little money | money going out
6♥ + A♠ = a difficult past | depending on the context, it can simply mean money spent
6♥ + A♠ + 2♥ = it can mean problems with a bank


6♥ + 2♠ = pension money
6♥ + 2♠U/R + negative cards = economic decline
6♥ + 3♠ + 4♦R = end of a difficult financial period
6♥ + 7♠ + another negative card = a period of financial difficulties in your destiny
6♥ + J♥ or Q♥ = an ex


6♥ + person = someone you already know (if J♠ or Q♠, an old enemy or someone who has caused you trouble in the past)
6♥ + 5♠ + 2♦ + 7♥ = a will (+ 4♦, the documents are false, forged or have been tampered with)

6♥R + person = someone you don’t know yet, or know very very little
6♥R + K♥ = traditionally, the arrival of a benefactor
6♥R + K♣R + J♠ = traditionally, a loan shark
6♥R + 8♦R = money spent or not coming in


6♥R + 10♦R = financial ruin (with 7♠R, you won’t get out of it easily)
6♥R + 2♠R = can be avarice, hoarding, possessiveness | steep financial decline
6♥R + cards describing a situation = if the 6♥R has no other meaning, it can mean that the situation will happen all of a sudden, often at the last minute | alternatively, if the cards are depicting a state of affairs, it means that the situation will draw out for a long time

Six of Clubs (6♣) – The Surprise (Consolante Sorpresa)

6♣ + A♥ or 8♣ = unexpected meeting, appointment, date, talk, interview, reconciliation, what have you (it doesn’t say it will go well, though. Look further)
6♣ + 2♥ = traditionally, a happy event at home
6♣ + 3♥ = an unexpected visit
6♣ + 6♥ = extra money, or receiving money, etc., usually unexpectedly | a raise
6♣ + 10♥ = traditionally, a combination of rewards and efforts paying off | it can also mean, for instance, a hobby or thing done on the spur of the moment (6♣) turning into something serious and consistent (10♥)


6♣ + 9♣ = it can be a surprise party or an unexpected victory
6♣ + 10♣R = small wins | unexpected fluke
6♣ + 2♦ = a message you’d lost hope you’d receive
6♣ + 3♦ + 7♦ (+ 9♣ + A♠R) = a birthday gift (the A♠R shows cyclicity)
6♣ + 4♠U/R or 9♠* = can be unemployment (your reception of money is blocked). If it’s the other way around, then maybe you are unemployed and the block ends unexpectedly
7♠ + 6♣* + positive or neutral cards = reinforces the idea of suddenness

A♥ + 6♣R = a meeting or talk that goes badly (possibly it was the wrong time or attitude)
4♥ + 6♣R + 7♠ = breakup due to a lack of common interests (the 6♣R represents aspirations, so if the breakup is due to aspirations, it means that they are diverging)
8♥ + 6♣R = hopes falling through due to biting off more than you can chew | a very bad combination for investments
10♣ + 6♣R = carelessness causing the downfall of a project
6♣R among not so negative cards = the need to put in a lot of effort for results that aren’t that great anyway

Six of Diamonds (6♦) – Thought (Pensiero)

6♦ + A♥ = speaking your mind or a people-oriented person
6♦ + 4♥ = being in love
6♦ + 6♥ = an investment or speculation | financial plans
6♦ + 8♥ = an optimist or a believer (if 8♥R, a pessimist or a non-believer; if also A♣R, a materialist)
6♦ + 9♥R = planning to cheat | if the cheating is already happening, it means it’s not an accident or something that just happened (6♦ shows premeditation)


6♦ + 9♥ = faithfulness | attachment to an idea (+10♥ patriotism, K♠ a political ideal)
6♦ + cards + 10♥ = a plan put into action
6♦ + 2♣ = a great idea (if 2♣R, either a vain person or one’s ideas are clouded by one’s ego)
6♦ + 7♣ = a strong ambition
6♦ + 8♣ = being well disposed toward someone or planning a reconciliation


6♦ + 10♣ = a frivolous person or a careless plan
6♦ + A♦ + 3♣ + 10♠R = planning to go to a secret intimate meeting
6♦ + 2♦ = studying | elaborating a plan
6♦ + 4♦ = a negative, false character | a wrong idea | can be planning a scam or a scammy action, but this would be more common with 6♦R


