It seems my grandfather is a bit of a dark horse

While communing with my ancestors this Samhain/Halloween just passed, Opa, my maternal grandfather, again let it be known that he wanted to spend more time with me. As I was going to be off work this week, I promised him I'd make some time to "chat".

I had the house to myself for a couple of hours this morning, so I fired up the incense burner and threw on a bit of patchouli. I often use patchouli when working with the ancestors, and Opa has a fondness for it, as do I. To be honest, I don't care for the smell of burning patchouli. I much prefer patchouli oil, but, you know, protocol. 😏

The scene set, I invited Opa to speak to me, and the first spread was a "direct hit". I'm not sharing that one because it was essentially a spirit hug and message from him to me. But "hellos" out of the way, I then asked him if he had anything he wanted to tell me.

As I shuffled, one card flew out face down, so I put it to one side. I then pulled two more cards. Interestingly, instead of cutting the deck and pulling the cards from there, as I always do, I pulled them straight off the top. I did it entirely without thinking, so I'm putting that down to Opa's influence.

I turned over the Jack first and laughed that I was being *told* I was getting a message. This message involved a woman and a change (8D is usually not an easy change). I suspected it was something to do with a relative of a friend of mine. I saw more hints in the cards but, of course, it's private, so I'll leave it at that. Suffice it to say, I suddenly got the urge to call her. But first, I checked the bottom card of the deck, to see if what I was reading into this pair was correct, and I got my No card. So I stopped, and I didn't call my friend.

Instead, I reshuffled and pulled some cards for further information, in order to make sense of this trio. The Queen of Clubs appeared again. As I laid the last card, my phone rang.

Said friend shared something that had just happened to her that made perfect sense of the cards I'd drawn. And the second spread turned out to contain advice for her.

It really was (Jack of Clubs) a message about a friend. And I've learned that the Queen of Clubs could represent this particular friend in future. (Who am I kidding? "This particular friend". I'm an introvert; I only have one friend. 😋) Thinking about it, the suit of Clubs is a perfect match for her.

But the big news is that Opa has left me a bit stunned. Who knew? For the past three years I've been concentrating on working with Oma, the card reader, right? (No offence; love you; still want your help!) And there was Opa waiting in the wings for his opportunity to shine. No wonder he came across a bit pushy on the brief, once-a-year occasions that I've called on him. Sorry Opa! I can see us collaborating a lot more in future.

Family rallies 'round

On this day of my honouring my grandmother's birthday and dealing with Brexit [shudder] I asked Oma to come to me and comfort me.

The Queen of Diamonds/Mum came instead, or rather 'as well' because the shadow card was the Queen of Spades/Oma, and reassured me that everything will be okay soon.

Thank you, I really needed to hear that right now.  ♥ you.

...She loves me

Ethony Dawn of Ethony.com offers Tarot training through her online Tarot Readers Academy. There is a free module entitled "Spirit Guides and Tarot Training".

Apart from my grandmother, I'm vaguely aware of a few more guides. If I meditated, or at least focused more often, I'd probably be more than "vaguely" aware of them. So I thought I'd take advantage of the free lesson.

The module includes a guided meditation to connect you with one of your guides. At one point during the meditation you sit in your "garden" and wait for the guide to come to you. I wanted to keep my mind clear of expectations, so I focused on the grass and ran my hand over it. Immediately I spotted a tiny daisy flower...

gettyimages

I hadn't thought of my guide Daisy literally in months. You could say I'd completely forgotten about her [my bad]. But there she was, no hard feelings. I was honestly shocked. Part of me knows there are spirit guides, I've seen so much evidence of it. But part of me can still be caught by surprise when it happens so matter-of-factly.

I know I can't force it but I'm going to try and check in with Daisy more often, and I hope she'll work with me for a while.

If you'd like to have a go at meeting one, or more, of your guides, I can obviously recommend Ethony's meditation. Or check out the many available on YouTube. They'd love to say "Hi".

Chatting with my grandmother

This is why I love working with cards. Gentle reader – allow me to introduce my grandmother.

I was listening to WitchUpTheRoad talking about how important it was to her to remember her family history and honour her ancestors, and I was moved to ask my ancestors to give me a message for today's #WithinWithoutAdvice.

I use my grandmother's, Oma’s, playing card method and she sometimes “drops in” as the Queen of Spades. So imagine how delighted I was when she appeared in this spread in such a familiar and unambiguous way. And notice the zodiac sign on her chest? No prizes for guessing what sign Oma was.

My ancestors are always Within.

The Balbi '8 of Coins' speaks of legacies, and the fair distribution of property or inheritance, as well as perseverance. Value my inheritance and continue to share it Without.

The Hanged Man confronts the various possibilities between the past and the future. It is the balance of power between necessity and freedom, between that which is an essential part of us from our past and that which we make for ourselves in the future. I’m Advised to acknowledge that balance.

