Cartomancy

Hi guys, I open this thread on the Gypsy Cards (Zigeuner Wahrsagekarten) because I decided to study them a bit (it was a temptation for a while!) There is another deck named "Gypsy cards" by Lo Scarabeo but it is actually a version of the Sibilla Italiana, not this one. This one is a 36 cards deck, I don't know its history but it developed in central Europe where it seems still widely used. It is not a Lenormand! Below a pic of the whole deck (in this version, because it doesn't seem the only version for this deck!). Baba studio is working on a version of this deck, so people will be more interested in this deck/system in the fu…

I actually did find something interesting about that lately. The book which is said to be the first example of the Russian tradition was published in 1899. I had thought the Russian tradition was older than that, but that is not the case: ”The Russian system is a late bloomer, compared to its French or German competitors – the first appearances of what we could call a proto-Russian method can be traced to mid-XIX century (before that, the books published were translations of the German and French sources). In 1899, a booklet called “The Friend of the Yearning” was published in Saint-Petersburg, marking one of the first documented appearances of the spread that…

(I didn't quite know where to put this, since could be inclusive of Tarot as well as non-Tarot. Is it OK here?) Post 'em here. :D I've only come across one other person who uses this deck. Even people on French forums don't seem to be using it, though the people are familiar with it, and might even own a copy. It's the Petit Oracle des Dames. I think it came out in 1799 or so, about the same time as the Game of Hope. I got this one back in 2013. It reads well, and everything is pretty self-explanatory. You probably already recognize some of the images from Etteilla Tarot. The deck is a mashup of that, French Sibyl, and Grand Jeu myth, with a good many of th…

Hi all, I've started a blog series here https://fennario.wordpress.com/tag/series-on-the-grand-jeu/ If you have anything you'd like to see, post here and I'll certainly consider writing about it at some point in the series. While I do have a general structure in mind, I want to make this something that people find useful. So your questions and concerned will be addressed. It might not be right away - I'm starting with basics and gradually working through different aspects of the deck and how it's used. But I'll be bookmarking this thread and returning to it as I add to the series.

I post a link (below) toward a video-interview with Dmitry Korolev about Russian cartomancy: "the Babushka Way". Here it is a general presentation concerning what is Russian cartomancy, but it is a clear and lively presentation. I tried to find this video on YouTube but apparently it only exists on Facebook (for now at least). Dmitry Korolev is young but quite knowledgeable! In a few words, Russian cartomancy is folk cartomancy, and traditional. There are definite meanings (not too much) for the cards, and definite spreads to deal with a Russian deck of 36 playing cards. It's really interesting and Russian cartomancy seems easier than French car…

In order to not go off-topic in this thread I thought it might be nice to create a new one dedicated to the comparison of Sibilla (like) decks. Definitely the Zingara, it's softer on the eye. The images in the ’800 are a bit overloaded, I think. I really appreciate Luigi Scapini's work, but for the way I like to read Sibilla, there is just too much going on visually. The first comparison in the photo nicely illustrates the issue I have with the the ’800. A message, originally very neutral, by whatever means, of whatever information, is now very specifically "framed" in a more romantic context (otherwise, Luigi, why the picture on the wall?). Als…

In my faux humble opinion, yes, I agree. About mind magic, that is. Still, Tarot and occultism are, for better or worse, so intertwined that many people have trouble separating the two. A number of occultists even class divination as a subset of magical practice. In fairness to them, the history of the divinatory Tarot could be seen as a long series of footnotes to 18th century occultism.

This is a thread for decks that have cards in common with Lenormand, but aren't Lenormand decks. One of my favorites is the 1855 Zauberkarten from Vienna: I just found my deck a little while ago when I was organizing some stuff. It's a fun deck. I've moved it to the table with the decks I'm currently using. You get some images in common with Lenormand, like the Dog, Key, Clouds, Ring, Snake, Child, Lilies, and some others. But you also get images like these: Shackles, a Trap, Man Holding Up a Clenched Fist, Old Coffee Sister Man Moving a Big Rock Uphill, Woman With a Baby Passing A Note To a Man, Beggar, Knight …

I have a couple of Lenormand decks (Mystical and Gilded Reverie), don't think I have a Kipper. What's the difference between them in use? On the surface they appear very similar, but obviously I've not used the Kipper at all and I've only tried out the Lenormand a couple of times. And can anyone recommend a Kipper?

There is a LS verson of Grimaud/France Cartes La Sibylle des Salons (Parlour Sibyl). It's smaller, the colors are printed inside the lines (my Grimaud has issues), and it's dirt cheap. Should be a win/win, right? Well, no. You can see the original title in french directly under the image: Chagrin, larmes. Sorrow, tears. And it's obvious from the image that the girl's dog has died. So why did LS put "Infantilism" in the corners in multiple languages? Grief isn't "infantile." Mature, well adjusted people cry over dead pets. I might end up lopping the borders off. I've heard of them doing things like this with other decks, even some of the …

Hello, I'm wondering how many of you here use Sibilla cards? I'm thinking of buying La Vera Sibilla for myself, but... I have Lenormand and a bunch of Tarot decks already! And I'm still very much a novice in these two. For those who use Sibilla, can you compare it to Tarot and Lenny, and share any words of encouragement or discouragement? And please share some resources to help me learn as well :)

