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Divination
Practice of foreseeing future events or obtaining a secret knowledge through communication with divine sources and through omens, oracles, signs, and portents. It is based on the belief in revelations offered to humans by the gods and in extrarational forms of knowledge; it attempts to make known those things that neither reason nor science can discover. It is known that divination by means of crack patterns in shells was practiced in China as early as the 2nd century BC. In the West, before divination spread throughout the Greco-Roman world, various branches of the practice as used by the Chaldeans were considered superior to all sciences. Among those branches the most significant were the study of the flights of birds, the study of water and water patterns, the study of the entrails of sacrifical animals (haruspication), and the inspection of animals shoulder blades (scalpulimancy). The Greeks placed their greatest trust in the wisdom of the oracle. Divination was essential to all the religions of classical antiquity; no state and hardly any individual would have dared undertake a significant action without first consulting the gods. Divination persists to the present day in crystal gazing, palmistry, fortune-telling, and astrology.
Source: Columbia Encyclopedia
Cartomancy
Today's playing cards come from the traditional Tarot cards that are still used around the world to peek into the future. You can use a deck of cards to do some fortune-telling. First you need to remove all the twos, threes, fours, fives, and sixes from the deck. You are left with 32 cards which is sometimes called a Piquet deck. Next you must pick a card to represent yourself or the person whose fortune you ar doing. This card is called the Figure.
Young man with light hair: King of Hearts
Older man with light hair: King of Diamonds
Young man with dark hair: King of Clubs
Older man with dark hair: King of Spades
Young women with light hair: Queen of Hearts
Older woman with light hair: Queen of Diamonds
Young woman with dark hair: Queen of Clubs
Older woman with dark hair: Queen of Spades
Basic Spread
1. Shuffle the cards and allow the subject to cut the deck. If you are doing your own reading just cut the deck yourself.
2. Count out three cards from the top of the deck and lay them face up from left to right. If the Figure card is among these three cards, go to step 3. If it is not among the three keep repeating step 2 until you get it. Many believe that the sooner the Figure appears during this process the more accurate the reading will be.
3. Now choose one additinal card from the deck and place it to the right of the third card. There are now four cards in front of you. The card directly to the right of the Figure is called the Key card because it helps to interpret the reading. The other two cards are called Doors. The left hand Door is the first Door, and the right hand Door is the second Door.
The Reading
The Key card represents the future of the subject. Each suit has a different prediction.
Meanings
Hearts: The prediction involves love, friendship, family, or peace.
Diamonds: The prediction involves professional affairs, travel, or vacation.
Clubs: The prediciton involves fame, power, reputation, and news from afar.
Spades: The prediction involves enemies, betrayal, suffering, deceit, lies, and bad luck.
Hearts
Ace
Up: Happiness. A letter or invitation will arrive soon.
Upside down: An argument or a lover's quarrel.
King
Up: A friendly, calm, and honest man will be important to you
soon. He will most likely have fair hair.
Upside down: A fair haired man will be important to you soon. Watch him carefully. Can you trust him?
Queen
An affectionate and sympathetic woman will be most helpful
Jack
Up: You will meet or get to know a faithful young man.
Upside down: You will meet a young man who cannot be trusted.
Ten
Passion awaits you, but only if you are strong.
Nine
Something you are involved in now will have a happy result.
Eight
You have a secret admirer.
Seven
You will have what you've been waiting for.
Diamonds
Ace
You will receive or be influenced by an important document or letter.
King
Up: You will meet or be assisted by a wealthy or powerful man.
Upside down: You will find yourself at odds with a wealthy or powerful man.
Queen
Up: You will meet or be assisted by a wealthy or powerful woman.
Upside down: You will find yourself at odds with a wealthy or powerful woman. Exercise caution. Success and failure are both very near.
Jack
A young, frivolous, and wealthy man will soon cross your path. He will probably have fair hair and be the son of someone noteworthy.
Ten
You will receive an unexpected gift or sum of money thanks to a distant source or affair.
Nine
Your career will change direction somehow in the near future.
Eight
You will soon go on a journey.
Seven
A quarrel looms on the horizon.
Clubs
Ace
You must give a present or perhaps accept a loss, to achieve the goal you seek.
King
Up: A dark man will be of great assitance to you. Do not underestimate him. He is a man of action, not words.
Upside down: Be cautious of a silent dark haired man. He may or may not be your friend.
Queen
You will meet or be assisted by an older woman.
Jack
Up: A young, inexperienced man will help you find what you desire. He may talk the talk, but can he walk the walk?
Ten
Passion can be yours if you act now.
