I planned to do a comparison between the runes applied to the major arcana of the Haindl Tarot and the Quest Tarot… I thought it’d be interesting, and also help elucidate the nuances of the meanings in the cards and runes both.

Instead, I discovered that they used the exact same attributions, from the exact same set of runes… specifically, they used an extended version of the Armanen Runes:

I suspect one copied the other… *yawn* And then I was going to compare their I Ching attributions, but they are identical as well… *yawn again*

My cartouche cards have attributions to the Elder Futhark runes (I think, anyway… a couple are hard to match up…) . I need to study them in conjunction and see if there’s any insight to be had there.

Today’s reading comes from the Thoth Deck, one of my favorites.

I just pulled three cards about how my day will go. I got:

That’s the 5 of Disks, 6 of Swords, and 4 of Cups. So, I knew immediately what this was all about. I will be worried about my programming project, but it will turn out well. I have planned to get a lot done on that project today, so it’s natural to have some anxiety about it. I’d be surprised if I didn’t get the 5 of Disks! I was glad to see the rest of the sentence play out like it did.

Note that the attributions on the 5 Disks and 6 Swords both point to the planet Mercury. This is what ties it so clearly to my programming work… it’s a big thought exercise. Also, both cards are in fixed signs, which brings an element of perseverance with it. This is vital to a successful project, as well!

So, we have a somewhat passive apprehension upon analyzing the situation (5 Disks), counteracted by more active investigation (6 Swords), leading to a return of emotional stability (4 Cups).

For obvious reasons, I’m pleased that the 4 Cups is the strongest card in the reading. This is so on at least three fronts. First, it is the lowest numbered card present, giving it the highest energy. Second, it is of the suit of cups, bringing association with the Briah (or however you care to spell it), a “higher” world than those which the other cards represent. Thirdly, the air and earth of the other two cards interfere with each other (which makes sense because worry gets in the way of proper study, whereas scientific progress erodes worry), weakening each in the process.

I’ll also note that, elementally, we are missing fire in this spread. It makes sense to me, as my heart is not in this work right now… I don’t have any kind of spark or will for it at the moment. I’m just doing it because I know I should.

Thought for the day: in the Crowley deck, the 2 and 3 of Cups are titled “Love” and “Abundance,” and are situated above the abyss of Daath. The first card that can be fully expressed in the formative world is the 4 of Cups, “Luxury.” What a neat statement about the relative purity of love and abundance over worldly luxury! Not to mention, the 4 of Cups is associated with the moon, which gives it an extra dose of inconstancy. This all fits quite well with my views, which are mostly drawn from Buddhism.

In lieu of actual cartomancy-related content… here’s some slow-motion lightning… very cool…

sorry I haven’t been posting much the last couple days… I haven’t been at home much, and when I am at home, my main business (in the financial markets) is booming at the moment. So…

But I have been doing lots of interesting study, particularly on my thoth deck, which I love to bits. I need a way to blog from my phone! Then I could update you all constantly… but the wordpress iphone app doesn’t seem to work for me, for whatever reason… and using the web interface from the phone isn’t exactly ideal.

Ok, last night there were heavy storms where I live. When this happens, I have a ritual where I unplug all the computers and light some candles, just in case the electricity goes nuts. Then, I thought: I’ve got these candles lit, and it’s all spooky outside… might as well try the pendulum seance. To give this post aesthetic appeal, here is my stock “pendulum seance graphic”:

This was the first time I’ve tried to do it by myself, and the results were far from perfect. But, it’s practice that makes perfect, so I’ll give myself an A for effort. Here’s the transcript:

Darn! It was going so well… So, I need to learn something in the morning? I couldn’t figure out the last word…

I have to admit, I didn’t enjoy getting messages about a demon jumping on anything while in a dark room with a loud storm outside. The cats were nervous already, and attacking each other to let off steam.

Still, I thought I might as well try to help…

… and I gave up. Part of the problem at the end may be that I was getting pretty drowsy… this stuff is fast for you all to read, but it’s rather slow waiting for the pendulum to go from letter to letter… and the back-and-forth motion has that stereotypical hypnotic effect in the candlelight when you are sleepy. So, my arm may have been dipping a bit, making the words harder to recognize clearly.

Anyway, I am pretty happy with how this went, being my first time to try it by myself… I need to keep practicing.

I was browsing Aeclectic, and came across a thread on “dark decks.” I was looking through the decks offered, and two really stood out to me. One is the The Dark Grimoire Tarot. Here’s the four of pentacles:

Isn’t that an interesting take on the 4? I like it! It comes out September 1st, I think.

The other was the savage tarot, which I think is a wee bit too dark for my tastes… here’s Temperance:

It’s different, anyway… won’t be doing any readings for my mother with it…

Sorry I’m late to report on this one, as I wasn’t near my computers at any opportune times this weekend. This one was pretty cool, because I rarely try to read timings.

