AUTHOR'S NOTE: Over eight years ago I created a tableau-style "3x3+1" tarot spread that I decided to adapt for use in playing-card and Lenormand divination. I kept the structure intact but altered the annotation for the positions to suit my purpose. I've also included an example reading to demonstrate its application, in which the brief … Continue reading A Ten-Card Tableau for Cartomantic Divination
Playing-Card Cartomancy
Death of a Dream: the Seven through Ten of Swords as a “Downward Spiral”
"I woke up this morningAnd I got myself a beer.The future's uncertainAnd the end is always near."- from Roadhouse Blues by The Doors AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my recent essay on the Minor Arcana of the suit of Swords, I mentioned that the 9 and 10 of Swords taken together could be construed as meaning the … Continue reading Death of a Dream: the Seven through Ten of Swords as a “Downward Spiral”
The Two and Nine of Cups: Love or Wishful Thinking
"Oh, we're half way thereOh-oh, livin' on a prayer"- from Livin' on a Prayer by Jon Bon Jovi AUTHOR'S NOTE: Tarot readers and their clients are usually delighted when the 2 of Cups appears in a prediction about romantic matters. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn titled this card "Lord of Love," and it … Continue reading The Two and Nine of Cups: Love or Wishful Thinking
The Aces: Close-to-the-Vest
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In his playing-card divination book 54 Devils, Cory Hutcheson describes the suit of Diamonds (tarot Coins or Pentacles) as relating to money and messages, while - as in most systems of cartomancy - the Ace refers to something new such as an original idea or an initiative that is still at the planning … Continue reading The Aces: Close-to-the-Vest
Mystery and Surprise: The Joker, the Fool and the High Priestess as “Stop Cards”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The most intriguing concept I've encountered in my periodic study of playing-card divination - which has been an on-again, off-again affair over the past ten years - is the practice of including the two Jokers of a standard deck in the reading. I understand that most traditional cartomancers don't bother with them, but … Continue reading Mystery and Surprise: The Joker, the Fool and the High Priestess as “Stop Cards”
The Sixes: Pathways of Progress
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In Dawn Jackson's "Hedgewytchery" system of playing-card divination, one general keyword for the number Six is "paths," which ideally means "a way forward" and not merely the avoidance of stagnation by retracing one's steps or traveling in circles. But this progressive advancement should really be considered in light of the following sequence of … Continue reading The Sixes: Pathways of Progress
The Message for the Querent: A “Quick-Read” Technique
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been re-reading 54 Devils by Cory Hutcheson, which is a brief treatise on playing-card cartomancy. (The standard deck of playing cards has 52 pip and court cards and two "jokers" for a total of 54). In it he describes a "quick-read" method by which the querent cuts the shuffled deck from right-to-left … Continue reading The Message for the Querent: A “Quick-Read” Technique
The “Gestalt Overview” in Cartomancy
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In developing this essay I borrowed from the way I've always read tarot since, at least in this one instance, the visual integration of both tarot cards and Lenormand cards in large layouts is almost identical, although Lenormand exhibits more formal structure in terms of what I call "sub-routines" or "protocols." Unlike the … Continue reading The “Gestalt Overview” in Cartomancy
Syncretic Cartomancy: A Threefold Divination*
*Syncretism: The union of different practices whose features may be synchronized to good effect. AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the past I have occasionally dabbled in two-phase readings using cards from different disciplines in a single spread, usually tarot and Lenormand or an oracle deck. As I spend more time and effort looking into traditional cartomancy while … Continue reading Syncretic Cartomancy: A Threefold Divination*
The Romany Cut “Wisdom or Folly” Situational Awareness Spread
I recently came across what was described as an "Italian Romany" method of dealing the playing cards to form a spread. That approach uses 15 cards culled from a larger set of 32 as the result of a preliminary reading. It includes the idea of three "Surprise" cards and a "Consolation" card revealing lessons learned … Continue reading The Romany Cut “Wisdom or Folly” Situational Awareness Spread
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 