Human quintessential need
to know the future, and hence affect it too, is probably as old as species
of
homo sapiens themselves . And divination, or mantic arts, as methods for achieving
this had always been an essential
part of human culture. Readers, people who specialized in divination aspects of
spiritual working, performing mantic
arts, reading and understanding omens, or simply, telling the fortune, future
and giving guiding advices, were both
reverend and persecuted. Quite often simultaneously. Information is power, more
so if it’s about the upcoming event, and could thus enable for people to preclude upcoming calamities,
win wars or simply have a more prosperous and happy life. However, as it’s only
expected to occur that way in human society, respect and social power readers
would attain and enjoy , caused envy, and consequently they’d create nemesis,
by simply being there and doing what they do.
Unlike prophetic gifts, divining future is a more “Gnostic”
approach, where the spiritual worker
seeks insight, pays attention to signs, omens , numbs the common physical
senses, and sharpens those intangible senses,
that’ existence is debatable, at least according to science. According to Christianity seeking spiritual
gifts, yearning for them , more so when fueled by pragmatic needs, is seen as profane and leads
to sin. I’d agree with that, being a Christian myself. But then again,
divination is not a sin in or by itself, rather
a tool that can be abused and
thus lead into sin. Following the same logic , we should never take knife in
our hands. Or frozen fish even, for
it can be an extremely deadly weapon, If
You wish it to be. Addressing mediums, psychics and readers for most profane
things is actually a sin of sloth, and recklessness behavior that leads in spiritual numbness, and
procrastination towards self-salvation.
True again, yet, most of the things existing in this world, become
dangerous in excessive amount, furthermore, If You are a spiritual practitioner
why not do a readings for Yourself ? If not, address to Higher forces for
guidance when You have a genuine dilemma, and need for actual discernment ,
rather than to find out “if she fancies You”
Before we proceed on the practical part of this post, to conclude, divination is akin to homeopathy, use in small doses and when
needed, and You should be safe from spiritual decadence, as well as sin.
Many methods and tools are employed in divination, let’s
name just a few for illustration purposes:
·
Astragalomancy – divination by reading from
position and shape and size of cast bones, in modern day simply divination by
dices
·
Pyromancy – Divination by fire element ,
encompassing many disciplines, such as observing flames and bonfires and their behavior
( such as those done on Imboloc, I’ve written on that before ) , reading candle wax remaining or drippings (
ceromancy ) , reading from remaining ashes
after combustion of sacrifice (
cauliomancy ) and so on
·
Bibliomancy – Divination by randomly picking
passages , sentences or words of book, sometimes combined with other methods
such as placing a key in the book, and
observing when and how it fall out from the book
·
Belomancy - Divination using marked or specially
decorated arrows , according to some, Bamboo arrow divination in Korea preceded the following example;
·
Cartomancy – Divination by reading card, playing cards or specialty
cards, such as various divination decks, most well-known example being Tarot.
Reading Tarot is sometimes referred as Tarotomancy, although I myself ( and I
don’t think I’m alone in that either lol )
find that redundant,…
And many, many others. In this article we will be dealing
with Cartomancy, more precisely, some basic history, symbolism, and spreads done with common, playing cards.
Or are they that “common” ? The ordinary playing cards are
more magickal and mysterious than one
would assume on the first look. Their
origin is even nowadays, after years and years of research, in best case
speculated, or half-guessed.
There are many myths regarding the origin of the playing
cards, according to one geishas in the Chinese imperator’s castle invented the game. According to yet
another of the legends, the invention
came from dire need of some Indian’s maharaja’s women, to prevent his obnoxious
habit of picking his own beard, by means of keeping his hand busy with
something .
However the Kun Pa’I game of China, dating back to time of
the Tang dynasty ( 618-907 ) of the
ancient China. [1] Apparently the
playing cards, firstly represented both the money of a kind ( stakes
) and cards in China, and were initially hand printed, thus extremely luxurious. Earliest records place
playing cards in Europe in 14th century , namely Spain and Italy.
They were a rarity in those days, and as each deck was had printed they were
unique, and a prestige symbol. By the early 15th century, woodcuts
with all the playing cards were made, and they had become accessible to broad
public and very popular.