Nine
A marriage of wealth or convenience is on the horizon.
Eight
A dark haired girl will cross your path.
Seven
Something unexpected and perhaps unwanted will come soon to someone you know.
Spades
Ace
A relationship is heading for rough waters especially a material relationship.
King
Up: A man you know well has deceived you. He is trying to hide this from you.
Upside down: A man you know well is keeping a secret from you. Is he trying to protect you?
Queen
Up: She is charming, beautiful, and evil to the core. Beware of her. She is not fond of you.
Upside down: A woman of ill repute and a sordid past will try to make amends. You may be able to trust her. Use caution however.
Jack
Up: He is young and charming. Use common sense. He is not only dangerous, he is also not worth the effort.
Upside down: A young man will deceive you and deny it. Keep your eyes open, and think with your head as well as your heart.
Ten
You will lose something shortly.
Nine
Financial plans and travel will lead to bad luck today.
Eight
Something that seems too good to be true often is. Keep alert and you will see its dark side.
Seven
Someone you know envies you. Beware.
The Fancy Stuff
The Royal Court
It occurs when all four cards of the Spread are upright royals or face cards (King, Queens, and Jacks). The Royal Court suggests a fortune with many involved players notice that the meaning of each face card has to do with a person. The futre is often hazy in this instance because it depends on the actions of so many individuals. The Royal Court is almost always a good sign unless the Key card is a Spade. If the Key is a King, Queen, or Jack or Spades, the meaning may be one of consiracy against the subject. Otherwise, the Royal Court suggests happy endeavors, socializing and the assistance of friends.
The Treasure Chest
If the Key and two Doors are all Sevens, exceptionally good fortune is on the horizon. Hundreds of years ago when gypsies often read cards for travelers, this combination was said to predict great success or the acquisition of treasure.
Death
When the Key and both Doors are all black upside down royals (Kings/Queens/Jacks of Spades/Clubs) the death of someone you know is close at hand. If the Figure card is also upside down, the death of someone close to you is near.
The Aces
When the Key and the two Doors are all Aces, it means that a great change for better or worse is about to happen in your life soon. Some card readers believe that if two of the Aces are red, good thngs are foretold, and if two of the Aces are black, misfortune awaits.
Position Of The Figure
In the Basic Spread it is possible for the Figure card to lie in any of the first three positions. Many card readers attach a special significance of time to the position. If the Figure lies in the first position, the fortune will apply to the immediate future. If the Figure rests in the second position the fortune will apply to the short term future weeks a months. If the Figure is in the third position the fortune applies to the distant future perhaps a year or more.
Positive And Negative Readings
For this you do not need the Basic Spread. First think of a yes/no question and concentrate on it. Next shuffle the deck and cut the cards three times. Mentally choose a Figure card to represent yourself or whoever is asking the question. Choose one card at a time and place each in a pile face up until you reach the Figure card. The faster you reach the Figure card the more accurate the response. Turn onver one more card after the Figure if the card is red the answer is yes and if the card is black the answer is no.
Old Fortune Telling Game
The Seven Gifts
1. Find eight small pieces of paper like index cards. Write one of the following on each piece: 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. Then lay these pieces on the table in that order.
2. Shuffle the deck and ask a yes/no question either out loud or in your head and concentrate on that question.
3. Deal the first card and place it face up under the first piece of paper. If the card is a 7 the same as the first piece of paper the card should be placed aside in a separate stack. Otherwise, leave it where it is. This process continues under each of the pieces of paper (returning to 7 after Ace) until there are no more cards to be dealt.
4. Pick up the cards still resting under the pieces of paper and repeat step three but start with the piece of paper where the cards ran out. If all the cards eventually correspond to the pieces of paper, you have won and the answer to your question is yes. If you are left with cards that do not correspond to the pieces of paper you have lost and the answer is no. 
Greater Arcana And Their Meanings
1. The Magician: Skill, diplomacy, address; pain, loss, disaster, will, self confidence if the Querent is male. Reversed: Physican Magus, mental disease, disgrace, disquiet.
2. The High Priestess: Secrets, mystery, the future as yet unrevealed; the woman who interests the Querent if male; the Querent if female; silence, tenacity, wisdom, science. Reversed: Passion, moral or physical ardour, conceit, surface knowledge.
3. The Empress: Frutifulness, action, iniative, length of days; the unknown, clandestine; also difficulty, doubt, ignorance. Reversed: Light, truth, the unravelling of involved matters, public rejoicings; according to another reading, vacillation.
4. The Emperor: Stability, power, protection; a great person; aid, reason, conviction. Reversed: Benevolence, compassion, credit; also confusion to enemies, obstruction, immaturity.
