AUTHOR'S NOTE: Several years ago I adapted the 21-card Romany spread for use with the seven planets of classical astrology and came up with a dual-axis developmental profile for both character analysis and associated timing. All seven columns can be used for a complete personality study, or only those that apply to specific circumstances can … Continue reading Playing Cards and the Astro-Romany Personality Profile
Cartomancy
Deploying the Cartomantic Significator
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a unique way to deploy the Significator in playing-card reading that draws its inspiration from later cartomantic techniques. It places the querent squarely in the middle of the action by having to "live in the present" while dealing with previous inputs and subsequent outputs. It relies on the shuffle (and cut … Continue reading Deploying the Cartomantic Significator
An Alternative to “Facing” in Non-Scenic Minor Cards
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The concept of "facing, gaze, regard, gesture or posture" is sometimes used to determine what a card is "looking at" or contemplating when there is a human figure or other off-card "pointer" present to suggest shifting one's attention to external conditions. But with decks like the Tarot de Marseille and the standard playing … Continue reading An Alternative to “Facing” in Non-Scenic Minor Cards
“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
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
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
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 