A Small Sicilian Tarot Reading

 

This is the Tarocco Siciliano. I've been studying the Bolognese thanks to Moderately Quick Silver's wonderful blog and Germana Tartari's Tarocchino Bolognese. The book is in Italian, but we have Google Lens these days. No more typing text into online translators!

These Italian decks are refreshing. Straight-up cartomancy with no meaningless navel gazing! No new age bullshit! Nothing that allegedly smells like Gwyneth Paltrow's vagina!

So of course I had to get a Sicilian deck, too. I only have one resource for it so far, Arianna Montalto's Tarocco Siciliano. But she gives you the card meanings, plus some useful tidbits like "When you are in conflict or competition with someone, look for the 5 of Batons. The card behind it will reveal the solution to the problem."

The deck is structured differently than the Tarots people are used to. For more information on that, I'll refer you to wikipedia.

But anyway:

After that shameful fiasco Yam Tits pulled on President Zelenskyy (who is everything a President ought to be), I just want him OUT. I always wanted him out, always voted against him to begin with, but this goes beyond that. He can take Space Karen and Couchfucker with him.

I want to say here that I can't detach from this issue and feel neutral about it. But I still get a clear reading because the cards have clear meanings. There is no ambiguity.

Sending migrants to Gitmo is a repulsive display of bigotry. Looting the benefits that we paid into is a major crime. But this felt like the final straw. I don't want my country to be aligned with Russia and Dobby the Dacha Elf. This shit is not only revolting and stupid, it's extremely dangerous. Not just here, Europe too.

I asked if he could be out in the next six months. I used a simple PPF spread from the Montalto book: Past, recent past, present, near future, future. 8 of Coins is debilitating, but it's flanked by Love and Constancy, showing that so far he's had a way out. He surrounds himself with loyal toadies. The 9 of Swords is a card of obstacles, so that's something to look forward to. In some ways, he's painted himself into a corner. And the last card is Justice. I like Justice. From Montalto via google lens:

He'll get his. Not as soon as most of us would like, but it's coming. So get your heart off the ground. Resist. Don't cooperate.

Italians historically don't like fascists.
Here's a busker who is NOT being ignored. Bella ciao!

What Makes A Reader?

 

There's a thought provoking post on Hugh's blog that prompted me to elaborate a bit. https://thefortunetellerssociety.com/2023/08/21/how-do-i-read-lenormand/

What I'm seeing online is people who want to learn the cards making the same mistakes over and over. The big problem is a lack of discernment. You need to learn from people who can actually read cards. Just a few reliable sources. Less is more! I'm not trying to discredit the "competition" here. I do not sell courses, workshops, or any of that. I don't make videos. I just read cards, and I'm telling you what the problem is: bad signal.

You won't learn Lenormand from sub-par books. The ones Hugh mentions are more than adequate, especially Andy's. Get that one and work through it. Then work through it again. Stay with it until you've absorbed it.

You won't learn from youtube. With the exception of Hexe Claire, everything there is crap. Hexe Claire's videos are good, but they're an introduction. They'll get you started, that's all. If you want to progress, again, get Andy's book.

You won't learn on forums. Those are full of bad readings, it's all guesswork. Bad information is seldom corrected, since forums are focused on getting and keeping lots of board traffic, not trying to make sure people learn properly. (BTW, being a forum mod does not confer knowledge of the cards!)

Facebook groups are, if anything, worse.

And you won't learn by focusing on spreads, or learning to design your own spreads, or any of that. Good old fashioned lines, boxes, and tableaus work the best, and will answer any question. You don't need dedicated spreads for various subjects like love, money, etc. Stop wasting your time on spreads and practice reading the cards.