5. The Hierophant: Marriage alliance, captivity, servitude; by another accound, mercy and goodness; inspiration; the man to whom the Querent has recourse. Reversed: Society, good understanding, concord, over-kindness, weakness.
6. The Lovers: Attraction, love, beauty, trails, overcome. Reversed: Failure, foolish designs.
7. The Chariot: Succour, providence; also war, triumph, presumption, vengeance, trouble. Reversed: Riot, quarrel, dispute, litagation, defeat.
8. Strength: Power, energy, action, courage, magnamity. Reversed: Despotism, abuse of power, weakness, discord.
9. The Hermit: Prudence; also and especially treason, dissimulation, roguery, corruption. Reversed: Concealment, disguise, policy, fear, unreasoned caution.
10. Wheel Of Fortune: Destiny, fortune, success, luck, felicity. Reversed: Increase, abundance, superfluity.
11. Justice: Equity, rightness, probity, executive. Reversed: Law in all departments, bigotry, bias, excessive severity.
12. The Hanged Man: Wisdom, circumspection, discernment, trials, sacrifice, intuition, divination, prophecy. Reversed: Selfishness, the crowd, body, politic.
13. Death: End, mortality, destruction, corruption. Reversed: Inertia, sleep, lethargy, petrification, somnambulism.
14. Temperance: Economy, moderation, frugality, management, accomadation. Reversed: Things connected with churches, religons, sects, the priesthood; also disunion, unfortunate combinations, competing interests.
15. The Devil: Ravage, violence, vehenmence, extraordinary efforts, force, fatality; that which is predestined but not for this reason evil. Reversed: Evil fatality, weakness, pettiness, blindness.
16. The Tower: Misery, distress, indigence, adversity, calamity, disgrace, deception, ruin. Reversed: According to one account, the same in a lesser degree; also oppression, imprisonment, tyranny.
17. The Star: Loss, theft, privation, abandoment; another reading says hope and bright prospects. Reversed: Arrogance, haughtiness, impotence.
18. The Moon: Hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, error. Reversed: Instability, inconstancy, silence, lesser degrees of deception and error.
19. The Sun: Material happiness, fortunate marriage, contentment. Reversed: The same in a lesser sense.
20. The Last Judgement: Change of position, renewal, outcome. Reversed: Weakness, pusillanimity, simplicity; also dilberation, decision, sentence.
0. The Fool: Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment. Reversed: Negligence, absense, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity.
21. The World: Assured success, voyage, route, emigration, flight, chagne of place. Reversed: Inertia, fixity, stagnation, permanence.
Lesser Arcana
Wands
King: The physical and emotional nature to which this card is attributed is dark, ardent, lithe, animated, impassioned, noble. He uplifts a flowering wand and wears, like his three correspondences in the remaining suits, what is called a cap of maintenance beneath his crown. He connects with the symbol of the lion, which is emblazoned on the back of his throne. Meanings: Dark man, friendly, countryman, generally married, honest and conscientious. Reversed: Good, but severe; austere, yet tolerant.
Queen: The Wands throughout this suit are always in leaf, as it is a suit of life and animation. Emotionally and otherwise, the Queen's personality corresponds to that of the King, but is more magnetic. Meanings: A dark woman, countrywoman, friendly, chaste, loving, honourable. If the card beside her signifies a man, she is well disposed towards him; if a woman, she is interested in the Querent. Also, love of money. Reversed: Good, economical, obliging, serviceable. Signifies also opposition, jealousy, even deceit and infidelity.
Knight: He is shown as if upon a journey, armed with a short wand, and although mailed is not on a warlike errand. He is passing mounds or pyramids. Meanings: Departure, absense, flight, emigration. A dark young man, friendly. Change of residence. Reversed: Rupture, division, interruption, discord.
Page: In a scene similar to the former, a young man stands in the act of proclamation. He is unknown but faithful, and his tidings are strange. Meanings: Dark young man, faithful, a lover, an envoy, a postman. Beside a man, he will bear favourable testimony concerning him. A dangerous rival, if followed by the Page of Cups. Has the chief qualities of his suit. Reversed: Ancedotes, announcements, evil news. Also indecision and the instability which accompanies it.
Ten: A man oppressed by the weight of the ten staves which he is carrying. Meanings: A card of many significances, and some of the readings cannot be harmonised. I set aside that which connects it with honour and good faith. It is oppression simply but it is also fortune, gain, any kind of success of these things. It is also a card of false-seeming, disguise, perfidy. The place which the figure is approaching may suffer from the rods that he carries. Success is stultified if the Nine of Swords follows, and if it is a question of a law-suit, there will be certain loss. Reversed: Contrarieties, difficulties, intrigues, and their analogies.