I had an unusual thought today about using a Jewish Yad to indicate specific cards to a client, rather than pointing or touching them directly. (For those who aren't Jewish, a Yad is a short stick, usually silver, often with a small hand on the end, that is used to point to words in the Torah so that the reader can keep their place without actually touching the book, which is considered disrespectful.) Maybe this would be a touch performative, but for some reason I like the idea - although I think something less obviously Jewish and somewhere halfway between a wand and a teacher's pointing stick would be more appropriate. Has anyone else tried this? What do pe…

When I was a child I had a deck of Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Cards, when I started to collect Tarot Decks, I bought an Gypsy Witch Deck again due to nostalgia. After some reading I found out that they are considered to be a Lenormand Deck by with 52 instead of 36. Are there other Lenormand Decks with 52 cards. The cards that are in the 36 card deck are also represented in this deck. I was just curious. When I was a kid I hadn't clue on how to read them. They have the playing card insets on them as well. Has any of you every read with this Deck? Can it be taken seriously although it varies from the stand Lenormand? Obviously it's not a good deck to start with at …

I ordered this deck because it particularly appeals to me. Has anyone here read with this deck. I know that reading Oracles is about trusting your intuition. The instruction booklet has only one spread. Is there any reason that I can used techniques form Lenormand card reading to this deck? Any ideas would be appreciated. I know there are also playing card correlations that are marked on each card--after the basics I think it might be helpful for me to read up on playing card meaning. In one video on YouTube the reader said that he likes to also use those to enhance his readings.

Do you know Le Petit Cartomancien? It's a French deck of 36 cards. I have it, don't use it much (my bad!), but it could interest people. The meanings of the cards are written in French on the cards (there is a meaning for the card upright and also reversed). It's short so you can type what is written and have a good translation with google translate since the sentences aren't complicated. The LWB is actually just one leaf, in French only for the edition that I have. Very simple, nothing more about the meanings concerning the cards (nevertheless there is a list of combinations when you pull 2,3 or 4 Kings/Queens/Jacks/ etc.) but an explanation regarding the …

Anyone who's dabbled in playing cards of any kind for any purpose probably knows the annoyance of seeing the same familiar repeating pattern turn up again and again, because you didn't shuffle your deck thoroughly enough. Personally, I find this worse when using inspirational decks since once you've interpreted that run of cards one way recently, there's a tendency to interpret it the same way again later. The answer is probably to work on your shuffling techniques. There are a lot of different ways to shuffle a deck of cards, some of which are more effective than others. The Corgi Shuffle: aka 'Washing' or 'the Granny Shuffle'. You lay out all the cards on fr…

I haven’t found my cards to be really accurate, or I find the meanings really confusing with the playing cards. What’s the best way to ask questions?

I found these items while packing. They were tucked away in my drawer. A consignment store find several years ago when I was first delving into learning to read tarot. The book is dated 1948, but the author begins by saying she started using this technique in 1935 and the playing board included is dated 1938. The pack of astrology cards are undated, published by Zolar. Both are well loved. Anyone familiar with either of these?

Fée Mirais est-elle une fée célèbre ? Pas Fée des Maraïs. Connaissez-vous quelqu'un?

In the book I'm reading, the author said that if you draw an Oracle card and it's upside down then you should leave it upside down. My understanding from what I'd read in other books was that you should read them right side up. She doesn't believe in reversals the way people read tarot cards reversed. It's something about flow of energy, I don't understand it. So is it okay for me just to turn the cards right site up when I pull them? To me that makes the most sense. So far in the videos, articles and other books I've read, she's the only one who suggested leaving them upside down.

I am curious if anyone has any tips on traditional cartomancy books? There is a jungle out there on meanings on the cards. They seem to differ A LOT. So has anyone here any experience on the subject?

The recent thread on 52 Card Lenormand Decks got me thinking again about the GW Deck and how to approach reassigning Playing Card inserts for the extra cards in that deck, to make an extended deck that follows the Lenormand pattern for numbering and card inserts. There are 17 extra cards in the GW deck, compared to the Lenormand: The Rapiers The Pig The Eye The Roses The Shepherd The Amor The Bride The Money Safe The Lion The Flames on the Hearth The Broken Glass The Railroad The Lightning The Order The Wine The Cats The Hand in Hand Which is actually 1 more card than is necessary to bring the Lenormand'…

Using reversals with oracles (especially the kipper and the lenormand) After I had just brought my lenormand deck and did a reading exchange with my friend who had the lenormand as well. So we were getting started and she said now this card is reversed and I was like what you use reversals ? and she said yes , I use them in the tarot why not the lenormand:? And that blew my mind for I was content to use the reversals with the tarot for in the books I had when I first started out had reversals. And I realized the shock I had was what tarot purists must have had when the new generation at the time started using reversals. (assuming marsielles purists didn’t use reversals…

In some instances, I have read that Cartomancy refers (in general) to the use of cards for the purpose of divination. This presumably includes all categories of decks which are used for this particular purpose ; Tarot, Lenormand, Oracle, Playing Cards, Kipper etc. etc. In other instances, it is stated that Cartomancy refers solely to the use of Playing Cards for the purpose of divination. There is a similar crossover in the language which refers to Oracle Cards. Again, in some instances the term Oracle Cards refers solely to the less rigidly-structured system of picture-themed cards (Angel, Mermaid, Fairy, Unicorn, Energy, Cosmos etc. etc.) which a…

For a while I have been drawn to doing my own readings. I began once and got quite frightened. I chose to try again and protect my energy before and pray. I can’t really say I know what I’m doing yet as cartomancy is mega confusing. I’ve done 1 card questions, 3-5 card spreads? Can anyone help me here?