6♦ + 4♦ + K♠ = ideology, understood as something that skews (4♦) or heavily colors your understanding of reality(2♠U/R  traditionalism or conservatism, K♣U/R elitism, 6♥R socialism, K♦ or 3♦ libertarianism or free market, 7♠R something more oppressive like communism or fascism, 9♦ populism, 10♠ can be militarism or hatred of strangers, depending on the cards, 9♥R anarchism, 9♥ and 10♥ patriotism)


6♦ + 7♦ = a new conception | thinking of having a baby | a gullible person, a simple-minded person
6♦ + 7♦R = very childish or very insecure
6♦ + 3♥ + 6♣ + 7♦ = doing research and making a discovery (7♥ may come up in combination with 6♦ as together they represent brain power)
6♦ + 9♦ = a totally unrealistic idea (+ 6♣R, will bring losses)
6♦ + 5♠ = thinking of ending something
6♦ + 7♠ = negative or aggressive thoughts

J♠ or Q♠ + 6♦U/R* = someone has hostile plans against you
6♦U/R + J♠ or Q♠* = you have hostile plans against someone or at least you see them as enemies to fight against
6♦R + 9♥ = planning something unfaithful or disloyal
6♦R + cards of sadness or depression = it accentuates the idea of sadness or depression
6♦R + 5♠ + A♠ + 10♠ + J♠ or Q♠ (+ 7♠) = premeditated murder

6♦R + 10♦ = planning a robbery (literally or figuratively)
6♦R + 4♠R = can be a subconscious hung-up or complex (e.g. J♣U/R, inferiority, 2♣R or 8♠R, superiority) | sitting on your hands, possibly being unemployed
6♦R + A♦R + 7♣R = planning to destroy someone’s reputation
6♦R + 8♠ + 5♠ + 9♦ = planning of ending it all
6♦R + 6♠ or 7♣R = subconscious fears
6♦R + 2♣ + 8♥ = psychic powers, premonitions, etc.

Six of Spades (6♠) – Sighs (Sospiri)

A♥ or 8♣ + 6♠* = anxious about a meeting | can be social anxiety in general
8♥ + 6♠ = a tormented hope
J♥R + 9♥ + 6♠* = worried that a lover/boyfriend might be unfaithful
6♠ + 10♥* = whatever it is that you are worried about, you are right (look at the cards that the girl is looking at)
6♠ + 4♦* = whatever it is that you are worried about, you are wrong


A♥ + A♣ + 6♠* = anxiously waiting for someone to propose
2♣ or 5♣ + 6♠* = worrying about nothing
6♣ + 6♠* = impatience, it may be too soon to be wishing for something
3♣ + 6♠ = a large means of transport (other cards may specify it, e.g. 10♣ an airplane, etc.)
6♠ + 8♥R + 10♥R + (7♠) = traditionally a bad combination for sailors


7♦ + 6♠* = to be expecting, but
7♦ + A♣R + 6♠* = to be anxious about conceiving
6♠ + 9♠ + 4♦R = a traditional (and rather useless) combination showing that a prisoner or kidnapped person will be found near water
5♠ + 6♠* = fear of death or of anxiety due to an ending of some kind
6♠ + 5♠* = a traditional combination showing that the waiting will be in vain
K♦ + J♠ + 6♠ = another traditional (but useful) combination showing losing one’s job due to an enemy
6♠ + cards showing an event = the event will take a longer time to manifest

6♠R + 2♥ = an unstable family life
6♠R + K♦ = an unstable job situation
Card meaning something + 6♠R + Card meaning the opposite = fluctuations between these two extremes
A♣ + 2♦ + 6♠R = may be a book publishing contract
6♠R + 6♦ = psychological instability
6♠R + K♣ or K♠ or K♥ or 7♥ = often, seeking advice or a service (look around to see what type of advice or service)

Card Reading, Cartomancy, Everyday Oracle, Reading Example, Sibilla della Zingara, Vera Sibilla

An Exercise To Do With New and Pre-Owned Decks

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One fun little exercise I like to do whenever I get a new deck (any deck, of any tradition) is to ask them some questions to see if they are in tune with me. Some readers treat decks as if they were God-given artifacts. If that works for you, wonderful, no judgement, but I treat them as simple pieces of cardboard that are inserted into a universal mechanism of synchronicity. They are tools, and, like all tools, they need to be treated with some respect, but not to be revered as idols.

My own very personal experience with new decks is that the first few readings they give are often way off, until they enter into synchronicity with a particular reader and that reader alone. The only way for me to get past this phase of initial unreliability on their part is simply to use them a lot, until they get tuned to my subconscious language.