Nine: The figure leans upon his staff and has an expectant look, as if awaiting an enemy. Behind are eight other staves erect, in orderly disposition, like a palisade. Meanings: The card signifies strength in opposition. If attacked, he will meet the onslaught boldly. With this main significane there are all its possible adjuncts, delay suspension, adjournement. Reversed: Obstacles, adversity, calamity.
Eight: The card represents motion through the immovable a flight of wands through an open country. Meanings: Activitiy in undertakings, the patch of such activity, swiftness, as that of an express messenger; great haste, great hope, speed towards an end which promises assured felicity; generally that which is on the move; also the arrows of love. Reversed: Arrows of jealousy, internal dispute, stingings of conscience, quarrels.
Seven: A young man on a craggy eminence, brandishing a staff; six other staves are raised towards him from below. Meanings: It is a card of valour, for, on the surface, six are attacking one, who has, however, the vantage position. On the intellectual plane, it signifies discussion, wordy strife; in business negotiations, war of trade, barter, competition. It is further a card of success for the combatant is on the top and his enemies may be unable to reach him. Reversed: Perplexity, embrarrassments, anxiety.
Six: A laurelled horseman bears staff adorned with laurel crown; footmen with staves are at his side. Meanings: The card has been so designed that it can cover several significations; on the surface, it is a victor triumphing, but it is also great news, such as might be carried in state by the King's courier; it is expectation crowned with its own desire, the crown of hope, and so forth. Reversed: Apprehension, fear, as of a victorious enemy at the gate, treachery, disloyalty, as of gates being opened to the enemy, etc.
Five: A posse of youths are brandishing staves, as if in sport or strife. Meanings: Imitation, as, for example, sham fight, the strenuous competition and struggle of the search after riches and fortune. Hence some attributions say that it is a card of gold, gain, opulence. Reversed: Litigation, disputes, trickery, contradiction.
Four: From the four great staves planted in the foreground there is a greater garland suspended; two female figures uplift nosegays; at their side is a bridge over a moat, leading to an old manorial house. Meanings: They are for once almost on the surface country life, repose, concord, harmony, propsperity, peace, and the perfected work of these. Reversed: The meaning remains unaltered; it is prosperity, increase, felicity, beauty, embellishment.
Three: A calm, stately figure, with his back turned, looking from a cliff's edge at ships passing over the sea. Three staves are planted in the ground and he leans slightly on one of them. Meanings: He symbolises established strength, enterprise, effort, trade, commerce, discovery; those are his ships, bearing his merchandise, which are sailing over the sea. Reversed: The end of troubles, suspension or cessation of adversity, toil and disappointment.
Two: A tall man looks from a battlemented roof over sea and shore; he holds a globe in his right hand and a staff in his left rests on the battlement; another is fixed in a ring. The Rose and Cross and Lily should be noticed on the left side. Meanings: Between the alternative readings there is no marriage possible; on the one hand riches, fortune, manificence; on the other, physical suffering, disease, chagrin, sadness, mortification. The design gives one suggestion; here is a lord overlooking his dominion and alternately contemplating a globe; it looks like the malady, the mortification, the sadness of Alexander admist the grandeur of this world's wealth. Reversed: Surprise, wonder, enchantment, trouble, fear.
Ace: A hand issuing from a cloud grasps a stout Wand or Club. Meanings: Creation, invention, enterprise, the powers which result in these; principle, beginning, source; birth, family, orgin; the beginning of enterprises; according to another account, money, fortune, inheritance. Reversed: Fall, decadence, ruin, perdition, to perish; also not unclouded joy.
Cups
King: He holds a short sceptre in his left hand and a great cup in his right; his throne is set upon the sea; on one side a ship is riding and on the other a dolphin is leaping. The implicit is that the sign of the Cup naturally refers to water, which appears in all the court cards. Meanings: Fair man, man of bussiness, law, or divinity; responsible, disposed to oblige the Querent; also equity, art and science, including those who profess science, law and art; creative intelligence. Reversed: Dishonest, double-dealing-man; rougery, exaction, injustice, vice, scandal.
Queen: Beautiful, fair, dreamy, as one who sees visions in a cup. Meanings: Good, fair, woman; honest, devoted woman, loving intelligence, and hence the gift of vision; success, happiness, pleasure; also wisdom, virtue. Reversed: The accounts vary; good woman; otherwise, distinguished woman but one not to be trusted; perverse woman; vice, dishonour, depravity.
