Cartomancy

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…

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…

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?

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…

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…

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.

When do the books I have been reading, had suggested that if I read Oracle cards for others, then I should not allow them to touch the deck. When I read tarot cards, I always let the seeker shuffle the cards and divide them into three piles while concentrating on their question. is there any reason that any of you can think of that I shouldn’t treat oracle decks like tarot decks? The only time I pick cards out of the deck for other peoples readings has been by remote read via video chat. If I have the person present, I would like to have them shovel and think about the question.

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'…

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.

I want to use Oracle cards and learn how to use them. I recently started studying the Lemormand system. I started to read a book about them, but the author says that you must use the Lenormand deck to do her lessons. I like Lenormand, but I have found myself strongly drawn as if by a magnet to The Folk Cards of Destiny. I want to use those cards, but I am not sure it's the best place to start. What deck do you think I should use and why?

Hi I thought I would just share these beautiful Italian cards gifted to me. It is only 52 cards without the major arcana. They were gifted to me before someone really dear to me past away. The deck is called I Misteri Della Sibilla. They have beautiful pictures. I tried to upload pictures to share the pictures or the Italian Amazon link to show the pictures, but I was unable to. I am still new to the forum and trying to familiarize myself 😊

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 haven’t perfected this yet. I usually ask a question and shuffle and let cards jump. I’ve watched my psychic shuffle and split the cards and just keep taking them off the top. what is the correct method. Or which method would you say works best? I don’t use tarot cards I use regular playing cards.

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?

Which system is more accurate when offering readings. I just have a standard pack of cards I use

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 :)

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

Cynocephaly traces letters on the ground. Does anyone know what the string is written as? It's not about Petit Lenormand.

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 …

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.

Guests Posted 14 minutes ago Hi all, I became a member today to hopefully find an answer. I came across a very old, worn deck. It is like nothing I have ever seen before. It does not contain the standard: cups, queens, wands, swords and it has inscriptions in 4 different languages. I did google some of the inscriptions and it appears to be in Hungarian, German, Latin and one other language I could not make out. The cards are very literal. ie. they spell out "thief, jealously, death, pens…

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?

Since we have a Lo Scarabeo Anima Antiqua Line in the tarot sub-forum, I decided that it could be nice to have the same for their new line of historical reproductions of cartomancy decks: Antica Cartomanzia! The first decks are to be released in October 2021, and February 2022 in North America, but I think they are already available on Lo Scarabeo's website. While their tarot decks are limited to 2999 copies, there is no mention about them being a limited edition for this line. I love their Anima Antiqua line, because I love historical decks, so I'll definitely add these to my collection! Antica Cartomanzia #1 - Folk Cards of Destiny Based on …

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 …