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”
Cartomancy
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
Grand Tableau for 2025
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's been a while since I last worked with the Lenormand cards because I've been busily studying the impact of Medieval culture on the tarot, but here is my customary New Year's Eve Grand Tableau for the next twelve months, giving me a chance to exercise my new Le Lenormand a la Vincent … Continue reading Grand Tableau for 2025
“Highest in Red, Lowest in Black” (or Not)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Occasionally, playing cards and tarot cards converge in unlikely ways, as they do here. When my brother and I were kids learning to play "trick-taking" cards games from our grandmother (who was an old-school cartomancer, although she would never read for us or even talk about it), her oft-repeated mantra was "Highest in … Continue reading “Highest in Red, Lowest in Black” (or Not)
A Tale of Five Pips
As promised, here is my first serious attempt at divination with the playing cards. I used the Goldfield Nevada 1864 giant playing card deck, and I also augmented the five-card spread with the Night Sky playing cards to see if there is interpretive syncretism with any astrological fixed stars that may appear in the constellations. … Continue reading A Tale of Five Pips
Cards of Joy and Sorrow
I believe I've reached a tipping point in my growing desire to begin working with playing cards in cartomancy. I've accumulated a number of online sources for reference material (most notably that of Kapherus and "Auntie Tarot"), and I also have a few names to explore (Regina Russell, Cecily Kent, Sepharial) although I own none … Continue reading Cards of Joy and Sorrow
Stone Soup
I think it's time I start getting serious about bringing cartomantic (that is, playing-card) meanings into my approach to the numbered - or "pip" - cards when reading. The RWS minor cards with their built-in narrative vignettes are like "canned soup," the semi-scenic small cards of the Thoth deck are closer to "home-made soup" that you start with store-bought … Continue reading Stone Soup
Cutting-Edge Cartomancy
The Cartomancer is a glossy, elegant, high-quality and high-caliber quarterly international journal for the card-reading enthusiast, mainly focusing on Tarot, Lenormand and Oracle deck study and practice. After a distinguished turn at the helm by Jadzia deForest, the publication has now been purchased and is being published by Arwen Lynch-Poe. This is Arwen's inaugural effort, … Continue reading Cutting-Edge Cartomancy
A Cartomantic Adventure
I have a life-long devotion to tarot and astrology that began around 1970, and my fascination with Lenormand goes back to the day I first encountered it in 2011. But I'm always looking for a new challenge, which is why I took on traditional astrology and horary in particular. More recently, I've been eying playing-card … Continue reading A Cartomantic Adventure
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 