Knight: Graceful, but not warlike; riding quietly, wearing a winged helmet, referring to the higher graces of the imagination which sometimes characterrise this card. Meanings: Arrival, approach sometimes that of a messenger; advances, proposition, demeamour, invitation, incitement. Reversed: Trickery, artifice, subtlety, swindling, duplicity, fraud.
Page: A fair, pleasing, somewhat effeminate page, of studius and intent aspect, contemplates a fish rising from a cup to look at him. Meanings: Fair young man, one impelled to render service and with whom the Querent will be connected; a studious youth; news, message; application, reflection, meditation; also these things directed to business. Reversed: Taste, inclination, attachment, seduction, deception, artifice.
Ten: Appearance of Cups in a rainbow; it is contemplated in wonder and ecstacy by a man and woman below, evidently husband and wife. His right arm is about her; his left raised upward; she raisies her right arm. The two children dancing near them have not observed the prodigy, but are happy after their own manner. There is a home scene beyond. Meanings: Contentment, repose of the entire heart; the perfection of that state; if with several picture-cards, a person who is taking charge of the Querent's interests; also the town, village or country inhabited by the Querent. Reversed: Repose of the false heart, indignation, violence.
Nine: The goodly personage is feasting to his heart's content, and abundant refreshment of wine is on the arched counter behind him. Meanings: Concord, contentment, physical bien-etre; also victory, success, advantage; satisfaction for the Querent or person for whom the consultation is made. Reversed: Truth, loyalty, liberty; but the readings vary and include mistakes, imperfections, etc.
Eight: A man of dejected aspect is deserting the cups of his felictiy, enterprise, undertaking or previous concern. Meanings: The card speaks for itself on the surface, but other readings are entirely antithetical giving joy, mildness, timidity, honour, modesty. Reversed: Great joy, happiness, feasting.
Seven: Strange chalices of vision. Meanings: Fairy favours, images of reflection, sentiment, imagination, things seen in the glass of contemplation; some attainment in these degrees but nothing permanent or substantial is suggested. Reversed: Desire, will, determination, project.
Six: Children in an old garden, their cups filled with flower. Meanings: A card of the past and of memories, looking back, as for example on childhood; happiness, enjoyment, but coming rather from the past; things that have vanished. Another reading reverses this, giving new relations, new knowledge, new environment, and then the children are disporting in a newly-entered precint. Reversed: The future, renewal, that which will come to pass presently.
Five: A dark, cloaked figure, looking sideways at three prone cups; two others stand upright behind him; a bridge is in the background, leading to a small keep or holdilng. Meaning: It is a card of loss, but something remains over; three have been taken, but two are left; it is a card of inheritance, patrimony, transmission, but not corresponding to expectations; with some it is a card of marriage, but not without bitterness or frustration. Reversed: News, alliances, affinity, consanguinity, ancestry, return, false projects.
Four: A young man is seating under a tree and contemplates three cups set on the grass before him; an arm issuing from a cloud offers him another cup. His expression notwithstanding is one of discontent with his environment. Meanings: Weariness, disgust, aversion, imaginary vexations, as if the wine of this world, as if a fairy gift, is now offered him, but he sees no consolation therein. This is also a card of blended pleasure. Reversed: Novelty, presage, new instruction, new relations.
Three: Maidens in a garden ground with cups uplifted, as if pledging one another. Meanins: The conclusion of any matter in plenty, perfection and merriment; happy issue, victory, fulfillment, solace, healing. Reversed: Expedition, dispatch, achievement, end.
Two: A youth and maiden are pledging one another, and above their cups rises the caduseus of Hermes, between the great wings of which there appears a lion's head. Meanings: Love, passion, friendship, affinity, union, concord, sympathy, the inter-relation of the sexes, and as a suggestion apart from all offices of divination that which nature is sanctified. Reversed: False love, folly, misunderstanding.
Ace: The waters are beneath and thereon are water lies; the hand issues from the cloud, holding in its palm the cup, from which four streams are pouring; a dove, bearing in its bill a cross-marked host, descends to place the wafer in the cup; the dew of water is falling on all side. It is an intimation of that which may lie behind the Lesser Arcana. Meanings: House of the true heart, joy, content, abode, nourishment, abundance, fertility, holy table, felicity hereof. Reversed: House of the false heart, mutation, instability, revolution
Swords
King: He sits in judgement, holding the unsheathed sign of his suit. Meanings: Whatsoever arises out of the idea of judgement and all its connexions power, command, authority, militant intelligence, law, offices of the crown, and so forth. Reversed: Cruelty, perversity, barbarity, perfidy, evil intention.