Just because a person has a youtube channel, moderates a forum, or even writes a book does not mean they know what they're talking about. As I commented on Hugh's blog, "I’d advise anyone who wants to learn to toss any books they have other than the ones mentioned. The vast majority of what’s out there is garbage. Approach the cards with logic.
Then, study and practice. Don’t try to learn silly spreads. Don’t seek instruction or advice on forums, facebook groups, etc. That’s the blind leading the blind. Just do readings every day, record them, and review them later to see if they were accurate. Keep doing that for at least five years and you’ll get there."

And yes, it does take at least five years to get fluent. You're learning a language. Don't underestimate the complexity of the method simply because there are only 36 cards!

The Sibilla and Combover Caligula

 

I wanted to know how much more "mourning" Trump will be allowed before they re-schedule his deposition (that was postponed on 7/15 "in consideration.") What's happened so far:

7/14 Ivana dies
7/20 Ivana's funeral
7/22 Rally in Arizona
7/23 TPUSA in Florida
7/28 Pro-Am Golf Tournament NJ
7/29-7/31 Saudi LIV Golf Extravaganza NJ

I used a Vera Sibilla - no reversals as I'm a bit rusty with it. (This is a practice read.) The spread is basically a French Cross, except I didn't add the cards to arrive at a synthesis for card 5, I just laid a card. (Sibilla, as you guys know, has no Majors and isn't numbered straight through like Lenormand.)

The Sibilla, as always, lived up to its reputation for chattiness and gave me more than I asked for, lol. The first thing I noticed is that there are three diamonds, indicating an element of risk. There's certainly risk involved on all sides. Diamonds are also concerned with money. (This is "just" the financial fraud and not the sedition - its all about money.)

Card 1 is the 10 of Spades, Militare. I think the New York Attorney General's office is strong, they mean business. The soldier is determined, tenacious, and has every intention of going over the mountains.

Card 2 is the Queen of Diamonds, Donna Maritata. Cards in this position can help or hinder the situation. This card is positive, as it indicates a caring woman who is also practical. It might be Leticia James herself, even if she is unmarried. A person can be equally committed to their career. I think she very much wants to see him finally get some consequences.

Card 3 is the 5 of Diamonds, Malinconia. It might refer to Ivana's death - he had no real regard for her. He had her buried at his golf course so he wouldn't have to pay taxes on it. Unlike the Widower card, the grave on this card belongs to an animal. Losing a pet can be devastating, but I don't think Trump is devastated. The card seems to be saying it's really not important to him, he doesn't see her as a person. Many even suspect that he had her "Epsteined." The AG's office might be letting a "proper" period of time pass, for appearances sake. (Who knows, they might be gathering even more evidence while this is going on.) He IS depressed - it hangs over his head - but I suspect that's due to things like this, the Jan. 6 hearings, and the RNC's threats to stop covering his legal bills once he announces his candidacy for president..

Card 4 contains the answer, and it's the Queen of Clubs, Giovine Fanciulla. It's not Ivanka, though she's also in hot water - she's 40, and this card stands for someone unmarried and under 30. The card doesn't always refer to a literal person. She points to Militare, indicating that the NY AG's office holds the solution. If QC is a person, she's an up-and-comer working at the AG's office who is key somehow. He steps on her, disrespects her. This may be someone he's insulted or offended in the past.

Card 5 is the synthesis and it's 10 of Diamonds, Il Ladro. Definitely Trump and his financial fraud. Look at the horizontal line: see how he stalks Ms. James, but the AG's office is on his tail with a bayonet, lol. The "synthesis" of all this is quite simple: Trump is a thief. We knew that, but there will finally be something done about it. We end on a red card, a positive outcome. It's just going to take longer than we would like. How long? Card 5 is summer, so that gives it up to 8 weeks to play out. If not, the answer card is a Club and indicates winter. Let's hope it's not that long! I think they'll be requiring his deposition by the end of summer, but after that things could drag on with a final decision this winter.

All in all, better than expected.

 

 

On wellness, privilege, and cards

                                                                        Il Meneghello's Sibilla 1850 features numerous "people cards."