My question was: “when will I get the phone call?” I pulled out my Tarot d’Eltynne and just spread three cards:

That’s 12-Departure + 32-Nastiness + 26-Peace. As with my previous reading, I found the cards exceptionally easy to interpret. I didn’t even really take into account the astrological attributions. I just wondered to myself what the images evoked, and it hit me.

I’ll get called when people leave (12-Departure) for the meeting (32-Nastiness) and Linda’s house is quiet (26-Peace). You might wonder about 32-Nastiness equating to a meeting, but it’s one of the meetings that I’m not supposed to attend anymore. So…

That was my interpretation, but I had my doubts about it. First off, the meeting was at 3PM, and I wasn’t expecting to be called quite that soon. Secondly, I didn’t think any of Linda’s guests would be attending. I decided that the card reminding me of the meeting time was just for frame of reference, like a kind of side note.

I didn’t have time to think too hard about that, though, because as I was putting my cards back in their box, I got my phone call! It was 2:54PM. AND, it turns out that one of her guests was indeed planning to attend this meeting. How about that! Have I mentioned that I love this deck??

Sorry I’m late reporting this reading… I wasn’t near a computer at any convenient times this weekend. Anyway, I pulled 3 cards from my Tarot d’Eltynne to summarize my time on Saturday, and got:

That is 27-Union + 23-Traffic + 52-Delay.

First, I note that I get 23-Traffic a lot in my Eltynne readings. But, that’s just something to keep my eye one… not really relevant for this particular reading.

This one was pretty clear to me. The woman I’m seeing and I (27-union) were going to end up rearranging stuff at her place (23-Traffic), causing me to leave later than i originally thought I might (52-Delay). And, that’s exactly what happened! We sorted through boxes of books she had lying around, separating out the ones to keep vs. the ones to sell, and I ended up leaving later in the day than I originally expected.

The 23-Traffic card was certainly the hardest to understand, as in my previous readings it has referred to my trading in the financial markets. But, the LWB says it can be about the exchange or circulation of people, goods, money, or information. So, I initially suspected it would be the information angle… like if we had some kind of informative discussion or debate. But, then I recalled that we had talked about going through the boxes of books, and it hit me that it would apply.

I really like this deck!

This video blows my mind every time I see it…

The universe is so huge, with such huge stuff in it! Doesn’t it make you wonder what the point is, of all of it?

I’m doing two things for the first time: a playing card reading with the Kapherus meanings, and the “You Are Here” spread I just saw over at Sammie’s blog (In the Cards).

I chose my current business project as the topic, as it is nearing completion. At least, it seems to be nearing completion! You never know… Thus, the reading. I did not chose a specific central card. I didn’t chose a card mostly because I’m not yet familiar with the Kapherus system meanings. Also, I like to trust that fate will deliver me the cards I need.

So, here’s what I got:

So, how did the universe do, with my central card? Quite well! The 3 Hearts, according to Kapherus, can denote the product of a creative effort such as a piece of artwork, etc. Call me a romantic, but I consider writing computer programs to be a form of art (and famous computer scientists agree).

Ok, so we have two sentences about where I am with my project. First, 6 Diamonds + 3 Hearts + Ace Hearts. Now, out on the Art of Cartomancy boards, I see that there are lessons which are very similar to hedgewytchery’s basic approach. In other words, first look at the suits. Well, here I see money and rewards (Diamonds+Hearts) leading to joy, love, and having a good time (Hearts + Hearts). I can certainly deal with that!

Digging deeper, the 6 Diamonds could be a small raise in pay, or represent forward momentum. Right now, that’s what my project has: forward momentum! So, I see this sentence as forward momentum in creating my new products, leading to a new wellspring of joy from the Ace of Hearts. I think my new offering may be popular!

The second sentence is King Clubs + 3 Hearts + 5 Spades. Based on the suits, we have a happy outcome from effort (Clubs + Hearts) leading to some kind of emotional pain (Hearts + Spades). I think the King of Clubs represents the guy I partner with in the company. I would say that the success of the new product causes some aggravation and unrest, which will call for decisive action (5 Spades). Whenever the company grows, there are more hassles with user support, and basic managerial tasks. The business has growing pains. So, some amount of restructuring might be necessary.

I do have some nagging worry about the way the 5 Spades represents going things alone and breaking ties in the Kapherus system. Maybe the King of Clubs will want to drop out of the partnership? But, at least at present, I don’t foresee that happening. Especially given the happiness of the first sentence. So instead, I’m looking at the card more like the lenormand Scythe, which I often read as decisive action, rather than strictly as cutting ties between people.

We shall see!