King of Wands
Two of Swords
“… offers to take him back and overlook the past …
Nine of Wands
Star
“… as he hopes this will have proved a lesson to him,
Fortitude
King of Swords
“and points out to him that his former rival,
King of Pentacles
Three of Wands
“though perhaps vain, was yet a hard-working and good man of business.
Eight of Pentacles
Four of Cups
“The enquirer in consequence of this determines to completely give up his former mode of life which had brought him to the brink of ruin, and becomes a steady man.
Ten of Swords
Eight of Wands
“After this he suddenly receives a hasty message which gives him much pleasure,
Six of Wands
Five of Cups
“stating that owing to the loss of a relative he is the inheritor of a legacy.”
Nine of Pentacles
This concludes the fourth operation.
It is always necessary for the diviner to employ his intuition in reading, and sometimes he may have to clairvoyantly “go through” a card of doubtful signification. Thus in the reading just given it is only the circumstance of the Moon, Chariot, Eight of Swords, Ace of Pentacles being followed by other conformative cards which justifies such an evil meaning of them.
FIFTH OPERATION:
Conclusion of the Matter
The cards are to be again carefully shuffled by the enquirer but not cut. The diviner then takes the pack, and deals it card by card in rotation into ten answering to the Tree of Life. This refers to the rule of the ten Sephiroth in the celestial heavens. This being done, the diviner selects the packet containing the significator for reading, noting carefully under which Sephirah it falls, and taking this as a general indication in the matter. This packet is then spread out in a horseshoe form, and read in the usual way, counting from the significator and this time in the direction in which the face of the figure looks. The cards are finally paired together as in the previous operation. This completes the mode of divination called “the Opening of the Key.” I now give the conclusion of the example.
Example (Cont.)
We will suppose that the cards have been shuffled and dealt in the following manner into ten packets answering to the Sephiroth in the Tree of Life:
Fifth Operation—Tree of Life
The packet containing the significator falls under Binah, containing the third, thirteenth, twenty-third, thirty-third, fourty-third, fifty-third, sixty-third, and seventy-third cards dealt. This is an argument of sadness and trial. The cards are spread as follows:
Fifth Operation—Example
The counting proceeds as follows: King of Cups—Star—Judgment—King of Cups again. Evil cards are in the majority, another argument of loss and trouble.
King of Cups
“He has hopes of thus re-establishing his fortunes and that a favourable result will ensue for him.”
Star
Judgment
The diviner then pairs them thus:
King of Cups
“He plunges therefore into speculation by which he loses heavily. (Seven of Pentacles is near Hanged Man).
Seven of Pentacles
Knave of Cups
“And his love affair comes to nothing.
Hanged Man
Star
“All his expectations are disappointed …
Judgment
Knight of Pentacles
“… and his life for a time is arduous, petty, and uninteresting.”
Eight of Swords
(The coming of trouble is here shown by the Knight of Pentacles looking against the direction of the reading. If it were turned the other way it would show that his troubles were quitting him and that matters would improve.) This completes the operation, and shows the general development and result of the question.
Tabulated Rules
1. Shuffling, Cutting, Dealing, and Examining.
In shuffling, the mind of the enquirer should be earnestly fixed on the matter concerning which he desires information. If any cards fall in the process, they should be taken up without being noticed and the shuffling resumed. The shuffling being concluded and the pack placed upon the table, if any cards fall to the ground or become turned in a different direction, the shuffling should be done again.
A cut should be clean and decided. If any cards fall from the hand in the performance, the operation of shuffling should be repeated before they are again cut. In dealing, care should be taken not to invert the cards, and their relative order should be strictly observed. In examining a pack of cards, their relative order should be rigidly maintained, as without care in this respect, one may be easily pushed under or over another, which would of course have the effect of completely altering the counting in the reading.
2. Of the Selection of the Significator, and of the Complexion Assigned to the Court Cards.
Wands generally—fair and red-haired person.
Cups generally—moderately fair.
Swords generally—moderately dark.
Pentacles generally—very dark.
Kings—Men.
Queens—Women.
Princes—Young Men.
Princesses (Knaves)—Young women.
Therefore the significators are to be thus selected. For example, a dark complexioned middle-aged man, King of Pentacles. A fair young woman, Princess (Knave) of Cups, etc.
In the actual reading of the cards, these descriptions can be modified by those which are on either side of them, thus: the Queen of Cups, which indicates a fair woman with golden brown hair, if between cards of the suits of swords and pentacles, would show a woman with rather dark brown hair and dark eyes. As before stated, the Princes and Queens almost invariably represent actual men and women connected with the subject in hand. But the Kings sometimes represent either the coming on or going off of a matter; arrival, or departure, according to the way in which they face. While the Princesses (Knaves) show opinions, thoughts, or ideas, either in harmony with or opposed to the subject.
3. Of the General Signification of the Majority of a Particular Suit and of the Particular Signification of Either Three or Four Cards of a Sort in a Reading:
A majority of wands—energy, quarrelling, opposition.