I think I've talked about the wellness model here before. It's essentially the marketing of pricey quack cures to the kind of people who can spend $60+ on a Gwyneth Paltrow yoni egg just to see if it works. There's a more in depth article about it here.

In recent decades, it's been gradually creeping into Tarot. Reading has become progressively more solipsistic. Articles have been cropping up in major publications saying that "Tarot doesn't predict the future", but rather, "it's a tool for self-reflection." Me, me, me. Even the New York Times has jumped on the bandwagon:

 

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/style/self-care/tarot-guide-for-beginners.html

 

Do those questions remind you of anything?

 

 

They're all self-centered, other than "Why is my mother like that?" which amounts to armchair psychological analysis. They're vague, too. Ask vague questions, get nebulous answers.

 

The privilege is problematic. For all their "self-awareness",  the wellness crowd doesn't seem to mind doing things like continuing to sell and burn sage knowing the negative impact it has on Native Americans. They support a massive market for crystals, knowing the environmental impact and the working conditions of the people who mine them. Life is an endless gold rush to them. Lay things to waste, profit, and move on. I'm not saying that owning a few pretty rocks makes you a jerk. A lot of perfectly nice people have been sucked into wellness. But it's time to stop buying, or at least slow down considerably.

I'm just not seeing any real self-reflection.

And I'm all for skepticism. But my experience with cards has shown me that they really do seem to predict things. I don't know how or why it works. That's what makes it interesting. That's what makes going to a fortuneteller fun for people, that little mystery.

Tarot was not always nonpredictive and self centered. Until the 70's or so, it fell into two broad categories: traditional fortunetelling, something that mainly deals with the future and other people, and occult Tarot, which was often meditation, study and contemplation, but could also be used for predictive reading. Here is a wonderful bit about incorporating the Sephiroth and paths:
https://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=4312387&postcount=17

 

And then we started seeing "codes of ethics" with items like this: 

"Questions relating to third parties e.g., partners, family members, colleagues, will either be re-phrased or declined."

I read cards in the traditional way, and while others are of course free to do what they think is right, I resent the implication that readers like myself are somehow less "ethical" because we read cards the way people have for the last few hundred years. I won't disrespect a client by changing their question, and I do read about other people. We don't live in a vacuum, our lives are impacted by others. But no matter, you do you. Just don't try to push it on me.

 

Wellness marketing has a LOT of money behind it, so they've been more successful than I would like in marginalizing us. (Note how the example questions in the NYT article cited above are allegedly from "the experts." I doubt these "experts" could read their way out of a wet paper sack.) I'm fully aware of their intentions toward us, but their efforts are doomed to fail. The old books, the good books, and the better online content are proof enough that we've existed for a long time, they haven't erased us, we're still here. And we're good.

Luckily, the wellness model so far seems limited to Tarot and "oracle"/affirmation decks, at least as far as cards go. I haven't seen it applied to Lenormand, Kippers, Sibilla, playing cards, etc. And while I'm knocking wood that it never happens, it would be very difficult to force these decks into a wellness mold. These decks and methods center on our interactions with others, and how they impact our lives. Here is a Kipper spread - note the people cards:

These systems don't lend themselves well to the modern, non-cartomantic methods that have been shoehorned into Tarot. Which brings me to the point:

If you subscribe to the wellness model, I can't help you with Lenormand, Kippers, etc. I don't see how any traditional reader can. And if we are talking in an online venue where the rules state that the things people normally ask about have to be "rephrased" and "third party readings" are forbidden, I'm effectively gagged. It's not that I'm taking my ball and going home, I really can't help you. It's not workable.

On Kipperkarten...

 

There is an old thread at a ruined message board where someone asked about the difference between Lenormand and Kippers, and for some reason, my brain only decided to say something about the difference between scenic and non-scenic cards today. Brains are ornery and a little bit evil. Ask Hannah Hillam.

 So I thought I'd talk about that briefly today. The difference is not "Stop Cards." I never found any German readers who had heard of them prior to Toni's book. It's a useful book*, and direction is important, but we don't have to let that shove us all over the board.