Queen: Her right hand raisies the weapon vertically and the hilt rests on an arm of her royal chair; the left hand is extended, the arm raises; her countenance is severe, chastened, and suggests familiarity with sorrow. Meanings: Widowhood, female sadness and embarassment, absence, sterility, mourning, privation, separation. Reversed: Malice, bigotry, artifice, prudery, deceit.
Knight: In full course, as if scattering his enemies. Meanings: Skill, bravery, capacity, defence, address, enmity wrath, war, destruction, opposition, resistance, ruin. Reversed: Imprudence, incapacity, extravagence.
Page: A lithe, active figure holds a sword upright in both hands, while in the act of swift walking. Meanings: Authority, overseeing, secret service, vigilance, spying, examination, and the qualities thereto belonging. Reversed: More evil side of these qualities; what is unforeseen, unprepared state; sickness is also intimated.
Ten: A prostrate figure, pierced by all the swords belonging to the card. Meanings: Whatsoever is intimated by the design; also pain, affliction, tears, sadness, desolation. Reversed: Advantage, profit, success, favour, but none of these are permanent; also power and authority.
Nine: One seated on her couch in lamentation, with the swords over her. Meanings: Death, failure, miscarriage, delay, deception, disappointment, despair. Reversed: Imprisonment, suspicion, doubt, resonable fear, shame.
Eight: A woman, bound and hoodwinked, with the swords of the card about her. Meanings: Bad news, violent chagrin, crisis, censure, power in trammels, conflict, calumny; also sickness. Reversed: Disquiet, difficulty, opposition, accident, treachery; what is unforeseen; fatality.
Seven: A man in the act of carrying away five swords rapidly; the two others of the card remain stuck in the ground. Meanings: Design, attempt, wish, hope, confidence; also quarrelling, a plan that may fail, annoyance. Reversed: Good advice, counsel, instruction, slander, babbling.
Six: A ferryman carrying passengers in his punt to the further shore. Meanings: Journey by water, route, way, envoy, commissionary, expedient. Reversed: Declaration, confession, publicity; one account says that it is a proposal of love.
Five: A disdainful man looks after two retreating and dejected figures. Their two swords lie upon the ground. He carries two others on his left shoulder, and a third sword is in his right hand, point to the earth. He is the master in possession of the field. Meanings: Degradation, destruction, reversal, infamy, dishonour, loss. Reversed: The same; burial and obsequities.
Four: The effigy of a knight in the attitude of prayer, at full length upon his tomb. Meanings: Vigilance, retreat, solitude, hermit's repose, exile, tomb and coffin. Reversed; Wise administration, circumspection, economy, avarice, precaution, testament.
Three: Three swords piercing a heart; cloud and rain behind. Meanings: Removal, absence, delay, division, rapture, dispersion, and all that the design signifies naturally. Reversed: Mental alienation, error, loss, distraction, disorder, confusion.
Two: A hoodwinked figure balances two swords upon her shoulders. Meanings: Conformity and the equipoise which it suggests, courage, friendship, concord in a state of arms, affection, intimacy. Reversed: Imposture, falsehood, duplcity, disloyalty.
Ace: A hand issues from a cloud, grasping a sword, the point of which is encircled by a crown. Meanings: Triumph, the excessive degree in everything, conquest, triumph of force. It is a card of great force, in love as well as in hatred. Reversed: The same, but the results are disastrous; another account says conception, childbirth, augmentation, mutiplicity.
Pentacles
King: The figure calls for no special description; the face is rather dark, suggesting also courage, but somewhat lethargic in tendency. The bull's head should be noted as a recurrent symbol on his throne. The sign of this suit is reprensented throughout as engraved or blazoned with the pentagram, typifying the correspondent of the four elements in human nature and that by which they may be governed. Meanings: Valour, realising intelligence, business and normal intellctual aptitude sometimes mathematical gifts and attainments of this kind; success in these paths. Reversed: Vice, weakness, ugliness, perversity, corruption, peril.
Queen: The face suggests that of a dark woman, whose qualities might be summed up in the idea of greatness of soul; she has also the serious cast of intelligence; she contemplates her symbol and may see worlds therein. Meanings: Opulence, generosity, magnificence, security, liberty. Reversed: Evil, suspicison, suspense, fear, mistrust.
Knight: He rides a slow, enduring, heavy horse, to which his own aspect corresponds. Meanings: Utility, serviceableness, interest, responsibility, rectitude. Reversed: Inertia, idleness, repose of that kind, stagnation; also placidity, discouragement, carelessness.