A majority of cups—pleasure and merriment.
A majority of swords—trouble and sadness, sometimes sickness and even death.
A majority of pentacles—business, money, possessions, etc.
A majority of keys—forces of considerable strength, but beyond the enquirer’s control.
A majority of court cards—society, meeting with many persons.
A majority of Aces—strength generally; the Aces are always strong cards.
Four Aces—great power and force.
Three Aces—riches and success.
Four Kings—great swiftness and rapidity.
Three Kings—unexpected meetings.
Kings generally—show news.
Four Queens generally—authority and influence.
Three Queens generally—powerful and influential friends.
Four Princes or Knights—meetings with the great.
Three Princes or Knights—rank and honour.
Four Princesses (Knaves)—new ideas and plans.
Three Princesses (Knaves)—society of the young.
Four Tens generally—anxiety and responsibility.
Three Tens generally—buying, selling, commercial transactions.
Four Nines generally—added responsibility.
Three Nines generally—much correspondence.
Four Eights generally—much news.
Three Eights generally—much journeying.
Four Sevens generally—disappointments.
Three Sevens generally—treaties and compacts.
Four Si
xes generally—pleasure.
Three Sixes generally—gain and success.
Four Fives generally—order, regularity.
Three Fives generally—quarrels, fights.
Four Fours generally—rest and peace.
Three Fours generally—industry.
Four Threes generally—resolution and determination.
Three Threes generally—deceit.
Four Deuces generally—conference and conversations.
Three Deuces generally—reorganization and recommencement of a thing.
The keys are not noticed as above, by threes and fours.
4. Extra and Brief Meaning of the Thirty-six Smaller Cards.
WANDS
Deuce—Influence over another. Dominion.
Three—Pride and arrogance. Power sometimes.
Four—Settlement. Arrangement completed.
Five—Quarrelling. Fighting.
Six—Gain and success.
Seven—Opposition; sometimes courage therewith.
Eight—A hasty communication, letter or message. Swiftness.
Nine—Strength. Power. Health. Energy.
Ten—Cruelty and malice towards others. Overbearing strength. Revenge. Injustice.
CUPS
Deuce—Marriage, love, pleasure. Warm friendship.
Three—Plenty. Hospitality, eating, drinking. Pleasure, dancing, new clothes, and
merriment.
Four—Receiving pleasures or kindness from others, yet some discomfort therewith.
Five—Disappointment in love. Marriage broken off, etc. Unkindness from friends. (Whether deserved or not is shown by the cards with it, or counting from or to it.) Loss of friendship.
Six—Wish, happiness, success, enjoyment.
Seven—Lying, deceit, promises unfulfilled, illusion, deception. Error, slight success, but not enough energy to retain it.
Eight—Success abandoned, decline of interest in a thing. Ennui.
Nine—Complete success. Pleasure and happiness. Wishes fulfilled.
Ten—Matters definitely arranged and settled in accordance with one’s wishes. Complete good-fortune.
SWORDS
Deuce—Quarrel made up, and arranged. Peace restored, yet some tension in relations.
Three—Unhappiness, sorrow, tears.
Four—Convalescence, recovery from sickness, change for the better.
Five—Defeat, loss, malice. Slander, evil-speaking.
Six—Labour, work; journey, probably by water. (Shown by cards nearby.)
Seven—In character untrustworthy, vacillation. Journey probably by land (shown
by cards near, etc.).
Eight—Narrow or restricted. Petty. A prison.
Nine—Illness. Suffering. Malice. Cruelty. Pain.
Ten—Ruin. Death. Failure. Disaster.
PENTACLES
Deuce—Pleasant change. Visit to friends, etc.
Three—Business, paid employment. Commercial transactions.
Four—Gain of money and influence. A present.
Five—Loss of profession. Loss of money. Monetary anxiety.
Six—Success in material things; prosperity in business.
Seven—Unprofitable speculations, employments; also honorary work undertaken or the love of it, and without desire of reward.
Eight—Skill, prudence; also artfulness, and cunning. (Depends on cards with it.)
Nine—Inheritance. Much increase of money.
Ten—Riches and wealth.
5. Brief Meanings of the Twenty-two Keys.
0. Foolish Man. Idea, thought, spirituality, that which endeavours to rise above the material. (That is, if the subject which is enquired about be spiritual.) But if the divination be regarding a material event of ordinary life, this card is not good, and shows folly, stupidity, eccentricity, and even mania, unless with very good cards indeed. It is too ideal and unstable to be generally good in material things.
1. Magician or Juggler. Skill, wisdom, adaptation. Craft, cunning, etc., always depending on its dignity. Sometimes occult wisdom.
2. High Priestess. Change, alteration, increase and decrease. Fluctuation (whether for good or evil is again shown by cards connected with it.) Compare with Death and Moon.