Rather, the difference is this: those scenic Kippers have mnemonics all over them! Lenormand images might or might not have background imagery that gives extra clues, like trees on the Park, House, Sun and Roads, as a visual cue for the "many trees" rule from the PL Sheet. But the Rider is essentially about the Rider, the Clover about the Clover, etc. But the Kipper cards have a lot going on in each card, and you can use that. It's a little like RWS that way, but don't go off on a tangent and say things like "I feel like she's the whip the carriage driver is holding." Everything has its own intended meaning. Here's a simple one:

The title translates to "Good outcome in love." And we have paired doves - that meaning is obvious. But there's a dog, too - it can also be about friendship and loyalty. Ivy clings, but the fact that it's green and growing shows it's a good kind of clinging. The low wall encloses and protects, but it's not impassable. "Hold on loosely", as the old song says.

So it's not "The Birds", or "The Dog." It's about a successful relationship with someone. It might or might not have a sexual component, but it's deep.

Here's another:  

It's the Meeting card. The man looks amorous. The woman is still unsure, she hasn't decided one way or another. She's still thinking about it. Now look at the Cupid on the wall, the Cupids in this deck are important. Cupid holds his arrow aloft, but we don't see his bow. The arrow isn't even nocked, the point is up, and he certainly hasn't shot it. This could progress into romance, friendship, business, or enmity. It's simply a card of getting together. Que sera sera. 

Now, in case anyone tries to read a "Fool's journey" type numerical progression into the cards, we have No. 3: the Marriage card. We're only at 3, but this couple is already committed, and the woman is pregnant. It doesn't have to be literal, but it does indicate an established relationship, whether love, marriage, friendship, or business. There's a strong bond here: 

Trees and mountains form a protective barrier behind their backs. There's ivy again, and a house to show that they're settled. And there's that low wall again.

So you can see it's very different from Lenormand. But it's not RWS, either. Kipper is very much its own thing, and it makes a superb reading deck. 

For those who don't know, I blogged some basic Kipper meanings back in 2013. You can find them here. https://fennario.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/a-traditional-kipperkarten-primer/
Feel free to use them as you wish, but do not share them without attribution or claim them as your own. They're copyrighted under the DMCA.

*I do strongly object to the fact that she advocates using the opposite sex Hauptperson/Main Person card as the gay partner. A feminine lesbian should not be represented by the bearded male Hauptperson, nor a gay man who identifies as 100%  MALE by the female Hauptperson. When in doubt, always, ALWAYS ASK.

PS - URGENT. Help trans kids and their families escape Texas:

 https://www.gofundme.com/f/fundraising-to-protect-my-daughter

 
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-move-our-trans-teen-out-of-texas  

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-move-isa-to-safety  

 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-mother-of-trans-child-in-texas  

 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-move-my-daughter-to-a-safe-state 

 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-trans-family-get-out-of-texas 

Etc. Help somebody, even if it's just a little. Every dollar counts.

And keep a good thought for the people in Ukraine. Please take a moment to watch this:

media (mis)representation

Some of us have been having a discussion about Tarot in print media like news sites and magazines. I've noticed a somewhat disturbing trend these last few years: they seek out instagram influencers and the like who are mainly using the cards as a kind of prop or accessory to brand themselves. And they say things like this:

"Before she starts a reading, she always prepares people by saying she can’t predict the future."

 “People think it’s about predicting the future, but it isn’t. It’s about the present, and it can be very empowering."

“I thought it was all about telling the future and predictions and making money off people’s fears. I went in very sceptical (sic) and thinking I would find it all hooey but instead I came out with a huge amount of respect for tarot readers and tarot as a practice. A good tarot reader doesn’t tell you what’s going to happen, they simply allow you to think your question through in a different way.”