Thanks for stopping by, Oma. x

A German Method of Fortune Telling with 32 Playing Cards

As this is my most popular post, I'll leave a note here to let you know that this blog has now moved to Judy Reads Cards. I hope you'll join me there.
13-Apr-18: I have finally uploaded my "expanded" meanings.

My grandmother Helene, from Niedersachsen/Lower Saxony in Germany, told fortunes with coffee grounds, Swedenborg cards and Skat cards, i.e. a 32-card deck of playing cards, also known as a Piquet deck: sevens up to Kings plus Aces. When she learned that I was interested in such things, she sent me a deck with her meanings written on the cards and a brief note of how she read them.

Lene, as she was called, though I would never have dreamt of calling her anything but Oma, only read the cards upright. Sadly, I don’t speak more than a smattering of German, so with the help of Google Translate and reference to a couple of online Skatkarten sites I’ve translated her notes as well as I am able. They were written on the cards in ballpoint pen and some are quite difficult to make out. If you are familiar with German and/or Skatkarten, and spot any misinterpretations, please let me know.

Update: November 2013

I have since corresponded with my aunt Edith, Lene’s youngest daughter and, luckily, she was taught how to read the cards. Edith was able to provide a bit more detail, which I have worked into the information given below.

Clubs:
Ace	Neuigkeit, Geschenk	news, gift
King	Arzt oder Beamter	Doctor or Official
Queen	falsche Dame, böse Gesinnung	false woman, evil alignment (way of thinking)
Jack	Glück, Botschaft	luck, message
10	Reise, großes Haus, Krankenhaus	travel, big (official) house,    hospital
9	güte Veränderung	good change
8	Sorgen über (einen kleinen) Weg	Worry over a small way (for a short time)
7	Tränen, Trennung, Hindernis	tears, separation, obstacle
Hearts:
Ace	Haus	house
King	Er	He
Queen	Sie	You
Jack	Liebe	love
10	Einladung	invitation
9	große Freude oder gütes Ereignis	Great joy or Good event
8	frohes Wiedersehen	happy reunion
7	Liebe in Aussicht	prospect of love
Spades:
Ace	Schrak, Krankheit	Fright, sickness
King	Älterer Herr	older gentleman
Queen	Dunkle Dame böse, Witwe oder allein	dark evil woman, widow or single
Jack	falscher Freund	false friend
10	Beruf	profession
9	Verleumdung, Falschheit in nächster Zeit	slander, falsehood in the near future
8	Gefahr, Krankheit, Ärger	danger, illness, anger
7	Kummer, Verlust, Streit,         Unannehmlichkeit	grief, loss, strife, inconvenience
Diamonds:
Ace	Brief	letter
King	jünger Mann	younger man
Queen	Mädchen oder Frau	girl or woman
Jack	Glück	Happiness
10	Geld, Gewinn	money, profit
9	Vorteil geschäftlich	business advantage
8	Neuigkeit geschäftlich	news of business
7	Geld oder Kind	Money or Child

I should point out here that other German sources tend to assign negative meanings to the Clubs, but you’ll see from the above list that, for Lene, the “worst” cards are the Spades.

Lene’s reading instructions were, as I mentioned, quite brief – essentially shuffle, cut, lay out, read. The fact that she didn’t think it necessary to provide any details on “how” to read them suggests that she felt her method was so commonplace as to not require explanation. I have found meanings similar to hers on Kartenlegen mit Skatkarten (KmS), so I’m guessing their method of breaking down the layout and combining the cards is likewise similar. I’ll go into more detail below. To begin:

Herzdame in die mitte legen.

Karten mischen. Mit der linken Hand 3 Haufen zum Herzen legen.

Die mittleren Haufen auf die letzten legen dann beide Haufen auf die ersten legen.

Die ersten 3 Karten von jedem Haufen haben eine Bedeutung.

Dann die Karten von oben so um die Herzdame legen:

Dann kombinieren was einem die Karten sagen...

The same steps as described by Edith:

Herz Dame in die Mitte legen.

Karten mischen. Mit der linken Hand 3 Haufen zum Herzen legen, den mittleren Haufen nehmen, die 1.drei Karten  nachsehen sie haben eine Bedeutung, dann die Karten auf den letzten Haufen legen, und wieder die 1.drei Karten ansehen, dann alle auf den 1.Haufen legen und wieder die 1.drei Karten ansehen.

Die Karten von oben so um die Herz-Dame legen.

Dann sehen was einem die Karten sagen...

·     Place the Queen of Hearts (Herzdame) in the middle. {Note that Lene only mentions the Queen as a significator. Presumably all her “clients” were female, but if you are reading for a man use the King of Hearts, or select a card that represents your area of concern, for example the 10 of Spades for work.}

·     Shuffle the cards. With the left hand, lay 3 piles “to the heart”, i.e. towards you (confirmed by Edith). {What does “to the heart” mean here? Perhaps, like KmS – “2 Stapel zu sich hin abheben”, you are meant to cut towards yourself, towards your heart.}

·     Put the middle pile on the last pile, then put the two on the first pile.