They contained numerical values in for suits ( matching
designs ) much like they do now, with a
bit more “archaic” symbols, being polo sticks, cups, chalices and swords. These are still , even today prominent suits
or markings in Tarot card decks, whereas
the common playing cards have adopted the symbols to ones we are
familiar nowadays, being namely: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. Spot
cards ( on which the values were depicted in smaller symbols of their “ruling”
suit ) were 9 of each, sometimes other than ten, lacking also six, making thus
8 of each. The “court” cards were
pictured cards, depicting personages, even though in the beginning the
depictions did not resemble humans, rather they were abstract. They eventually
evolved from King, Vice - king, and Second in deputy , to King, Queen and knave or knight, sometimes
also servant, 3 of each correspondent to
one suit or “color”. They are reportedly
created to depict famous historical
personage , such as King David ( King of Spades ), Julius Cesar ( King
of Diamonds ) , Judith ( Queen of Hearts
), Biblical Rachel ( Queen of Diamonds )
, Lancelot ( Knave of Clubs ) and so on.
Like most of the things appearing in plurality of limited
forms, offering possibility of random
arrangements of elements of some kind, they’ve become prominent tool for
divination. When and how exactly, is hard to tell, although it is safe to assume,
that it would have happen not too long ago after the very invention of the
cards. Considerable amount of experts
think that it could have been the Gypsies, to introduce the use of common
playing cards as divination tool, and that they’ve spread their “findings” throughout the Europe, consequently.
One of the first written documents that not only speaks of divination with
cards in Europe, but also gives practical instructions of how to do it, offering also the possible interpretations for each card
individually, appeared in Germany during the late 15th century . It was called “Eim
Loszbuch Aus de r Karten” [2] which some
authors associate with Tarot, but is actually about the common playing cards,
though could have, and probably was what influenced the creation as well as use
of Divination decks, such as Tarot.
Magickal association and superstitions about playing cards
Each suit is associated with an element, and also
corresponds to Tarot cards symbol.
TAROT CARD | PLAYING CARD | ELEMENT | DIVINATION SYMBOLISM |SOCIAL GROUP
Pentacles | Diamonds | Earth |Business, journeys, news |Traders and admin
Swords | Spades | Air |Obstacles, misfortune, diseases, death
|Aristocracy
Sticks | Clubs | Fire
|Money, or efforts, hard work, changes
|Landlords, peasant
Chalices/Cups |Hearts
| Water |Luck, friendship, love, family[3] |Theocracy
They can be used to
represent the elements in rituals and conjurations. The symbolism of the cards
is easily applicable in spell casting.
Playing cards are
considered lucky, ominous, amuletic and talismanic. For example it was believed that If the whole deck
was to fall down on the floor, that was
foretelling a great misfortune . It was considered to be very risky to go down
a mine, or off to sea with a deck of cards. Nine of Clubs is considered a lucky
gamblers charm, more so If gifted to one by a child or prosperous person.
Simmilar goes for 7 of Clubs. Nine of spades however, is a card that is
sometimes used in hexing ritual that are
done in order to cause or inflict pain, suffer and illness upon someone. Old deck must never be simply thrown away but rather
burn and a new deck smudged, over it, in the flame.
Divination
There are many great books
written on the meaning , interpretation , as well as spreading the playing
cards for reading , and with that being said, I could not cover all that in this one, single post. Rather , I’ll
discuss some basic meanings , and a simple spread or two J
I think it’s wise to keep in
mind, that proper expertise comes with experience anyway, and not try to
learn all the meanings by heart, for a day or two.
We consult the cards when
we have an important question or dilemma
, asking stupid questions may result in
equally stupid actions. Also testing the accuracy of the cards by double asking
the same, is beyond stupid, we can all guess at least three reasons why is it
so
Other than simple reading
card by card, we should also consider
meanings card form together, and allow intuition to ennoble and refine the
insight.
Readings are most
proficient if done on Mondays or Fridays [4] The deck used for divination should not be used for
playing, when not in use should be put down in a safe place, much like You’d
have it done with common magickal/ritual tools such as athame or wand.