Page: A youthful figure, looking intently at the pentacle which hovers over his raised hands. Meanings: Application, study scholarship, reflection; another reading says news, messages, and the bringer thereof; also rule, management. Reversed: Prodigality, dissipation, liberality, luxur; unfavourable news.
Ten: A man and woman beneath an archway which gives entance to a house and domain. Meanings: Gain, riches; family matters, archives, extraction, the abode of a family. Reversed: Chance, fatality, loss, robbery, games of hazard; sometimes gift, dowry, pension.
Ten: A woman, with a bird on her wrist, stands admidst a great abundance of grape vines in the garden of a great house. Meanings: Prudence, safety, success, accomplishment, certitude, discernment. Reversed: Roguery, deception, voided prject, bad faith.
Eight: An artist in stone at work. Meanings: Work, employment, commission, craftsmanship, skill in craft and business. Reversed: Voided ambition, vanity, cupidity, exaction, unsury.
Seven: A young man, leaning on his staff, looks intently at seven pentacles attached to a clump of greenery on his right; one would say that these were his treasures and that his heart was there. Meanings: These are exceedingly contradictory; in the main, it is a card of money, business, barter; but one reading gives altercation, quarrel; and another innocence, ingenuity, purgation. Reversed: Anxiety about moeny.
Six: One in the guise of a merchant weighs money in a pair of scales and distributes it to the needy and distressed. Meanings: Presents, gifts, gratification; another accound says attention, vigilance; now is the accepted time, present prosperity, etc. Reversed: Desire, cupidity, envy, jealousy, illusion.
Five: Two mendicants in a snowstorm pass a lighted casement. Meanings: It foretells material trouble above all, whether in the form illustrated that is, destitution or otherwise. For some cartomancists, it is a card of love and lovers wife, husband, friend, mistress; also concordance, affinities. These alternatives cannot be harmonised. Reversed: Disorder, chaos, ruin, discord, profligacy.
Four: A crowned figured, having a pentacle over his crown, clasps another with hands and arms; two pentacles are under his feet. Meanings: The surety of possessions, cleaving to that which one has, gifts, legacy, inheritance. Reversed: Suspense, delay, opposition.
Three: A scluptor at his work in a monastery. Meanings: Metier, trade, skilled labour; usually aristocracy, renown, glory. Reversed: Mediocrity in work and otherwise puerility, pettiness, weakness.
Two: A young man in the act of dancing has a pentacle in either hand and they are joined by that endless cord which is like the number eight reversed. Meanings: On the one hand it is represented as a card of gaiety, recreation and its connexions, which is the subject of the design; but it is read as obstacles, agitation, trouble, embroilment. Reversed: Enforced gaiety, simulated enjoyment, literal sense, handwriting, composition, letters of exchange.
Ace: A hand issuing, as usual, from a cloud holds up a pentacle. Meanings: Perfect contentment, felicity, ecstasy; also speedy intelligence; gold. Reversed: The evil side of wealth, bad intelligence; also great riches.
Runes
Parjuk: The rune of travel. This symbol represents a road, stream, or fjord, and the simplest explanation is that you will soon travel to a distant place. More often it symbolizes the beginning of a personal quest or a new direction in the path of one's life. Perhaps you are about to embark on a type of journey a pilgimage filled with new and unfamiliar experiences. Remember that the road of life is long and has many turns. It is often necessary to take one step backward to progress two steps forward.
Ysgadril: The rune of life and fertility. In Norse mythology it represents a sacred tree from which all life springs. This stands for new beginnings and the culmination of past efforts. That which you have sought for a long time is close at hand. But, like the constant cycle of life, what you will find is not an ending but a new beginning. Life is a constant search, and within that search we encounter many endings and many beginnings now is the time of beginnings.
Nanut: The rune of endings. This Norse symbol represents a sacred waterfall where all the great rivers flowed over the edge of the Earth. According to the legend, the waters from these rivers would eventully fall from the sky as rain, thus returning to the Earth. Drawing the rune of Nanut means that a phase of your life is at an end. Do not fear its passing. The end is always a beginning just as the water from Nanut returns as rain, the end of this phase in your life will itself nurture the next phase. Meditate on this ending. Gather what you have learned, and prepare to sail over the spiritual waterfall of Nanut.
Vara: The rune of lvoe. Our modern V heart symbol, representing love, may spring from this ancient Norse sign. Vara was a Valkyrie, a goddess who escorted the souls of the warrior-dead to Vahalla, or Heaven. Her magic powers could heal every wound. Drawing this rune means that past injuries will be remedied and bliss and happiness will soon be found.
