Melanchollic
"In every [Magical] Work there are to be Observed the Situation, Motion and Aspect of the Stars and Planets... "
Cornelius Agrippa
Three Books of
Occult Philosophy
With the words of one of history's greatest Magi in mind, I try to devise card drawing methods that take advantage of the archetypal planetary energies. Here are two examples designed for the two most popular spreads, The Tirage en Croix (The Classic Cross Spread), and the Astrological Spread.
Method for the Tirage en Croix:
The 22 Trumps are used for this spread. They are arranged in their 'neutral' order I - XXI with the Fool placed at your preference. The querent shuffles the cards, then they are given to the diviner. The diviner, in order from top to bottom, places the cards face-down in seven stacks, one for each planet. The top card goes in stack #1, the second in stack #2, the third in stack #3 and so on until seven cards are facedown on the table. Continue by placing the eighth card in stack #1, the ninth in stack #2, etc. You will end up with three cards in each stack with one left over. The last remaining card must be placed in the stack of the planet that rules whatever day of the week the reading is being done on.
The planetary rulers for each day are:
Sunday = Sun
Monday = Moon
Tuesday = Mars
Wednesday = Mercury
Thursday = Jupiter
Friday = Venus
Saturday = Saturn
From left to right the classic order of the planets is:
Stack #1 - Saturn
Stack #2 - Jupiter
Stack #3 - Mars
Stack #4 - Sun
Stack #5 - Venus
Stack #6 - Mercury
Stack #7 - Moon
Disregard all the cards except those in the stack of the planet that rules that day. With those four cards form the cross as you usually would.
Method for the Astrological Spread:
The method is the same as above, except you will use all 78 cards. Keep placing the cards, in order, from top to bottom into the seven stacks, until you are left with one last card. You will have 11 cards in each stack. You place the last card on the stack of the planet that rules whatever day you are doing the reading. This will give you the twelve cards you need for the astrological spread. Disregard the other stacks of cards.
I noticed an immediate improvement in the accuracy of my readings using these methods. A little help from the stars never hurts.
Cornelius Agrippa
Three Books of
Occult Philosophy
With the words of one of history's greatest Magi in mind, I try to devise card drawing methods that take advantage of the archetypal planetary energies. Here are two examples designed for the two most popular spreads, The Tirage en Croix (The Classic Cross Spread), and the Astrological Spread.
Method for the Tirage en Croix:
The 22 Trumps are used for this spread. They are arranged in their 'neutral' order I - XXI with the Fool placed at your preference. The querent shuffles the cards, then they are given to the diviner. The diviner, in order from top to bottom, places the cards face-down in seven stacks, one for each planet. The top card goes in stack #1, the second in stack #2, the third in stack #3 and so on until seven cards are facedown on the table. Continue by placing the eighth card in stack #1, the ninth in stack #2, etc. You will end up with three cards in each stack with one left over. The last remaining card must be placed in the stack of the planet that rules whatever day of the week the reading is being done on.
The planetary rulers for each day are:
Sunday = Sun
Monday = Moon
Tuesday = Mars
Wednesday = Mercury
Thursday = Jupiter
Friday = Venus
Saturday = Saturn
From left to right the classic order of the planets is:
Stack #1 - Saturn
Stack #2 - Jupiter
Stack #3 - Mars
Stack #4 - Sun
Stack #5 - Venus
Stack #6 - Mercury
Stack #7 - Moon
Disregard all the cards except those in the stack of the planet that rules that day. With those four cards form the cross as you usually would.
Method for the Astrological Spread:
The method is the same as above, except you will use all 78 cards. Keep placing the cards, in order, from top to bottom into the seven stacks, until you are left with one last card. You will have 11 cards in each stack. You place the last card on the stack of the planet that rules whatever day you are doing the reading. This will give you the twelve cards you need for the astrological spread. Disregard the other stacks of cards.
I noticed an immediate improvement in the accuracy of my readings using these methods. A little help from the stars never hurts.