I will probably cover this in another article, but I staunchly believe that divinatory tools are like languages, and, like languages, their structure is perfectly objective, meaning that just as I cannot reinvent the English language as if it were a random convention, I cannot reinvent the meaning assigned to cards in a particular system (although there can be different systems, just as there can be different languages, and sometimes different systems use the same deck, just as sometimes different languages use the same alphabet or even similar words).

That being said, even though English is out there regardless of me, I will have my own take on the English language as I learn it, and you yours. Ever tried reading a Modernist author? Finnegan’s Wake is written in English, yet it is an English very few people who are not called James Joyce will understand. All this is to say that my own take on the issue is that card systems are objective, but you need to develop your own take on them in order for them to make sense in your particular universe (and you are your own universe).

The process of “developing your own take” cannot be decided rationally by convention, as in “From now on X will mean Y”. That’s part of the reason why Esperanto will never be a real thing aside from a laudable minority of dedicated learners. No, this process of development is largely a subconscious process of reciprocal adaptation between language and speaker, or between reader and reading system. It does take a little bit of time and patience, but then again, all things that are worth time take time.

As far as I am concerned, new decks need to be inserted into my mechanism of synchronicity. What about used deck? I have found that if a deck has been consistently used by someone else, it will take a bit more time for it to respond to me. Either way, the first question I will ask my new deck to answer is “Who is your master?” or, if you are not into kinky stuff, “Who do you respond to?” and I pull three cards. Usually, as soon as the cards start responding, I get a very clear description of myself as I am at the moment. Interestingly, if a deck belonged to someone else, I first get complete nonsense, then, as the cards start to respond to me, but not well enough, I almost always get the older owner’s description.

If you give this exercise a try, remember that the description you get of yourself needs to be beyond doubt. It’s like an “a-ha” moment. No vagueness. So, what happens if you don’t get the answer you are looking for? That is up to you and, in part, to your creativity. If you want to consecrate or cleanse your deck, go ahead. My own practice is to give the same question another couple of tries, and if the deck refuses to acknowledge me, or to let go of its previous owner, I leave it there for a couple of days, maybe spending some time shuffling it in the meantime, before giving it another try.

Here is what I did with my new Sibilla della Zingara deck. I asked “Who do you answer to?” and it answered perfectly on my first try, something that had never happened to me, except with my very first deck. I guess part of the reason is that it didn’t have a previous owner, as pre-owned decks tend to be a bit more stubborn, I have found. (Even then, don’t worry: my main deck was second hand, and it works perfectly now).

“Who do you answer to?” “To you, oh lord of all that’s sad, master of inner drought”

One thing you have to know about me is that I have a relatively strong depressive streak to me. I’ve always had it, and depending on the period it resurfaces. These days I was battling through a relatively strong depressive episode, and it definitely shows in the cards.

The King of Hearts is me. Usually I show up as the Jack of Clubs (unmarried man under thirty), but in the past I have come up as the Gentleman, mostly in relationship readings and in job readings, as I’m a teacher (protector/helper figure) and therefore the Jack of Clubs can represent the students. In this case I’m not sure why I showed up as Gentleman. It might be a very contingent reason, as upon searching the deck for the Jack of Clubs and the Jack of Hearts, I found them reversed. Apparently, the deck simply pushed the most serviceable significator into service.

The following combination is Six of Diamonds (Thought) + Nine of Spades (Prison). This is one of those combinations that can signal feeling down, or depressed, or oppressed. It can also signify psychological submission, but there would need to be other cards as well.

What’s interesting about this reading is that these past couple of days I had battled through the depressing feelings without even noticing them, but as soon as they came up in the reading I got my “a-ah” moment, “yep, that’s me”.

Other questions you might ask the cards are “What’s going to happen in the next 24 hours?”, “What did I do yesterday?” or any other question whose answer can be easily verified within a very short timeframe. I personally would avoid questions like “What will you teach me?” or “What have you entered my life for?” as it’s all too easy to concoct a convenient answer out of any card combination, but I leave it for you to decide for yourself.

The point is: don’t feel bad if sometimes a new deck doesn’t seem to make any sense, it just takes some time to get in tune with it. At other times, however,, as in the example above, the synchronicity is perfect from the start.

Card Reading, Cartomancy, Everyday Oracle, Numerology, Sibilla della Zingara, Vera Sibilla

Vera Sibilla and Numerology – The Sixes

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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 four Sixes in the Vera Sibilla: The Six of Hearts (Money), The Six of Clubs (Surprise), The Six of Diamonds (Thought), The Six of Spades (Sighs)

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.