Odin: The father of all gods, represents wisdom, judgement, and strength. When you draw this rune it is a kind of warning. Do not act rashly. First, think of your past experiences and what you have learned from them. Only by considering the past can one act wisely. Second, it is important to exercise fiar and moral judgement at this time. Do not allow your thoughts to be clouded by irrelevant and unimportant matters. Third, and msot important, act with strength. There are forces which would oppose you at this time. Only through stern and strong action can you prevail.
Thor: The Norse god of Thunder, and this symbol represents his mythological hammer which he would beat against the sky. Drawing this rune means that a great storm approaches adversity may come toward you from all sides. But Thor greatly respected courage and strength, so to survive the storm you must steer directly into the wind and have no fear. Prepare yourself.
Loki: The Norse god of evil and treachery, representing sly dealing, conspiracy, theft, dishonesty and wickedness. Drawing this rune is a grave warning. It is possible you have offended someone, and he or she seeks revenge, but more likely there are forces of evil working against you. According to Norse mytholgoy, Loki always plotted in secret. If his plot were discovered he would surrender and sneak away. Thus, through awareness and observation, you can foil those forces working against you.
Ouija Board
You put your fingers lightly on the planchette and your friend does the same on the opposite side. You move the planchette around in circles to get it started up. Next you ask a question with no reply at first. Then the planchette starts to move seemingly by itself at least no one is trying to move it. It slides from one letter to the next and spells out the answer. The Ouija Board dates back to the late 1800's when there was a spiritualist movement and it was a popular parlor game.
Ouija Tips For First Timers
1. Use some candles for those who you seek. If you are looking for a good entity use two white candles. If you're dumb enough to be looking for an evil one use black or red candles. Just because you use white doesn't mean that you'll meet up with Casper. Also just because black or red is used doesn't mean that the gates of Hell will open up and suck you down either. Place the candles on the right and left of the board.
2. Place your fingertips lightly on top of the planchette and wait.
3. It could take a while for things to get started from five minutes to three hours so patience is key. When someone is ready to speak the planchette will move to yes. If you don't get anything after fifteen minutes ask a question. Keep focused and believe since that will increase your chances.
4. If they are threatening and cursing don't wig out just yet because they can't carry out their threats. But whatever you do don't yell or threaten them back because that is just plain stupid. Just remember that you have no idea what you are dealing with.
Automatic Writing
It is an old form of divination in which messages seem to come from somewhere else and through your hand and onto the paper. Some that have attempted this have written long messages, songs, and even complete novels. It is an odd experience where your hand just seems to write without you being aware of it like someone is borrowing your hand to write something down.
1. You need to find a quiet place where you won't be distracted.
2. Sit at a desk or table where you'll be comfortable and don't forget paper and something to write with.
3. Take some time to clear your mind.
4. Pick up your pen and have it touch the paper.
5. Don't consciously write something.
6. Keeping your mind clear let your hand write whatever it wants.
7. Don't look at the paper. Keep your eyes closed if you keep looking at the paper.
8. Allow some time since it might not start right away.
9. When the writting is stopped take a look at what was written. It may appear to be nonsense but try your best to make at what it says.
10. Also look for symbols or pictures in addition to letters and numbers as well.
11. Keep trying since nothing may happen the first few times you attempt this.
12. If you meet some success you can see about asking questions to see if you get any answers back.
Dowsing
An ancient art that was used for finding water, treasure that was buried and even missing people. This is done with the aid of a dowsing stick, rod, or a pendulum. It is also known as divining, water witching, doodlebugging etc. It is thought to date back at least 8000 years. It is unknown just how this practice came about. No one really knows exactly how it works but it is believed that there is an established psychic connection between the dowser and the object that is being looked for. The person concentrates on the hidden object and the stick vibrates and turns to point out the way to what is being sought.
Give Dowsing A Whirl
1. Make yourself or buy a dowsing rod work with that is comfy for you.
2. Have a friend bury something like something made of metal or a little bottle of water in the yard just a little below the surface. Make sure your friend conceals the spot where they bury the item so it doesn't scream hey I was dug up here.
3. Before you begin in your head ask your dowsing rod to tell you when you are getting near the item.
4. Start walking around. It doesn't matter if you do it in a certain way or not that is totally up to you. You can walk in a pattern up and down the yard or whichever way you like.
5. Walk slowly and focus on the object you are looking for and remain open to the rod telling you where it is.
6. When your rod reacts to something stop and see what's there. If you didn't succeed give it another try.
You may not have any luck so try another rod or a different type of target. Also try out different times of day and when you're in a different frame of mind since these can affect the outcome. Keep a record of the times you try this out.
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