·     The first 3 cards of each pile have a meaning. {I’m uncertain if she meant 3 cards from each pile or just the 3 exposed cards. KmS uses just the 3 exposed cards. Either way, check them before you recombine the piles} Here Edith made it quite clear – you look at the bottom three cards of EACH pile, combining them to give you a meaning, before placing that pile on the next one.

·     Then place the cards from the top around the Queen of Hearts:

·        Then combine what the cards say.

KmS uses a simple 9x4 layout, but despite Lene’s fancy Star arrangement, I think the breakdown would be much the same: first read the central cross - cards 1, 3, Significator, 4 and 2, combining the cards in sentence fashion. Then read the row – 11, 3, S, 4, 12, then the column – 9, 1, S, 2, 10, and finally the diagonals. Card 17 gives an overview of what’s occurring on the home front.

Update: April 2015

I’ve been studying other “large star” spreads recently and have found that the various “arms” were given different meanings, eg. past/future, obstacle/aid, etc.  I have yet to decide how I want to approach reading Oma’s star.

Now that I know we should be reading the bottom three cards of each cut, it occurs to me that, unless the middle pile (which will now be on the top) contained more than 16 cards, at least one if not all of the cards from the bottom of that pile will appear somewhere in the spread and may be worth paying particular attention to.

Lene then continues:

Vom übrigen Haufen, 5 Karten ziehen.

Die dann auf die Karten legen was man näher wissen möchte.

Zum Beispiel - Herzdame, fürs Haus, Liebe, Reise, und so weiter.

And Edith:

Vom übrigen Haufen 5 Karten ziehen,

und so auf die Karten legen

z.B auf Dich (Herz -Dame )and so on, um zu wissen, was in der nächsten Zeit passiert.

·        From the remaining pile, draw 5 cards.

·        Then lay the cards on what you want to know in more detail, or as
Edith put it, to know what is happening in the near future.
for example – (on the) Queen of Hearts, for the home, love, travel, and so on.

We then proceed to a second spread.

Lene:

Zuletzt alle Karten mischen.

9 Karten ziehen und so auslegen:

Wieder kombinieren was sie sagen.

Edith:

Alle Karten wieder mischen, Herz -Dame bleibt auf dem Tisch liegen.

Karten ziehen und so auslegen

dann wieder sehen was die Karten sagen.

·       Last shuffle all the cards. Edith adds: the Queen of Hearts stays on the table.

·         Draw 9 cards and lay out as follows:

·         Again combine what they say.

And that is all I have been told. Oma passed away in 1998, at the age of 95.

Edith has been very patient with my questions and requests for clarification, so I’ll leave her in peace for a while, but at some point I’d like to ask her how she combines the cards and reads the Star layout.

Update: June 2014

Sadly, Tante Edith has no more information in this regard, or perhaps doesn’t have sufficient confidence in her English to attempt an explanation. Bearing in mind my paltry German skills, this is a feeling with which I can very much sympathise. 

I would love to hear from anyone who recognises any aspects of this method, or can elaborate on what I have presented.

One hundred and ten years ago today

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Oma. 

Und danke für das Begabung des Kartenlegen.

Welcome to my Special Interest blog

If you've found your way here from my main blog - So Far, So Good - thanks for coming. Do come in! I hope my interest in "fortune telling" doesn't put you off. Although if you've seen any of SFSG apart from the crochet stuff you'll already be aware of my penchant for weird.

And if you've just stumbled across this blog - Welcome! Nice to meet you.

I've been tinkering with Tarot since my early teens. Only after I confessed to my mother (with some trepidation) my interest, did she roll her eyes heavenward, sigh "Not you, too", and reveal that my grandmother read cards and coffee grounds.

We lived in Canada at the time and Oma was in Germany. In those days, international phone calls were rare/expensive and visits even more so. Sadly, as a result, I hardly knew my grandmother. But when she heard of my interest she sent me a Skat deck (32 cards - 7 to 10, J, Q, K, A) with her meanings written on the cards. In German.

Some years ago I had a go at translating the notes, but with only a German/English dictionary and her old-fashioned handwriting to contend with I wasn't terribly successful. Now, with excellent online translators, I've been able to type in her notes and get reasonably sensible results out.

This then whet my appetite for playing card reading as opposed to Tarot. Plus I had also inherited her Swedenborg cards, a Lenormand-like deck (Oma passed away in 1998). I'm translating that now, too. One thing lead to another and before I knew it I had acquired (my husband would say "Paid good money for!") another seven fortune telling decks of various types (and I'm not done yet; don't tell him).
Edit 27Apr16: Seven decks? Hahahahahaaaa, this post is SO old!

So the time has come to take the little Tarot section from my original blog and give it its own space to grow. I can't promise there will be much in the way of actual blogging here, certainly not on a regular basis. But this is where I'll be housing my growing list of cartomancy links and snippets of useful info. Perhaps you'll find something here of interest to you, too.

~~ Judy