AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've tinkered further with my "French-Cross Twist" spread to align it with employment situations. Here is a "real-life" example reading. After concentrating and shuffling, the first six cards are to be dealt in the order shown, with Card #5 placed beneath Card #2. The seventh card is the "numerical essence" ("quintessence" in the … Continue reading A “French-Cross Twist” on the Job-Search Reading
Playing-Card Cartomancy
An “Italian Romany Spin-Off” Playing-Card Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a playing-card reading using a truncated version of a fifteen-card Italian Romany design I encountered several years ago. I created the spread (linked below) for use with the Tarot de Marseille but it should be equally effective for playing-card divination. It can be read in two ways: 1) as rows that … Continue reading An “Italian Romany Spin-Off” Playing-Card Reading
“Counting Round” in Playing-Card Reading: An Experiment
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although I've been "counting round" in Lenormand reading for years, I recently came across the idea of using a comparable technique with playing cards. The Lenormand concept is to lay out a Grand Tableau of 36 cards, then start at the identified Significator card and - treating the Significator as "1" - count … Continue reading “Counting Round” in Playing-Card Reading: An Experiment
A Ten-Card Tableau for Cartomantic Divination
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
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
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 