Here are some things to
consider in readings:
·
Should the Higher ( Figural and Ace cards )
appear dominant in reading, the questioner is expecting great
changes in life, which are often
groundbreaking, and always reffering to
future
·
Naturally opposing the above , lots of “lower”
cards appearing in the spread indicate to stagnation and necessity of taking
action more vigorously
·
If ¾ of all of the cards are of the same color
or suit this is extremely indicative! Black usually represents unfavorable
outcome, and even great tribulations ,
while red cards are the opposite
·
Domination of the spades in spreading may
indicate danger, obstacles, need for extra caution, cold-head thinking and
optimism and counseling with other people
·
Dominant clover spread speaks of luck, success ,
money and well being , although If all
the cards appear to be clover, that should be a warning that person had grown
egoistic and neglects others
·
Diamonds dominating spread speaks of good
financial chances, success and gain, too many of them, however, are a warning
that the person might get lost in all that,
turning into a “green monster” of a kind, obsessing over material
·
Hearts dominating the opening indicate that
person is open for new meetings, , or might be seeking a love partner. However,
almost all cards of the heart ( as in
suit ) in a single reading indicate that person is too
open, servile, submissive or that it shall try to take on themselves more than
they are able to handle
·
Some
important and common interpretations include: Two red ten’s ( ten value
cards, being diamonds and hearts ) indicate marriage, ace of
clovers means letter , two of cloves warns about a false friend, a
“snake in the grass” If you will, five of hearts predicts upcoming gift from a lover or a
suitor, ten of cloves an over-the-sea traveling, four of hearts represents the marital bed, four of
spades sickbed, seven of cloves prison
or imprisonment, captivation [5]
Nine of
hearts is also called “card of wishes” and is considered to be one of the most positive cards in the
deck, while directly opposing it “stands” nine of spades ( curious is that is
similar with swords in Tarot )
The above given will ensure a solid base for general cartomantic interpretation, yet
each card, as stated before, can have
very specific meaning, which by all means should be taken in account during
readings. Have that in mind , more so If You really want to get an in-depth, concrete and precise reading, and
thus consult some source that provides those*
Following are example of
card spreads, that are commonly used in cartomacy that employs the common, playing
card deck:
Mythical Cross
Shuffle the cards well, then align 7 cards , in front
of You ( facedown ) , in a horizontal line. The middle ( or 4th card
) shall serve as the central point of the spread, and the central point of the vertical line,
which You get when You place three ( again, facedown ) cards above the central,
and three bellow it.
According to some schools
of thought, the central card may represent the petitioner, or the person
for whom the reading is done , or
oneself in, case we are giving a reading to ourselves
First uncover the central
card, that going from down to up, all the vertical cards, and finally the
horizontal cards, from left to
right. Vertical cards speak in general of
the question, and may provide guidance towards solution, as well as stress the
influences of importance , while the horizontal provide additional details and
speak of chronological aspect of the
question, those left from the central
card speaking of past and those on the right side, speaking of the future.
Yes and No quick spread
This particular swift
method will provide the yes and no answers, or rather, will indicate If
something we have wished to happen will occur the way we want or not. Alternatively, If we are in doubt of the outcome of certain
situation, the cards in this spread will
tell If the outcome will be positive ( desired ) , or , alas, negative
( undesired ) one. It’s quite simple really, and fun
Thinking of the
“wish” ( also; situation, event , plan ) shuffle the cards
slowly and gently, placing those from
the bottom to the top, in smallest possible groups, or better yet, single card at the time. Now draw one by
one until either Nine of Hearts, or Nine of Spades appear. If the Nine of
Hearts appears first ( also known as Card of Wishes ) the wish will come true, or the outcome will
be positive. If, unfortunately the Nine of Spades appears first, it’s a clear
omen that the wish will not come true,
or that the outcome will not be as we would like it to be.
But keep in mind, many
wishes are but silly whims, and such
coming true, could actually be more pain than gain. Also, getting Nine of Spades, may mean that You
need to try harder, instead of sitting and whining how nothing good ever happens
to You. Not to mention, that one can
always do a more profound reading to
find out, what is blocking the positive outcome, or why will it not occur, and
thus affect the future. In any case, this particular method is not to be consulted about the same
wish in 24 hours, and If You think a bit You will realize that it is only logical to do so.
NOTES:
This article was written
and composed by myself, hence If
You wish to use any part of it elsewhere
online, feel free, but add credits Shadow
of Shadows magick place, or Shadow-333@hotmail.com
or a direct link to this post
CREDITS AND REFRENCES*try first learning basic meanings of suits, color and what they represent, than consult various sources that offer each of the cards In deck interpretation, and cross reference them. Other than the books and resources “listed in Credits and References” , try also here:
http://www.tarotforum.net/archive/
http://www.serenapowers.com/playingcards2.htmlindex.php/t-2387.html
[3] Divination symbolism mainly based on that given in “Gledanje u karte” ( literarily : “Card reading” ) by Wendy Kroffer
[4] acc to Cassandra Eason, as stated in her book “Encyclopedia of magick and ancient wisdom”
[5] according to the same source as under [4] , page 120th , edited and paraphrased here
IMAGE CREDITS: The first, illustrative
image is from http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-playing-cards-candle-image7635556 , which was then edited by myself, and used here without any ill will.
The Mythical Cross spread scheme is
by little me.
1 comment:
Cartomancy is just great. I love it. It helps me everyday.
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