And there's this:

“Tarot is great for anxiety. While you may not be predicting the future, you can slow down and shuffle and look at pretty pictures and say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m overthinking this.’ ”

They aren't even reading the cards, they're using them as a pacifier.

See where one draws a false equivalence between "telling the future and predictions", "hooey", and "making money off peoples' fears"? She then goes on to say that "a GOOD Tarot reader doesn't tell you what's going to happen." It's very clear what she means.

Attempting to destroy business rivals is nothing new in this game. I remember the certification rackets being really bad about that. But what's disturbing about this is that it's is not some fly-by-night blog or website. It's the Guardian, the WaPo, etc. It lends these bimbos a false air of legitimacy. And these publications are purposely not talking to readers like us, or even to established Tarot writers who have managed to make a name for themselves. These articles are simply bully pulpits for wannabe Kardashians.

If you think about it, the Celtic Cross is a longtime popular spread that everybody knows, and it has positions for Before You/near future and the Final Outcome. There are altered versions, but most of those versions have future positions. You can't tell me that these publications can't find anybody who uses the Celtic Cross. Surely they bump into a lot of people like that, but they're not writing about them. They're purposely marginalizing predictive readers like us.

To the little bimbette and her ilk who claim we're "hooey", "making money off peoples' fears" and add that "a GOOD Tarot reader doesn't tell you what's going to happen", I have one thing to say:
Honey, I was reading professionally when you were still hopping back and forth in your daddy's nutsack trying to keep from going in your grandma's mouth. Get bent.

Someone actually did manage to find ONE link with a predictive Tarot reader in it. Of course she's dead last, lumped in with disreputable D-list "celebs" who bill themselves as psychics of various kinds. She claims to access the Akashic records, doesn't seem to have progressed beyond single card draws, and relies heavily on cold reading techniques for the first two predictions. This is the third:

Um, the Magician is about potential. Some things will look promising, just like they did last year and the year before, but COVID isn't going anywhere. You don't even need cards for that. The people who study COVID say we're in it for the long haul. It won't be like this forever, but it's certainly not going away next year: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/10/29/1050465159/covids-endgame-scientists-have-a-clue-about-where-sars-cov-2-is-headed

Someone else managed to find a PDF copy of an old article that featured Rachel Pollack. It was in regards to her book about the Dali Universal Tarot, which dates it to 1985. Thirty-six years ago. And even that was a hatchet job.

I get it. There's a coordinated push to discredit and marginalize us. Some corporate overlords somewhere decided it would be profitable to push the "predictive readers are badwrong" narrative and hype the Gwyneth Paltrow-style flakes, for reasons I am not privy to.

So I am going to explain here what I do, and what I know card reading to be.

A person learns their system. This involves study, practice, and rote memorization (which does not mean using "canned meanings" or discarding instinct and intuition.) Cards mean things and we have to remember those meanings. It's learning a language. It's like remembering that the table is la mesa in spanish.You don't have to remember pages of meanings and combined meanings for every card. Just a core essence of each card that can be unpacked and put into context. And then we have to practice doing that, in addition to making the most of the visual cues and other techniques. It takes some years to gain fluency.

Predictive reading does work if you do it correctly. I can predict a lot more accurately with cards than I can by guessing. I don't call myself psychic. And I don't know what I'm interfacing with (if anything) that makes it work. Maybe it's something in my own bony skull. Maybe it's guides, maybe it's ancestors, maybe it's something else. I honestly have no idea.

People come to us and they have questions. These questions always come down to things like love and money. Nobody asks to be psychoanalyzed, and I don't have the degrees and licensing to do that anyway. I'm a fortuneteller.

Now to address the predatory scam reader trope. People pay traditional readers to read cards, so we read cards. We translate what's on the table. Very simple. We're not lying to people, we're telling them what the cards say. It's beyond our control if they want to believe it or not, act on it or not, or just take it with a big grain of salt and view it as all in good fun. They're adults capable of making their own decisions. We only relay the message.

That's it. It's not difficult to comprehend.