3. Empress. Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, also luxury and sometimes dissipation, but only if with very evil cards.
4. Emperor. War, conquest, victory, strife, ambition.
5. Hierophant. Divine wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching. Differing from, though resembling in some respects, the meaning of the Magician, the Prophet, and the Lovers. Occult wisdom.
6. The Lovers. Inspiration (passive and in some cases mediumistic, thus differing from that of the Hierophant and Magician and Prophet). Motive, power, and action, arising from inspiration and impulse.
7. The Chariot. Triumph. Victory. Health. Success, though sometimes not stable and enduring.
8. Justice. Eternal justice and balance. Strength and force, but arrested as in the act of judgment. Compare with (11) Fortitude. Also, in combination with other cards, legal proceedings, a court of law, a trial at law, etc.
9. The Hermit, or Prophet. Wisdom sought for and obtained from above. Divine inspiration (but active as opposed to that of the Lovers). In the mystical titles, this with the Hierophant and the Magician are the Three Magi.
10. Wheel of Fortune. Good fortune and happiness (within bounds), but sometimes also a species of intoxication with success, if the cards nea r it bear this out.
11. Fortitude. (At one time (8) Justice and (11) Fortitude were transposed.) Courage, strength, fortitude. Power not arrested as in the act of judgment, but passing on to further action, sometimes obstinacy, etc. Compare with (8) Justice.
12. Hanged Man or Drowned Man. Enforced sacrifice. Punishment, Loss. Fatal and not voluntary. Suffering generally.
13. Death. Time. Ages. Transformation. Change involuntary as opposed to the Moon, XIX. Sometimes death and destruction, but rarely the latter, and the former only if it is borne out by the cards with it. Compare also with High Priestess.
14. Temperance. Combination of forces. Realization. Action (material). Effect either for good or evil.
15. Devil. Materiality. Material force. Material temptation; sometimes obsession, especially if associated with the Lovers.
16. Tower. Ambition, fighting, war, courage. Compare with Emperor. In certain combinations, destruction, danger, fall, ruin.
17. Star. Hope, faith, unexpected help. But sometimes also dreaminess, deceived hope, etc.
18. Moon. Dissatisfaction, voluntary change (as opposed to (13) Death). Error, lying, falsity, deception. (The whole according whether the card is well or ill-dignified, and on which it much depends.)
19. Sun. Glory, gain, riches. Sometimes also arrogance. Display, vanity, but only when with very evil cards.
20. Judgment. Final decision. Judgment. Sentence. Determination of a matter without appeal on its plane.
21. Universe. The matter itself. Synthesis. World. Kingdom. Usually denotes the actual subject of the question, and therefore depends entirely on the accompanying cards.
6. On the Signification of the Cards.
A card is strong or weak, well-dignified or ill-dignified, according to the cards which are next to it on either side. Cards of the same suit on either side strengthen it greatly either for good or evil, according to their nature. Cards of the suits answering to its contrary element, on either side, weaken it greatly for good or evil. Air and earth are contraries as also are fire and water. Air is friendly with water and fire, and fire with air and earth.
If a card of the suit of wands falls between a cup and a sword, the sword modifies and connects the wand with the cup, so that it is not weakened by its vicinity, but is modified by the influence of both cards; therefore fairly strong. But if a card passes between two which are naturally contrary, it is not affected by either much, as a wand between a sword and a pentacle which latter, being air and earth, are contrar
y and therefore weaken each other.
Here the question being of the wand, this card is not to be noticed as forming a link between the sword and pentacle.
A Few Examples Given by S.R.M.D.
9 10 5
Sw. Sw. Sw.
Very strong and potent in action. Very evil.
10 10 2
W. Sw. W.
Not quite so strong. Ruin checked and perhaps overcome.
6 10 10
C. Sw. C.
Rather good than otherwise. It is bounty overcoming loss, like a piquant sauce which adds to pleasure.
9 10 10
P. Sw. C.
Very weak, evil, slight loss in material things, but more anxiety
than actual loss.
5 2 9
Sw. W. Sw.
Moderately strong. Rashness which brings evil in its train. Evil.
9 2 6
P. W. P.
Fairly strong. Good. Considerable gain and victory.
10 2 6
C. W. C.
Weak, evil. Victory which is perverted by debauchery and evil living. But other cards may mitigate the judgment.
9 10 5
Sw. C. Sw.
Medium strong. Evil. Sorrow arising from pleasure and through
one’s own pleasures.
9 10 6
P. C. P.
Perfect success and happiness.
10 10 5
W. C. Sw.
Rather evil. Pleasure that when obtained is not worth the trouble one has had in obtaining it.
10 6 9
Sw. C. P.
Fairly strong and good. The Sw. and P. being opposite elements counteract each other. Therefore is it as if they were not there.
10 6 10
Sw. C. W.
Fairly good. Some trouble, but trouble which is overcome. If Six of Cups were a bad card the evil would carry the day.
The Golden Dawn Page 80